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What happened to the signature?
Posted at: Jan/22/2013 : Posted by: mel
Related Category: People, Perspectives,
In our modern era of digital everything, it is difficult for anything to stay pertinent. The LP (Long Play Record) is considered a collectible. The clutch and standard transmission are becoming custom options at your car dealership. A television with any front panel controls can now only be found at a thrift store. Personally, I am glad that the polyester leisure suit has faded to novelty, but what is happening to the personal signature? Way back in the third grade I had to suffer through learning to write in a style called cursive. Your skill at this craft was referred to as your “penmanship.” I never had very good penmanship and hated always being reminded by teachers that my older sister was much better than me at this skill. Computers had just started entering the commercial (non-government) market, and at a couple of tons each, were not going to be helping me with my homework for decades. Every essay I had to write from the third grade through high school was graded not just for content, organization, spelling, or grammar, but also for penmanship. Along the way I was told that this form of writing was a necessary life skill. In theory, it was supposed to be a fast way to jot things down and would therefore serve me well in college for taking notes. When I did finally get to college, I found I could not read my cursive notes a day after making them. Despite the guidance, I found that printing abbreviated class notes worked well for me. Thank goodness I had a typewriter (ancient mechanical device with levers, springs, no delete key and no digital memory) for writing my college papers. I wonder if this has anything to do with why I am an engineer and not a poet. Despite my distaste for this subject, along the way I learned to do something that was as common for my generation as shoelaces; I learned a personal signature. In general terms, a personal signature is the personalized and stylized version of how you write your name using cursive. This was considered a life skill and none of us questioned its value. A signature was needed for your driver’s license, signing checks, documents, contracts and a host of other things. Having a signature was considered part of being an adult. Many people collected autographs which are the personal signatures of famous people. Some signatures have become quite noteworthy with time. John Hancock’s famously large and artful signature on the Declaration of Independence is part of our visual heritage. In truth, John Hancock’s signature is so iconic that it has become a metaphor for a signature. For several centuries, a personal, handwritten sign-off or signature has been an integral aspect of how we do commercial, legal and social business. Before there was widespread literacy in Western civilization, there was little or no value placed on a personal signature; Instead, documents or contracts were often ratified with a cross, symbolizing a Christian oath of truthfulness. Sometimes various objects were used as symbols of authenticity — especially when property was being bought or sold. In 1147, for instance, a pair of British brothers gave a gift to a priory and offered locks of hair from their heads as proof of their gift. By the 14th century this process had been formalized with the use of official seals on stamps or rings applied to sealing wax to signify the conveyance of property. Ultimately, members of royal families and eventually upper-class folks began signing their names on important documents to personalize their concurrence. During the Renaissance, artists began signing their works. A signature became known as part of a piece of art — almost always with an artistic flourish or ornate underscore to show uniqueness and emphasis. Interestingly, by the 18th century, cases were appearing in British courtrooms of people copying other people’s signatures. This made the need even more apparent that a “valid” signature needed to be unique. During this era, the Founders and Framers of America signed our core documents; the distinct signatures of Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock and others clearly emphasize this and have become part of our visual heritage. American western lore has the iconic cowboy often signing with an “x”. I don’t know how true this is, but it makes good character development in a western story. With mass literacy, by the 20th century, Americans were routinely signing their names in their particular and individual scripts on all essential legal documents, checks, credit card payments and other binding agreements. I admired my father’s signature growing up; it was legible, yet stylized enough to be distinct. Some signatures come with significant artistry. On the other hand, a doctors’ signature is renowned for its illegibility. I wonder for these doctors if that unique signature is the result of a class they take in medical school? Nowadays, the hand written signature on paper has been replaced by many things electronic. I met someone who recently signed his marriage license in Las Vegas electronically on an iPad. Many of life’s events are now processed digitally. As we wrap ourselves more and more in the digital life, what will happen to the once-essential signature? Penning one’s name appears to be going out of style in favor of clicks on a keyboard. Even when we are prompted for a signature, the result is often rushed and chaotic. I recently experimented and signed the electronic pad at a store with an “x”. The cashier did not appear to care and the machine accepted my mark….so much for security! With more and more bills being paid on line, or the practice of a “digital signature” being applied, the practice of signing checks is nearly lost. We don’t hand write or sign notes to each other anymore, email, texting and instant messaging now fulfill that role. For anyone who has done a mortgage or refinance recently, it is an interesting signature experience. My wife and I refinanced our mortgage a few years ago and had to sign far too many forms to even count. Despite the banking industries zeal for our traditional signature, they concluded the process with a notary and her seal being applied to a cover letter. That notary seal is the modern equivalent of the old seal or stamp in sealing wax. I guess the bank wants our signature, but ultimately does not trust it, which makes for a hybrid process. Where signatures still exist, the artistry appears lost to haste and spastic gyrations. Jacob (Jack) Lew was recently appointed by President Obama to be the next Treasury secretary. If his appointment is approved by Congress, his signature would start appearing on new U.S. currency. When President Obama was asked about Jack Lew’s signature he replied, “Jack assures me that he is going to work to make at least one letter legible — in order not to debase our currency should he be confirmed as secretary of the Treasury." Having raised children I can speak from experience when I say that his signature reminds me of the doodles you get when you give a 3 year-old a pencil and paper to entertain themselves with. I find no hint of any letters in his signature and barring any change would be embarrassed to have it appear on anything except a 3 dollar bill. I am aware that many other famous people have signatures that barely qualify as hen scratching’s including author J.K. Rowling, actor Johnny Depp and singer Robbie Williams to name a few. It appears that the hand-written signature may not carry the bona fides that it once did. In this day and age where we do more and more by clicking the “I Agree” button or entering our secret PIN (personal identification number), signatures just don’t seem to have the significance that they used to. Even our president signs key legislation with an “autopen.” When my wife and I got married, the wedding invitations we ordered were printed in a cursive script which was a common practice 25 years ago. I read an article on the printing industry recently and one of the observations was that cursive is almost never used in wedding invitations any more. I guess for us old fogeys; we could continue to use cursive between ourselves as our own special secret code. My sons each had a couple months of cursive writing in the third grade, but the mandate for its use and practice as a required skill has rapidly faded in favor of word processing software tied to slick electronic printers for turning in essays and reports. My oldest son is now of an age where he is being periodically asked for his signature. When first confronted with the request for his signature he came to me asking what was expected. I explained what a signature was and suggested he practice it a few times before turning the forms in. Unfortunately, his signature is more printed text than script, but it is a whole lot more legible than Jack Lew’s. Despite my attachment to the signature as a personal statement, I suspect that it may have run its cursive course.
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