scalpovich / chirograph

Go library to generate SVG/PDF documents secured with barcode-128, qrcode and tally stick.

Chirograph

Go library to generate SVG/PDF documents secured with barcode-120, qrcode and chirograph.

What's a chirograph?

The split tally or tally stick was a technique which became common in medieval Europe, in order to record bilateral exchange and debts. A stick (squared hazelwood sticks were most common) was marked with a system of notches and then split lengthwise. This way the two halves both record the same notches and each party to the transaction received one half of the marked stick as proof. Later this technique was refined in various ways and became virtually tamper proof.

A chirograph is a medieval document, which has been written in duplicate, triplicate or very occasionally quadruplicate on a single piece of parchment, with the Latin word chirographum (occasionally replaced by some other term) written across the middle, and then cut through to separate the parts.

The intention of the chirograph was to produce two (or more) identical written copies of a legal agreement, that could be retained by each party to the transaction, and if necessary verified at a later date through comparison with one another. The cut itself would generally be made with a wavy or serrated edge, running through the word chirographum, to allow the copies to be matched physically as a safeguard against forgery. The earliest surviving portion of a chirograph in England dates from the middle of the ninth century.

In the post-medieval period, as legal documents grew in length and complexity, it became impractical to fit two duplicate texts onto a single sheet of parchment.

UNCOPIED quintuplicate chirographs

The availability of new technologies such as QR Codes and the blockchain makes it possible to overcome the medieval chirograph's limitation (due to legal document's length). In the case of UNCOPIED certificates, the legal document can be as large as necessary, as it is stored in IPFS and secured using blockchain technology.

The five parts of the chirograph contain the exact same identifiers and QR codes.

Use Cases for UNCOPIED chirographs

The technology is intended to

• warranty unicity of original artworks
• secure museum collections

UNCOPIED is a registered trademark. UNCOPIED chirographs are Design Patented.