The Cultural Heritage & Forensic Examination of Date Tampering on Abraham Lincoln’s Pardon of Patrick Murphy, RG 153 Entry 15, Case MM761

Description:
On January 26, 2011 the Lincoln Pardon of Patrick Murphy, a document in the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Record Group 153 (RG 153) Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General (Army), was submitted to the conservation lab for examination. The record was examined with special focus on the handwritten date of “1865” to the left of Abraham Lincoln’s signature (written “A. Lincoln”). All examination techniques were non-sampling, non-invasive, and non-damaging as retaining the integrity of cultural heritage is of utmost important, mirroring the significance of the handling of evidence in the forensic field. Microscopy, transmitted light, Ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence, and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy analysis supported that the ink used to write the “5”, in the April 14, 1865 date is different from the remaining text written by Lincoln. Images capture that the color of the “5” ink is darker and more opaque; the tine indentations from the nib of the pen are only visible in the “5”; the paper fibers under and surrounding the “5” have been abraded and thinned; the “5” ink has differentially migrated to the verso of the sheet. XRF elemental analysis shows different ratios of iron to sulfur in the “5” compared to the rest of the ink in Lincoln’s hand. The use of these analytical forensic-inspired techniques in this cultural heritage application confirmed that the “5” had been forged on this historic document held by the National Archives for public posterity and allowed scientists and conservators to “set the record straight” for future research.

Speaker: Jennifer Herrmann - National Archives And Records Administration