Editing Typewriter (section)

== Forensic examination ==
Typewritten documents may be examined by [[questioned document examination|forensic document examiners]]. This is done primarily to determine 1) the make and/or model of the typewriter used to produce a document, or 2) whether or not a particular suspect typewriter might have been used to produce a document.<ref name=Kelly>{{Cite book |last=Kelly |first=Mary W. |title=Scientific Examination of Questioned Documents, Second Edition (Forensic and Police Science Series) |publisher=CRC Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-8493-2044-6 |edition=2nd |location=Boca Raton, FL |pages=177–189 |chapter=Typewriters}}</ref>

The determination of a make and/or model of typewriter is a 'classification' problem and several systems have been developed for this purpose.<ref name=Kelly /> These include the original Haas Typewriter Atlases (Pica version)<ref>Haas, Josef. (1972), "ATLAS der Schreibmaschinenschrift, PICA".</ref> and (Non-Pica version)<ref>Haas, Josef and Bernhard Haas. (1985), "ATLAS der Schreibmaschinenschrift, Non-PICA".</ref> and the TYPE system developed by Philip Bouffard,<ref>Bouffard, P.D. (1992), A PC-Based Typewriter Typestyle Classification System Standard, presented at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences meeting, New Orleans, LA.</ref> the [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]]'s Termatrex Typewriter classification system,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hodgins |first=Cpl. J.H. |date=January 1963 |title=A Punchcard System for Identification of Typescript |journal=Journal of Forensic Sciences |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=68–81}}</ref> and [[Interpol]]'s typewriter classification system,<ref>Interpol (1969) "System for Identification of Typewriter Makes Using the Card Index", ICPO-Interpol</ref> among others.<ref name=Kelly />

The earliest reference in fictional literature to the potential identification of a typewriter as having produced a document was by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote the Sherlock Holmes short story "[[A Case of Identity]]" in 1891.<ref name="crown">{{Cite journal |last=Crown |first=David A. |date=March 1967 |title=Landmarks in Typewriting Identification |url=https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5434&context=jclc |journal=Journal of Criminal Law, Criminology, and Police Science |volume=58 |issue=1 |pages=105–111 |doi=10.2307/1141378 |jstor=1141378 |quote=The earliest known reference to the identification potential of typewriting, curiously enough, appears in 'A Case of Identity', a Sherlock Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle...|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In non-fiction, the first [[forensic document examination|document examiner]]<ref name=crown /> to describe how a typewriter might be identified was William E. Hagan who wrote, in 1894, "All typewriter machines, even when using the same kind of type, become more or less peculiar by use as to the work done by them."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hagan |first=William E. |url=https://archive.org/details/disputedhandwrit00haga |title=Disputed Handwriting |publisher=Banks & Brothers |year=1894 |location=Albany, NY |page=[https://archive.org/details/disputedhandwrit00haga/page/203 203] |chapter=Chapter VIII}}</ref> Other early discussions of the topic were provided by [[Albert S. Osborn|A. S. Osborn]] in his 1908 treatise, ''Typewriting as Evidence'',<ref>{{Citation |last=Osborn |first=Albert S. |year=1908 |title=Typewriting as Evidence |publisher=The Genesee Press |page=23 |place=Rochester, NY}}</ref> and again in his 1929 textbook, ''Questioned Documents''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Osborn |first=Albert S. |title=Questioned Documents |publisher=Patterson Smith |year=1973 |isbn=978-0-87585-207-2 |edition=2nd |location=Montclair, NJ |page=1042 |chapter=Questioned Typewriting |orig-year=1929}}</ref>

A modern description of the examination procedure is laid out in ASTM Standard E2494-08 (Standard Guide for Examination of Typewritten Items).<ref name="astm_TW">[http://www.astm.org/ ASTM International] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060331053643/http://www.astm.org/ |date=2006-03-31 }}, These guides are under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E30 on Forensic Sciences and the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E30.02 on Questioned Documents. Copies of ASTM Standards can be obtained directly from [[ASTM International]].</ref>

Typewriter examination was used in the [[Leopold and Loeb]] and [[Alger Hiss]] cases.

In [[Socialist Republic of Romania|Romania]], according to State Council Decree No. 98 of March 28, 1983, owning a typewriter, both by businesses or by private persons, was subject to an approval given by the local police authorities. People previously convicted of any crime or those who because of their behaviour were considered to be "a danger to public order or to the security of the state" were refused approval. In addition, once a year, typewriter owners had to take the typewriter to the local police station, where they would be asked to type a sample of all the typewriter's characters. It was also forbidden to borrow, lend, or repair typewriters other than at the places that had been authorized by the police.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Betea |first=Lavinia |date=February 13, 2009 |title=La Miliţie cu maşina de scris |url=http://jurnalul.ro/scinteia/special/la-militie-cu-masina-de-scris-319045.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904043133/http://jurnalul.ro/scinteia/special/la-militie-cu-masina-de-scris-319045.html |archive-date=September 4, 2015 |access-date=August 24, 2014 |publisher=jurnalul.ro |language=ro}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |date=1986 |title=News & Notes: The Great Rumanian Typewriter Decree |journal=[[Index on Censorship]] |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=2–3 |doi=10.1080/03064228608534006|s2cid=220951010 }}</ref>