An Autopen is a machine used to create fake autographs.

History

The first autopens were used during the late 19th century. Harry Truman is believed to have been the first United States President to use the autopen as a way of responding to mail.

During the 1990s, multiple stars began to use the autopen as a way to answer their fan-mail. This was due in large part to the fact that most superstars receive a very large volume of letters each day from their fans, therefore, it could become impossible for them to send personally written autographs through the mail to those admirers that write to them.

Mechanism

During the Truman era, autopen machines could use up to eight pens in a row to forge a President or celebrity's signature into a document, photo or piece of paper.

Now, the machines use one large, mechanical arm, with a sharpie, pen or color marker attached to it, to sign photos. Celebrities or their representatives put a number of photos to be signed by the machine, and the machine proceeds to put the celebrity's fake signature on each photo.

Celebrities and country leaders who use this machine must first personally sign a photo, paper or document, and let the machine copy the real autograph, so that the machine can imitate the celebrity or head of state's autograph to perfection. These photos with the fake signatures are then sent to fans.

The signature is stored in a metal 'matrix', that provides a template for the machine to follow.

Is it an autopen autograph or not?

It is important to know that many celebrities who receive a lot of postal mail from fans actually answer by sending real autographs back to their fans. Because of the autopen, many fans may question the authenticity of their autograph received by postal mail.

There are two signs in particular that would allow a person to figure out when an autograph received through the postal service has not been signed with an autopen:

• Celebrities that use autopen machines usually do not take the time to change their signature so that the machine can sign for only one particular fan. Therefore, if the autograph is personalized (ex: To James, cheers, John Travolta), then it is highly probable that an autopen machine was not used.

• Because autopen machines' autographs are usually based on a copy of only one signed item, if a fan has doubts whether a signed photo or document was signed with an autopen, it would be recommendable to write to the star again (if the original signature was not personalized), and compare the original signature with the second one once the second signed document arrives. If the signatures differ at any point, then it is unlikely that an autopen has been used. On the other hand, if the second signature matches the original one in every detail, there is a high probability that both photos or documents have been signed by an autopen machine.

External links

• Automated Signature Technology (http://www.signaturemachine.com), a signature machine manufacturer.
• A site with information on autopen signatures (http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Images/People/Sigs/Autopen.html)