As January 23 is the birthday of founding father and owner of the penultimate signature, John Hancock, and National Handwriting Day, it seems the perfect time to share the National Archives’ latest signature crowdsourcing project:
One of our curators is working on an exhibit and would love your suggestions for signatures from National Archives records.
At the National Archives, we have a range of signatures from the infamous (Lizzie Borden), to signatures of individuals before they were famous (Julia Child’s OSS paperwork), as well signatures that had the power to change someone’s life or to change history, such as a Presidential pardon.
We would like your help to tag records with “signature” in our online catalog. Don’t be restricted to any categories of records. Tag records that you think are interesting or surprising.
To get started tagging, you’ll need to:
- Create a username and password,
- Login to the System,
- Start searching for interesting records or your favorite topics, and
- Then type in tags in the “Add Tag” field.
via NARAtions » Help Our Curators Find Signatures in the Records »

