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signatures are deeply personal for centuries we've used them to make our mark on the world even the humble X can be legally binding while the flourishes and swirls of famous names have become linked with moments in history here we are in power of the pen Jennifer Johnson is the curator of an exhibition about signatures at the National Archives the signatures on the document carry the force of law and can impact many people on display a shoe patent signed by the pop star Michael Jackson a card from the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and the marriage certificate of Adolphe Hitler and Eva Braun gives you goosebumps and that one is especially unique in that it's what I call a it's it's multiple signatures on one page not only do you have Adolphe Hitler and Eva Braun but Joseph Goebbels and Martin Bormann signed as witnesses but technology is replacing pen and paper in 2000 President Bill Clinton used a smart card encrypted with his digital signature to e-sign a new law that made online contracts legal just imagine if this had existed 224 years ago the founding fathers wouldn't have had to come all the way to Philadelphia on July 4th for the Declaration of Independence they could have emailed their John Hancock's in the US National Archives now collects millions of pieces of digital data every year if we were to look at the same exhibit 100 years from now it would have a combination of some of the quaint artifacts of today the paper with the signatures and a really interesting and creative I think snapshot of the various ways people have been communicating in making their mark in the electronic environment but what technology could replace a signed sports shirt and what do we learn about a person whose signature includes excuse the typos sent from my cell phone experts say electronic signatures can still create a unique impression what do you use as your closing for your email your signature line and then we have of course the options of fonts now getting too out of control would be you know using the colors and the exciting pastel backgrounds and things that dance around but I think that just showing what signature line you used and how you close out your email says so so much about you what historians will make of our electronic communications is anybody's guess but one thing is already certain the pen may be mightier than the sword but it's no match for email Jayne O'Brien BBC News Washington