The Royal Dorset Academy's Deep Archive

The Royal Dorset Academy' "Deep Archive" in Child Okeford is the official repository for many Thrupiece items not privately owned by the Threadbone Corporation. Amongst its many riches is a set of Thrupiece signatures from several different periods of his life.

Mention in a recent Sotherbone's Auction Catalogue of a period in which Professor Thrupiece struggled to find a signature properly representative of his persona and artistic ambitions at the time, has prompted Royal Dorset Academy Archivist Seema Tidy-Drawers to submit the following interesting report on the extensive collection of Thrupiece signatures held in the RDA's archives. Whilst it is well-known to all that the Professor's signature underwent several significant alterations throughout his life [those on his cheques were notably varied and often indecipherable] few will realise that a project to catalogue them all was already in process in 2013 shortly before he disappeared from a Swiss Hotel Room [namely The Hotel Cornarvin] following an accident with a small malfunctioning electrical appliance [namely a Japanese-sourced nasal clipper] [Ed].]

Just one of the pages in Group III of the Thrupiece Signature Archive held by the RDS under the sensitive care of Ms

Ms Tidy-Drawers writes:

"A project to catalogue Professor Thrupiece's many and varied signatures was already in process in 2013 shortly before he disappeared from a Swiss Hotel Room. The signatures of famous men [and occasionally women] are a source of profound and ever-lasting interest to many, being, as they are, windows into the personality of their authors. Calligraphers as well as forensic and psychiatric hand-writing experts [sometimes termed graphologists] can read much from a single signature, whilst the study of changes to a signature over time can reveal a great deal about the character, mood, stability and mental well-being of the writer. Here at the Royal Dorset Academy Archive, we pride ourselves on the extensive files held in our Child Okeford "Deep Archive" Facility - a state-of-the-art building in which all our documents are kept in humidity- and temperature-controlled environments and the use of gloves in examining documents is de rigour. [NB television documentary makers and that Tudor woman with the long blonde curly hair - you are not getting your grubby little naked hands on my bounty!]

However, as an archivist, my interests are much more aligned to the aesthetic. To me, the collection of Thrupiece signatures we hold is a constant source of joy simply for their sheer variety, invention and expressive exuberance. Let others consider their significance; I am happy to contemplate their beauty. From the earliest known [an immature and uncertain boyish hand] to the [admittedly failed] experiments of later life - the cubist version is a hoot! - there is so much interest to be found here. Chameleon-like, a good Thrupiece signature not only gives us the essence of the man [oops graphology!] but also a glimpse of a moment: a hand holding a pen [or pencil, or stick, or knife] imprinting himself on another body and marking it indelibly for the rest of time. Call me an incurable romantic if you will, but a quarter of treacle toffee, a vanilla rooibos, a warm pussy and a firm stroke from the mature hand of Professor Thrupiece is just the very definition of heaven to me."

Seema Tidy-Drawers [Ms]

c/o Incurably Romantic Cottage

Child Okeford

Dorset

PS Ginger Puss sends her love too!

VIEW THAT DOCUMENT [Courtesy of the Royal Dorset Academy Child Okeford Deep Archive] IN GLORIOUS HD RESOLUTION HERE