The Convenient But Controversial Robot Pen

While collecting signed books of American Presidents, I was surprised that Lyndon B. Johnson-signed books were unusually cheap.

- VR FEROSE (The author is a technologist based in Silicon Valley who is gently mad about books)

On further research, I realized they were signed by an autopen and hence the devaluation. That's the first time I got to know about autopens.

The Autopen, often called a 'robot pen,' is a machine that duplicates signatures using an actual pen and ink, rather than by scanning. The device traces its origins to Thomas Jefferson, who extensively used a precursor to the modern autopen. Patented in 1803, Jefferson's device copied entire letters in real time as he wrote them. Over time, the technology evolved to use carved templates—a pen would follow a channel etched into plastic to recreate a signature. Modern iterations of the autopen have abandoned physical templates altogether, instead relying on digital programming for precision and ease.

Since Jefferson, various U.S. Presidents have employed autopens. Early use was often shrouded in secrecy. Harry Truman, for instance, was rumored to have used the device, while Gerald Ford openly admitted to relying on it. Lyndon B. Johnson, however, famously allowed a photograph of the autopen to appear on the cover of The National Enquirer under the headline, "The Robot That Sits in for the President."