Autopen

Last updated

US Treasury Department check signing machine. Operated by J.L. Summers in 1918. CHECK SIGNING MACHINE IN TREASURY DEPARTMENT; OPERATED BY J.L. SUMMERS LCCN2016868985.jpg
US Treasury Department check signing machine. Operated by J.L. Summers in 1918.

An autopen (or signing machine) is a device used for the automatic signing of a signature. Prominent individuals may be asked to provide their signatures many times a day, such as celebrities receiving requests for autographs, or politicians signing documents and correspondence in their official capacities. Consequently, many public figures employ autopens to allow their signature to be printed on demand and without their direct involvement. [1]

Contents

Though manual precursors of the modern autopen have existed since at least 1803, [1] 21st-century autopens are machines that are programmed with a signature, which is then reproduced by a motorized, mechanical arm holding a pen. [2]

Given the exact verisimilitude to the real hand signature, the use of the autopen allows for a small degree of wishful thinking and plausible deniability as to whether a famous autograph is real or reproduced, thus increasing the perception of the personal value of the signature by the lay recipient. However, known or suspected autopen signatures are also vastly less valuable as philographic collectibles; legitimate hand-signed documents from individuals known to also use an autopen usually require verification and provenance to be considered valid.

Early autopens used a plastic matrix of the original signature which is a channel cut into an engraved plate in the shape of a wheel. A stylus driven by an electric motor followed the x- and y-axis of a profile or shape engraved in the plate (which is why it is called a matrix). The stylus is mechanically connected to an arm which can hold almost any common writing instrument, so the favourite pen and ink can be used to suggest authenticity. The autopen signature is made with even pressure (and indentation in the paper), which is how these machines are distinguishable from original handwriting where the pressure varies. [3]

History

The first signature duplicating machines were developed by Englishman John Isaac Hawkins. Hawkins received a United States patent for his device in 1803, called a polygraph (an abstracted version of the pantograph), in which the user may write with one pen and have their writing simultaneously reproduced by an attached second pen. Thomas Jefferson used the device extensively during his presidency. [1] This device bears little resemblance to today's autopens in design or operation. [4] The autopen called the Robot Pen was developed in the 1930s, and became commercially available in 1937 (used as a storage unit device, similar in principle to how vinyl records store information) to record a signer's signature. A small segment of the record could be removed and stored elsewhere to prevent misuse. The machine would then be able to mass-produce a template signature when needed. [5]

While the Robot Pen was commercially available, the first commercially successful autopen was developed by Robert M. De Shazo Jr., in 1942. [6] De Shazo developed the technology that became the modern autopen in reference to a Request For Quote (RFQ) from the Navy, and in 1942, received an order for the machine from the Secretary of the Navy. [2] This was the beginning of a significant market in government for the autopen, as the machines soon ended up in the offices of members of Congress, the Senate and the Executive branches. At one point, De Shazo estimated there were more than 500 autopens in use in Washington, D.C. [7]

Use

Individuals who use autopens often do not disclose this publicly. Signatures generated by machines are valued less than those created manually, and perceived by their recipients as somewhat inauthentic. [8] In 2004, Donald Rumsfeld, then the U.S. Secretary of Defense, incurred criticism after it was discovered that his office used an autopen to sign letters of condolence to families of American soldiers who were killed in war. [9]

Outside of politics, it was reported in November 2022 that some copies of The Philosophy of Modern Song , a book by singer-songwriter Bob Dylan that had been published earlier that month, had been signed with an autopen, resulting in criticism. Autographed editions had been marketed as "hand-signed" and priced at US$600 each. Both Dylan and the book's publisher, Simon & Schuster, issued apologies; refunds were also offered to customers who had bought autopen-signed editions. [10] In addition, Dylan also said that some prints of his artwork sold after 2019 had been signed with an autopen, which he further apologized for and attributed his use of the machine to vertigo and the COVID-19 pandemic, the latter of which prevented him from meeting with staff to facilitate signing the works in question. [11]

U.S. Presidents

Portrait of U.S. President Richard Nixon with autopen signature Portrait of President Nixon with autopen signature - NARA - 194771.tif
Portrait of U.S. President Richard Nixon with autopen signature

It has long been known that the president of the United States uses multiple autopen systems to sign many official documents (e.g., military, diplomatic, and judicial commissions; some Acts of Congress, executive directives, letters and other correspondence), due to the volume of such documents requiring his signature per the U.S. Constitution. Some say Harry Truman was the first president to use the autopen as a way of responding to mail and signing checks. [12] Others credit Gerald Ford as the first president to openly acknowledge his use of the autopen, [13] but Lyndon Johnson allowed photographs of his autopen to be taken while he was in office, and in 1968 the National Enquirer ran them along with the front-page headline "The Robot That Sits In For The President." [14]

While visiting France, Barack Obama authorized the use of an autopen to create his signature which signed into law an extension of three provisions of the Patriot Act. [15] On January 3, 2013, he signed the extension to the Bush tax cuts, using the autopen while vacationing in Hawaii. [16] In order to sign it by the required deadline, his other alternative would have been to have had the bill flown to him overnight. [17] Republican leaders questioned whether this use of the autopen met the constitutional requirement for signing a bill into law, [18] but the validity of presidential use of an autopen had not been actually tested in court. [19] In 2005, George W. Bush asked for and received a favorable opinion from the Department of Justice regarding the constitutionality of using the autopen, but did not use it himself. [20] [21]

In May 2024, Joe Biden directed an autopen be used to sign legislation providing a one-week funding extension for the Federal Aviation Administration. Biden was traveling in San Francisco at the time, and wished to avoid any lapse in FAA operations, while a five-year funding bill was being voted on by Congress. [22]

Similar devices

Further developing the class of devices known as autopens, Canadian author Margaret Atwood created a device called the LongPen, which allows audio and video conversation between the fan and author while a book is being signed remotely.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pantograph</span> Mechanical linkage used for copying drawings

A pantograph is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line drawing is traced by the first point, an identical, enlarged, or miniaturized copy will be drawn by a pen fixed to the other. Using the same principle, different kinds of pantographs are used for other forms of duplication in areas such as sculpting, minting, engraving, and milling.

A signature is a handwritten depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a signature is a signatory or signer. Similar to a handwritten signature, a signature work describes the work as readily identifying its creator. A signature may be confused with an autograph, which is chiefly an artistic signature. This can lead to confusion when people have both an autograph and signature and as such some people in the public eye keep their signatures private whilst fully publishing their autograph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autograph collecting</span> Practice of collecting autographs of famous persons

Autograph collecting is the practice of collecting autographs of famous persons. Some of the most popular categories of autograph subjects are politicians, military soldiers, athletes, movie stars, artists, social and religious leaders, scientists, astronauts, and authors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Portman</span> American lawyer and politician (born 1955)

Robert Jones Portman is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Ohio from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Portman was the 35th director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from 2006 to 2007, the 14th United States trade representative from 2005 to 2006, and a U.S. representative from 1993 to 2005, representing Ohio's 2nd district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Democratic National Convention</span> U.S. political event held in Denver, Colorado

The 2008 Democratic National Convention was a quadrennial presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party where it adopted its national platform and officially nominated its candidates for president and vice president. The convention was held in Denver, Colorado, from August 25 to 28, 2008, at the Pepsi Center. Senator Barack Obama from Illinois gave his acceptance speech on August 28 at Invesco Field in what the party called an "Open Convention". Denver last hosted the Democratic National Convention in 1908. Obama became the party's first nonwhite nominee, and nominee of African descent, for president. Senator Joe Biden from Delaware was nominated for vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in the United States</span>

In the United States, public opinion and jurisprudence on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights have developed significantly since the late 1980s, with most national advancements coming from the country's Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guantanamo Bay detention camp</span> United States military prison in southeastern Cuba

The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a United States military prison within the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, also referred to as Gitmo, on the coast of Guantánamo Bay in Cuba. As of April 2023, of the 779 people detained there since January 2002 when the military prison first opened after the September 11 attacks, 740 had been transferred elsewhere, 30 remained there, and nine had died while in custody.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Lew</span> American attorney (born 1955)

Jacob Joseph Lew is an American attorney and diplomat serving as the United States ambassador to Israel. He was the seventy-sixth United States secretary of the treasury from 2013 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he also served as the twenty-fifth White House chief of staff from 2012 to 2013 and as director of the Office of Management and Budget in both the Clinton administration and Obama administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. T. Cross Company</span> American manufacturing company

A.T. Cross Company, LLC is an American manufacturing company of writing implements, based in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest pen manufacturers in the world. Cross' products include fountain, ballpoint, and rollerball pens, mechanical pencils and refills. The company also manufactures accessories for those goods such as cases and wallets.

The LongPen is a remote signing device conceived of by writer Margaret Atwood in 2004 and debuted in 2006. It allows a person to write remotely in ink anywhere in the world via tablet PC and the Internet and a robotic hand. It also supports an audio and video conversation between the endpoints, such as a fan and author, while a book is being signed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign</span>

Barack Obama, then junior United States senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for president of the United States on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois. After winning a majority of delegates in the Democratic primaries of 2008, on August 23, leading up to the convention, the campaign announced that Senator Joe Biden of Delaware would be the vice presidential nominee. At the 2008 Democratic National Convention on August 27, Barack Obama was formally selected as the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States in 2008. He was the first African American in history to be nominated on a major party ticket. On November 4, 2008, Obama defeated the Republican nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona, making him the president-elect and the first African American elected president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidency of Barack Obama</span> US presidential administration from 2009 to 2017

Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nominee John McCain in the 2008 presidential election. Four years later, in the 2012 presidential election, he defeated Republican nominee Mitt Romney, to win re-election. Obama is the first African American president, the first multiracial president, the first non-white president, and the first president born in Hawaii. Obama was limited to two terms and was succeeded by Republican Donald Trump, who won the 2016 presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First inauguration of Barack Obama</span> 56th United States presidential inauguration

The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th president of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, at the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. The 56th inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in the city, marked the commencement of the first term of Barack Obama as president and Joe Biden as vice president. At approximately 12:06 ET, Obama took the oath of office on Abraham Lincoln's Bible, which was used in Lincoln's 1861 inauguration. Based on combined attendance numbers, television viewership, and Internet traffic, it was one of the most-observed events ever by the global audience at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabinet of Barack Obama</span> Overview of the confirmations of Barack Obamas Cabinet

Barack Obama assumed office as President of the United States on January 20, 2009, and his term ended on January 20, 2017. The president has the authority to nominate members of his Cabinet to the United States Senate for confirmation under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob McDonald (businessman)</span> American businessman and politician (born 1953)

Robert Alan McDonald served as the eighth United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He is the retired chairman, president, and CEO of Procter & Gamble. In 2014 he became Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polygraph (duplicating device)</span> Duplicating device using pen and ink

A Polygraph is a duplicating device that produces a copy of a piece of writing simultaneously with the creation of the original, using pens and ink.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social policy of the Barack Obama administration</span> Social policy

The Almanac of American Politics (2008) rated Barack Obama's overall social policies in 2006 as more conservative than 21% of the Senate, and more liberal than 77% of the Senate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">We the People (petitioning system)</span> Online communications system for the White House

We the People, launched by the Obama administration on September 22, 2011, is a defunct section of the whitehouse.gov website used for petitioning the administration's policy experts. Petitions that reached a certain threshold of signatures were reviewed by Administration officials who in most instances would subsequently provide an official response. Legal proceedings in the United States were not subject to petitions, rather, the site served as a public relations mechanism for the presidential administration to provide a venue for citizens to express themselves. On August 23, 2012, the White House Director of Digital Strategy Macon Phillips released the source code for the platform. The source code is available on GitHub, and lists both public domain status as a work of the United States federal government and licensing under the GPL v2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Karp</span> American dramatist (born 1964)

Jonathan Karp is an American book editor, publisher, and writer. He is the publisher, president, and chief executive of Simon & Schuster, and has also led the company's flagship division. Karp also founded Twelve, an imprint at the Hachette Book Group, and was the editor-in-chief of Random House.

<i>The Philosophy of Modern Song</i> 2022 book by Bob Dylan

The Philosophy of Modern Song is a book by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, published on November 1, 2022, by Simon & Schuster. The book contains Dylan's commentary on 66 songs by other artists. It is the first book Dylan has published since he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Seabrook, Andrea (May 27, 2011). "Obama Wields His ... Autopen?". NPR.
  2. 1 2 Rein, Lisa (April 11, 2014). "Washington's Signature-Writing Machines Rumble Into The Digital Age". The Washington Post . p. A1. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  3. ↑ "The Autopen". The Autopen Company. Archived from the original on October 5, 2013.
  4. ↑ Benac, Nancy (June 27, 2011). "Obama's Signature: Is It Real Or Is It Autopenned?". Yahoo! News . Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Robot Pen Copies Handwriting From A Record". Popular Mechanics: 657. May 1937.
  6. ↑ "The Autopen: We've Been At It Since The Very Beginning". Automated Signature Technology. Archived from the original on December 11, 2013. Retrieved April 21, 2014.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ↑ Cheney, Lynne (August 1983). "The Autopen" (PDF). The Washingtonian . Archived from the original (PDF) on April 23, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  8. ↑ McClain, Buzz (July 2013). "Sincerely Yours, This Machine Does Not Exist". Northern Virginia Magazine . Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  9. ↑ Glaister, Dan (December 20, 2004). "Signature row turns up heat on Rumsfeld". The Guardian . Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  10. ↑ Willman, Chris (November 20, 2022). "Bob Dylan Fans Who Bought $600 'Hand-Signed' Books With Replica Autographs Will Receive Refunds From Publisher". Variety . Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  11. ↑ Willman, Chris (November 26, 2022). "Bob Dylan Says He 'Regrets' an 'Error in Judgment' in Selling Machine-Signed Art and Books: 'I Want to Rectify It Immediately'". Variety .
  12. ↑ Resnick, Brian (January 3, 2013). "When a Robot Signs a Bill: A Brief History of the Autopen". National Journal . Archived from the original on February 16, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  13. ↑ Cheney, Lynne (August 1983). "The Autopen". The Washingtonian . Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  14. ↑ "The Robot That Sits In For The President". National Enquirer. National Enquirer. March 17, 1968. Archived from the original on April 23, 2014. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
  15. ↑ Mascaro, Lisa (May 27, 2011). "Congress votes in time to extend key Patriot Act provisions". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved May 27, 2011.
  16. ↑ Bruce, Mary (January 3, 2013). "Obama Signs 'Fiscal Cliff' Bill with Autopen". ABC News.
  17. ↑ Sawyer, Diane (January 2, 2013). "ABC World News: Signing It Into Law". ABC World News with Diane Sawyer. 6:30 minutes in. ABC . Retrieved January 6, 2013.
  18. ↑ Jackson, David (June 17, 2011). "Republicans protest Obama signing bill with autopen". USA Today .
  19. ↑ Knoller, Mark (November 18, 2011). "Obama uses autopen, again, to sign bill into law". CBS News .
  20. ↑ Nielson, Howard C. Jr. (July 7, 2005). Whether The President May Sign a Bill by Directing That His Signature Be Affixed To It (Report). United States Department of Justice. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2017.
  21. ↑ Cirilli, Kevin (January 3, 2013). "10 facts about the 'autopen". Politico .
  22. ↑ Saenz, Arlette. "Biden signs one week FAA extension via autopen". CNN.com. CNN . Retrieved May 10, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.