Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-02-27
EXPERT PENMANSHIP
TAUGHT JUDGE AND
JURY IN WILL CASE
Big Blackboard, Crayon and Pho
tographs Are Used in
the Course
WRITING LIKE HUMAN FACE
Though Expression May Be Chang
ing Constantly. Features
Are the Same

President Judge Kunkel and a Dau-
phin county common pleas jury got
more than an hours lesson in expert
penmanship this morning.
a big blackboard, crayon and a
dozen or more photographs were used
in the course.
And David M. Carvallo, New York,
one of the country's leading penman-
ship and handwriting experts, was the
instructor.
The testimony of Carvallo was the
first step of the defense in the Mar
garet Durkees will contest. The pur-
pose is TO shatter the contention of
Mrs. Minnie Moore, the plaintiff, that
she is the sole beneficiary of Mrs.
DurkeeS.
Some time after Mrs Durkees' death
Mrs. Moore offered for probate what
purported to be the last will and testa-
ment of the dead woman. This was a
little slip of yellow paper, which, Mrs.
Moore contended. was found in the
corner of an old picture frame taken
from Mrs. Durkees' home. 1t stated
that instructions relative to the dis
position of the estate could be found
in a bit of paper "in the hem of my
black silk dress" Mrs. Moore searched
and in the hem found another slip of
paper which simply said that the dead
woman bequeathed everything to Mrs.
Moore because she knew Mrs Moore
loved her" y codicil substantiating
this was found in an old photograph
album. The estate is said to be worth
between $1,000 and $4,000.
AlIcgc Will Forgery
Sarah Kirchner, Eliza Collier and
Harriet Briggs Hamilton. relatives of
Mrs. Durkees. contend that the will
and codicil are forgeries and contested
the probating of the instruments. The
action now pending Is the proceeding
10 compel the admission of the papers
The letter ''y'' was the character
Carya1io used TO illustrate the differ
ences in the handwriting of people
and he demonstrated with crayon and
the blackboard just how the training
OF the writer will not permit him to
omit the essential characteristics even
though the writing is disguised.
Handwriting is like the brman
lace, said the expert; even though
the expression may be constantly
changing, the features never change.
The Photographs were reproductions
of letter written by Mrs. Durkees
and the instruments reputed to be the
will and codicil. both OF the same date
Step by step Carvallo took the Judge
and jury through the course in the
preparation of the letters the differ
ence in pressure of the pen. the flow
of the ink, the position of the writer,
the haste or steadiness of the writer.
What Expert Shows
Mrs. Durkees, though 70, was noted
for her unusually fine penmanship.
Her letter was a model of nearly per.
feet writing and spelling BY com,
parison Carvallo pointed out that the
writing of the will and "codicil" was
rough and evidently hurried, the spell
ing poor, while the formation of the
letters lacked the essential Character
tstics of Mrs. Durkees' handwriting.
A hush spread over the courtroom
as Carvallo talked. The silence was
interrupted only once. That was th,
scratching of Judge Kunkel's pen as
he tried the effect of pen and ink on
paper.