Investigation of historical documents for forensic purposes by x-ray fluorescence spectrometry

This work shows the suitability of energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) in the field of forensic document examination. The identification and quantification of the elemental composition of the paper and inks of books and documents can shed some light on its authenticity and authorship. The concentrations of S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Co, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Br, Rb, Sr, Ba and Pb were determined in these samples in order to characterise them. In this work, paper sheets of an early 20th century book were analysed in order to distinguish different paper manufacturers. The analysis of two historical documents (18th and 19th centuries) was performed in order to investigate the authenticity of the documents by analysing the ink of the signatures and the corresponding text. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.