History & public life · Autograph & handwriting
Benjamin Franklin signature
An enlarged looped initial rises above the surname.
What does Benjamin Franklin’s signature look like?
An enlarged looped initial rises above the surname. The lower flourish makes a wide return beneath the letters before turning down at the far right.
- Slant
- ≥ +40°forward
- Baseline
- +6.2°rising
- Width / height
- 2.11 : 1overall proportions
- Opening height
- 0.90×opening versus body letters
The looped opening and returning lower stroke
The enlarged first form sits above the much smaller surname letters. Follow the lower stroke as it returns beneath the name and turns down toward the right. Reading those two levels separately makes the opening, written body and flourish easier to distinguish.
Benjamin Franklin signature analysis
Benjamin Franklin’s signature sample has a forward slant at the edge of the measured range, a rising baseline and 4 enclosed loops. Use the layers to follow the writing line, letter band, slant and enclosed loops.
- Slantforward
- ≥ +40°
- Baselinerising
- +6.2°
- Width / heightoverall proportions
- 2.11 : 1
- Opening heightopening versus body letters
- 0.90×
- Enclosed loopsclosed spaces in the image
- 4
- Ink groupsmain disconnected groups
- 4
- Ink densityinside the signature bounds
- 6.1%
- Underlineno long lower flourish
- None
- Finish heightrelative to the letter body
- +0.10×
Opening, letter body and finish
The opening stays near the height of the body letters. The opening-to-body ratio is 0.90×, while the whole image is 2.11 times as wide as it is tall. The rightmost ink finishes above the writing line; look at this ending separately from the slant of the letters themselves.
Loops and the lower flourish
The sample contains 4 enclosed loops and 4 main ink groups. The letterforms carry the main horizontal movement; there is no long lower underline detected beneath their band.
Benjamin Franklin’s signature in graphology
Traditional graphology associates forward slant with responsiveness and outward expression. The extended pen path adds the flourish that graphologists associate with expressiveness.
Follow the forward-leaning strokes in this image alongside the smaller body letters. For another perspective on your own writing, the handwriting analysis tool brings slant, size and spacing into a full-page reading.
Signatures with similar shapes
Compare these samples’ slant, proportions and letter rhythm with Benjamin Franklin’s autograph.
