Has anyone here run across "Ghosts of My Friends," by Cecil Henland? It doesn't have a copyright but appears to have been published in the early part of the 20th Century. It is really a delightful concept: a book of somewhat glossy pages creased down the center of each page. Your friends would sign their names along the crease and fold the paper, creating a ghostly inkblot. Each page also had spaces for the name and date.

Of course, all of this is much more ghostly now, when most if not all of the people who signed the book ARE ghosts. I was just curious if other people have run across this. Also, does anyone have a suggestion of a good ink to try and reproduce this effect with? All my inks are too fast drying.

Steve

Just having a gander at the inks forum of late, it sounds like many of the inks meant to avoid feathering would suit the purpose-- I think Private Reserve inks have come under some fire for taking WAY TOO LONG to dry.

Fascinating idea, but no, I have not seen this book before. I did a quick search and found some copies that were partly used - very neat item I think.

- R

I started another thread on slow-drying inks in the Ink forum. Xfeather is awesome, although it turns out that it is the AMOUNT of ink that matters when creating ghost signatures. None of the inks works well in a fine or medium fountain pen. But they all blot nicely if applied by even a fine dip pen. I will post pictures here or there.

I found a note purported to be by Mark Twain online. It talks about ghost signatures and includes his own ghost signature as an example. But it is $8,000.

Thanks again for replying. Steve

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Here are pictures of the books I was describing, a ghost-autograph from 1908 (signed and dated) and one from 2008. I generally preserve the antique objects that come my way. But one copy of this book already had autographs from 1912 and 1921. I am adding five autographs from 2008. Then I will put it on my shelf and hope that someone will discover it in a few more decades and add their autographs. In a sense, I feel like I am keeping the book alive for its original purpose.

If you want to try your own ghost autographs, I did discover that the secret is not how fast the ink dries but how much ink in on the page. Dip pens seem to work best.

Steve

Wow! Thanks for posting the images. I may have to buy that copy I found that was half full now. Very cool.

- R

It turns out there is another book almost identical to "Ghosts" but with no author cited. It is called "Your Hidden Skeleton," and apparently inspired the album name and art for a rock album of the same name. I can only find one reference to the book, for $100 at Optos. Way too much for me.

"Ghosts" was written by Cecil Henland. After extensive internet research, I found out that Cecil was a woman, "a writer of children's books," founder of a nursery school system in England and the widow of Lt. Col. Arthur Jex-Blake Percival, who was killed in battle in November 1914. Nothing else, not even the names of her books. If anyone knows anything more about her or either book, I would appreciate hearing about it.

Thanks,

Steve

Thanks for posting about these books. What a clever idea. /Craig

I find that concepts like that really creep me out (for want of a better expression), the idea of history and the marks that people leave behind, I find it to be one of the reasons I am attracted to Calligraphy, historical writing paraphernalia and so on. If I look at an old object, especially writing, in a museum I get mesmerised; weapons in museums also mesmerise me thinking that they may have actually killed someone...