I've read that in some jurisdictions outside the US, the notary draws an embellishment or flourish with a pen to make it harder to forge the signature. This perhaps make more sense before the typewriter, when it was not customary to type the signature under the signature line, so the signature had to be legible. Nowadays, more often than not, the signature is nothing more than a flourish.
I've also read that in the UK, notaries used to bind the pages together with a cord tied with an elaborate knot; the not served as the equivalent of the notary's seal. Each notary invented his (we're talking pre-sufferage here) knot. |
