Book excerpt: This book presents 17 selected papers from the 4th International Graphonomics Society Conference, held at the University of Trondheim (Norway) in July 1989. It focusses on different aspects of automatic processing of handwriting by computer. The book is divided into three sections. The first one surveys the research works done on automatic signature verification over the last 25 years. The second section deals with problems related to the design of on-line cursive script recognition and the implementation of this technology into an electronic pen pad. The third section focusses on the integration of contextual knowledge in these systems.