David Nunes Carvalho

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David Nunes Carvalho
BornSeptember 29, 1848
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedJune 29, 1925(1925-06-29) (aged 76)
New Rochelle, New York

David Nunes Carvalho (September 29, 1848 - June 29, 1925) was an American ink and handwriting expert who provided testimony in notable legal cases and was the author of Forty Centuries of Ink, a book about ink analysis.

Early life and education

Carvalho was born in 1848, the son of noted artist Solomon Nunes Carvalho and Sarah Miriam Solis.[1] He studied at New York College, where he specialized in organic chemistry and photography.[2] He married Annie M. Abrams and they had six children.

Career

Carvalho and his father in 1872

Carvalho did early work with his father in his father's photography studio. He worked at a photography studio in New York City from 1877 through 1885. He worked with New Jersey Stereoscopic View Company likely in the 1870s and was working for the Bachrach Photo-Engraving Company in 1875. He filed for several patents for improving the photography process.

  • Patent 225458A a method to shorten exposure times by painting the studio an orange pea green color and coating the collodion negative with a film of violet colored collodion
  • Patent 237246 a method for focusing frames using celluloid
  • Patent 237247 a method for photo backgrounds using celluloid
  • Patent 237248 a method for printing frames using celluloid
  • Patent 1353720 a method of coating documents to protect them from being erased

Handwriting analysis

Carvalho maintained a large collection of handwriting and ink samples and was called upon to testify in legal cases which involved handwriting, testifying in over 2000 cases.[3][4] He was scornful of graphology as a means of identifying personality traits stating "I have had the pleasure, so to speak, of sending thousands of forcers to state's prison. Yet with all my study of their penmanship, I never learned an important thing about their characters."[4] He believed that the study of handwriting was n exact science.[5]

His personal collection contained "items that are representative of ordinary handwriting from the 10th to the 20th centuries, written in English, French, Latin, German, and Dutch. The bulk of the items are from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Samples, on paper and vellum, include indentures, letters, receipts, and pages of accounts... also a small set of examples of alphabets from many countries; 19th century examples of engraved death and marriage announcements; engraved portraits of writing masters; examples of minute calligraphy"[6] The Hartford Daily Courant reported "Sir Conan Doyle stated in a lecture in New York that Mr. Carvalho’s powers exceeded those given to Sherlock Holmes."

Carvalho wrote a few books on the topic of handwriting analysis. Forty Centuries of Ink explored how and where ink has been produced, it examined its ingredients and its effect on different forms of paper and discusses how it was used throughout history by different cultures.[2] Notable cases he was involved in included the William Marsh Rice case and the Dreyfus Affair which garnered him international attention. He offered testimony that Eric Muenter and Frank Holt were seperate people, a determination later found to be incorrect.[7]

Death and legacy

Carvahlo died of pneumonia in 1925. His career as a handwriting expert is outlined in his daughter Claire’s biography, Crime in Ink, published in 1929.[8] The David N. Carvalho Collection of rare books and manuscripts is at the Free Library of Philadelphia.[9] His collection of incunabula was cataloged by biographer Henrietta C. Bartlett before being sold for $1,385.95 in 1917.

References

  1. ^ Heft, Harold (2013-04-01). "Meet David Nunes Carvalho, the Jewish Investigator Who Rivaled Sherlock Holmes". The Forward. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  2. ^ a b Singer, Saul Jay (2023-03-15). "The Dreyfus Affair: A Tale Of Two Graphologists". JewishPress.com. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  3. ^ "Crimes in Ink". Winnipeg Tribune. October 3, 1931. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b Jacot, Dorothy (January 5, 1930). "Writes of Noted Father's Exploits". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Handwriting Exact Science, Says Expert". Atlanta Georgian. November 28, 1913.
  6. ^ "Private Libraries in a Digital Age". Past is Present. 2010-07-16. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  7. ^ "Handwrtiting Experts Many Times Have Aided in Solving Puzzling Mysteries". Kansas City Star. January 17, 1935. p. 18. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  8. ^ Griffiths, Alan (2024-07-19). "David Nunes Carvalho". Luminous-Lint. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
  9. ^ "[David N. Carvalho handwriting collection] -- 1349-1891". Free Library of Philadelphia. Retrieved 2024-07-19.
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