Joan Rivers signature

A thick J combines a large upper oval with a long left-hand upright.

Joan Rivers's signature
Vector tracing of the signature specimen. Image credit: Partyclams · Public domain.

What does Joan Rivers’s signature look like?

A thick J combines a large upper oval with a long left-hand upright. A prominent R follows near the middle, above a broad near-horizontal underline. The abbreviated body forms are comparatively small; compare the two large openings with the lower line to see how a minimal written center receives a substantial surrounding outline.

Slant
−4°near upright
Baseline
+2.0°near level
Width / height
1.19 : 1overall proportions
Opening height
0.86×opening versus body letters

About Joan Rivers and this autograph

Joan Rivers (8 June 1933 – 4 September 2014) was an American comedian, actress, and television host. This specimen is the Wikimedia Commons vector rendering of Joan Rivers’s signature.

Joan Rivers signature and handwriting analysis

Joan Rivers’s signature sample has an almost upright slant, a near-level baseline and 0 enclosed loops. Comparing autograph strokes, baseline angle (+2.0°), slant (−4°), opening ratio (0.86×) and enclosed loops (0) reveals how individual signature traits contrast with standard handwriting features. Use the layers to follow the writing line, letter band, slant and enclosed loops.

Slantnear upright
−4°
Baselinenear level
+2.0°
Width / heightoverall proportions
1.19 : 1
Opening heightopening versus body letters
0.86×
Enclosed loopsclosed spaces in the image
0
Ink groupsmain disconnected groups
5
Ink densityinside the signature bounds
19.1%
Underlinelower flourish
59% of width
Finish heightrelative to the letter body
−0.25×

Opening, letter body and finish

The opening is lower than the typical letter body. The opening-to-body ratio is 0.86×, while the whole image is 1.19 times as wide as it is tall. The rightmost ink finishes below the writing line; look at this ending separately from the slant of the letters themselves.

Loops and the lower flourish

The sample contains 0 enclosed loops and 5 main ink groups. The lower flourish spans about 59% of the full ink width, giving the name another line to follow beneath its letters.

All 11 measured signature features

Slant

−4°
−450°+45Slant −4° from vertical−4° from vertical

Angle of the letter strokes from vertical. Positive angles lean right; negative angles lean left.

The signature has a near-upright slant (−4°). The blue-green guides show the lean of strokes across the name.

Baseline

+2.0°
Baseline +2.0 degrees from horizontalstartfinish+2.0° · dashed = level

Direction of the writing line from the beginning to the end of the signature.

The writing line stays nearly level (+2.0°). The red guide follows the base of the letters, separate from lower loops and flourishes.

Opening capital

0.9×
Opening height 0.9 times following lettersopeningbody0.9×1×

Height of the opening letter relative to the typical letters that follow. 1× means similar heights.

The opening stands 0.9 times as high as the following letters. The purple box marks its area; the dashed blue guide marks the letter-body band.

Enclosed loops

0
Measured signature without enclosed loops0 enclosed spaces

Closed spaces surrounded by ink, counted across the whole signature.

No enclosed loops are detected. Compare the open curves and joined strokes in the sample.

Ink groups

5
5 connected ink groups; each circle represents one groupeach circle = one ink group5 groups in the sample

Separate connected areas of ink in the image. Dots or detached letters can form additional groups.

The signature contains 5 main ink groups. The visible ink is divided into separate shapes. Look at where those shapes join or separate.

Ink density

19%
19.1 percent of signature area filled with ink19.1% filled areagrid = 100% of signature area

Share of the signature’s enclosing rectangle occupied by ink.

Ink covers 19% of the measured signature area; the rest is open space. Compare the open areas with the thickness of the visible strokes.

Underline / flourish

59% wide
Lower flourish spans 59 percent of signature width59% of name width

Length of a lower underline or flourish compared with the full signature width.

A lower underline or flourish spans about 59% of the name’s width. Its highlighted area shows how much emphasis sits beneath the letters.

Finish height

−0.3×
Finish −0.3 typical letter heights from baseline1×baseline−0.3× · above / below line

Height of the rightmost ending above or below the baseline, in typical letter heights. Positive is above; negative is below.

The ending sits close to the writing line (−0.3 letter heights). The orange guide locates the finish relative to the red baseline.

Width / height

1.2 : 1
Signature ink width 360 pixels and height 303 pixels360 px wide × 303 px high

Full ink width divided by full ink height, including the signature’s tall and low strokes.

The shape is 1.2 times as wide as it is high. Its ink spans 360 × 303 image pixels. Compare the horizontal spread with the vertical reach of the capitals and loops.

Ornamentation

4.6×
Stroke path 1662 pixels compared with 360 pixel signature widthstroke path1,662 pxname width360 pxpath is 4.6× the width

Total traced stroke length divided by signature width. More turns and retraced shapes add length.

The traced strokes total 1,662 pixels, about 4.6 times the signature’s width. Look for loops, turns and flourishes that add movement within that width.

Angularity

3.3
3.3 corners per 100 pixels of ink outline02.55corners per 100 px of outline

Number of corners per 100 pixels of traced ink outline. Higher values indicate more frequent sharp turns.

The outline contains about 3.3 corners per 100 pixels. Inspect the turns in the pen-path layer and compare pointed changes of direction with rounded curves.

Signatures with similar shapes

Compare these samples’ slant, proportions and letter rhythm with Joan Rivers’s autograph.

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