A long time ago, I picked this book at a one thrift store or another. I got it because this was the first time I had ever seen a book on handwriting analysis.
What is handwriting analysis? It’s the belief that the way a person writes tells you something about who that person is. It’s related to chiromancy, palmreading, but handwriting analysis or grapho analysis, has a higher reputation with the scientific world than chiromancy.
I have never read this whole book, but I do enjoy reading excerpts from it. I don’t know who developed this idea. I do know that this is something actually used in the real world. If you’re one of those people who watches a lot of those “true crime” shows you have most likely heard of hand writing analysts pouring over ransom notes and the like.
The idea is that the slant of your writing, how you dot your i’s and cross your t’s and how you make your s’s all reveals a little bit about who you are. There is even an entire chapter about criminal handwriting and an entire chapter called “are homosexuals criminals.” This book was published in 1959, thus the strange choice for a chapter heading. Apparently, if you’re good at grapho analysis, you don’t need gaydar. Yeah, ok whatever.
Let’s move away from silly chapters. The entire book is filled with the “science” of handwriting analysis and samples. These samples are from all kinds of people. Charles Manson, Thomas Edison, and many more all have hand writing samples in this book. They’re definitely neat to look at. I know most of the time we don’t really think about how other people write. Most of the time we don’t think past “right-handed or left-handed people.”
My copy of the book is a little ragged. It apparently started its life out in the Warner Robbins public library. Warner Robbins is in Georgia. I have never been there. Then somewhere along the way it changed ownership to Janelle S. Jisage, although I may need to read this book further because I couldn’t really make out the signature very well. Then it found its way into my hands. I can’t say what other journeys it took. It definitely got checked out a few times when it was a library book. The card was still in it.
One of the neatest thing about this book is something at the back called the “Dictionary of Grapho Analysis.” In the dictionary handwriting is categorized by alphabet. We start out with acquisitive, adaptable, and adolescent and end with weak and will. The entire library is in between. There are samples of each handwriting type or quality.
The thing about handwriting analysis is that it generally works better with cursive. It can still be used on print, but generally the author uses cursive writing as the evaluation meter. In the dictionary of grapho analysis we learn that someone who is psychic will make frequent breaks between letters in their cursive writing. I don’t know if it’s true, but it is definitely interesting.
So who is this M.N. Bunker person?
I looked him up. Yes, it’s a him. He started out his career as a short hand teacher. Before we hand computers and typewriters and all that jazz people used abbreviated writing types to save time while taking notes. The practice is shorthand.
This is Bunker. In my opinion he looks like a condescending jerk, but whatever. It turns out Bunker was the guy who actually created graphoanalysis. Yes, we’re looking at the father of handwriting analysis right here. Who would have though? Anyways, Bunker went on the refine his theories and process. That was how he came to write this book. He also went on to create The International Grapho-Analysis Society or IGAS. This is a real thing people no matter how funny their acronym looks. Here is the website.
I never had any thought as to who the author of this book was before. I didn’t really think it mattered. Now I know that he was kind of a big deal in the handwriting analysis community. You can still get certified in this process and everything.
My copy of this book is well-used. There are markings and smudges everywhere. Someone must have been like, “Handwriting analysis and donuts are a wonderful idea!” Maybe it’s coffee? I don’t know.
I don’t think I’ll ever read this book all the way through. I like to peruse it and check it out. Bunker tries to pitch the idea that you can use this process to determine what a person is like before actually trying to get to know that person. Basically you can weed out the people you meet just by asking them to write something for you.
“Hey, so you’re here for this job interview. Please write Mary Had a Little Lamb on this piece of paper.”
The interviewee writes Mary Had a Little Lamb. He hands it back to the guy doing the interview.
The interviewer is quiet for a minute.
“I’m sorry you’re just not what we’re looking for.”
Interviewee leaves and wonders what kind of weirdo invites you to a job interview, asks you to write Mary Had a Little Lamb and then doesn’t even look at your resume.
I know Bunker put a ton of time into this process, but I don’t think it’s something people have a use for everyday. Sure in the crime world there are plenty of uses, but you can’t go to school or work and use this. The whole process also seems very psychological. I don’t think any of it would really make sense without knowing something of human psychology. The traits and practices Bunker says are indicated by handwriting analysis seem more like something your psychiatrist should be doing.
Overall, this is a very interesting book. If you’re interested in this sort of thing, I suggest you look this book up.
One-Eleven Books2 