--- aliases: - Klara G. Roman - Klara Roman - Klara Goldzieher - Klara Goldzieher-Roman - Klara G. Roman (1881-1962) - Karla Roman born: 1881 category: Medicine & Psychology created: 2026-10-09 died: 1962 location: New York, New York relations: - end: 1962 fn: 1 role: graphology course instructor; taught from 1948 until shortly before her death start: 1948 type: employed_by with: '[[New School for Social Research]]' - fn: 1 role: clinical psychologist and graphologist type: employed_by with: '[[Children''s Health Council of the Mid-Peninsula]]' - fn: 5 reverse: true role: the Human Ecology Fund is thanked in the Encyclopedia of the Written Word as having helped her during the years she worked on it type: funded with: '[[Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology]]' - fn: 12 reverse: true role: MKULTRA Subproject 137, $2,000 advance of September 11, 1961 toward her graphology lexicon, paid through the Human Ecology Fund; approved by Sidney Gottlieb start: 1961 type: funded with: '[[Project MKUltra]]' summary: Hungarian-born graphologist who taught at the New School from 1948 until shortly before her death in 1962, and whose Encyclopedia of the Written Word thanks the Human Ecology Fund. tags: - Person - Graphology - Handwriting - Psychology - NewSchoolForSocialResearch - MKULTRA - HumanEcologyFund updated: 2026-10-09 --- Klara G. Roman (1881-1962) was a [Budapest](/places/budapest/)-born graphologist and clinical psychologist who taught graphology at the [New School for Social Research](/organizations/new-school-for-social-research/) in [New York City](/places/new-york-city/) from 1948 until shortly before her death. The posthumous Encyclopedia of the Written Word thanks the [Human Ecology Fund](/organizations/society-for-the-investigation-of-human-ecology/) among two foundations that helped her. In 1961 [MKULTRA](/programs/project-mkultra/) Subproject 137 paid $2,000 through the Fund toward the lexicon, approved under the signature of [Sidney Gottlieb](/people/sidney-gottlieb/); the CIA's memorandum describes her as "neither cleared nor witting" of the source. ### Budapest and Emigration Roman was born and raised in Budapest. She graduated in 1928 from the Hungarian Royal State Institute for Abnormal Psychology and later founded the Hungarian Institute of Writing Research.[^1] The New School Archives state that she suffered severe deprivation and lost her husband to the Nazis during the Second World War, and that she immigrated to the United States in 1947.[^1] The biographical note is drawn from the introduction by Rose Wolfson to her Encyclopedia.[^1] In the preface to her 1954 book, Roman wrote that she had "the privilege of working for more than two decades on research projects instituted by government agencies and clinical institutions in Europe, notably in Budapest." The preface credits work at Michael Reese Hospital in [Chicago](/places/chicago/), "to which she was called by Dr. Franz Alexander," and her students at the New School.[^2] ### Teaching at the New School Roman was invited to offer a course at the New School in 1948.[^1] The school's archive holds the course "Graphology: A Psychological Method for the Study of Personality," dated 1949 and 1959.[^3] The school's Propaganda Research Center, part of its [Institute of World Affairs](/organizations/institute-of-world-affairs/), ran from 1947 to 1953 with much of its research performed with assistance from the [Office of Naval Research](/organizations/office-of-naval-research/). Its project files for 1951 to 1953 include a folder titled "Graphology in Political Intelligence," dated 1952.[^4] Her 1954 preface credits "her unusually mature students at the New School for Social Research, New York" with "further excellent opportunities for observation and testing."[^2] She continued to teach until shortly before her death and entrusted her classes to a protege, Daniel S. Anthony.[^1] The Encyclopedia's acknowledgments thank Anthony "of The New School."[^5] Roman served as research consultant to the treatment clinic of the Manhattan Criminal Court and as clinical psychologist and graphologist for the Children's Health Council of the Mid-Peninsula in Palo Alto, California.[^1] She invented the "graphodyne," an instrument for measuring writing speed and pressure.[^1] ### Books *Handwriting: A Key to Personality* appeared in 1952 and was published in London by Routledge & Kegan Paul in 1954.[^1][^2] Its preface states that the method "rests mainly upon psychometrically and experimentally verified observations."[^2] A further book, *Handwriting, etc.*, is dated 1961.[^1] *Encyclopedia of the Written Word: A Lexicon for Graphology and Other Aspects of Writing* was "written and compiled by Klara G. Roman" and "edited by Rose Wolfson and Maurice Edwards" (xviii, 550 pages, F. Ungar Publishing Company, New York, 1968).[^6] The New School holds the editors' working files for it, dated 1962 to 1969.[^3] Edwards, a stage actor who had worked for Roman helping to put her lectures and writings into English, edited it after her death.[^1][^7] ### Funding of the Encyclopedia The Encyclopedia's acknowledgments thank "the two foundations that helped Klara G. Roman during the years she worked on this Encyclopedia: The Handwriting Institute and The Human Ecology Fund," and, among individuals, Huntington Hartford and Dr. Clarence A. Tripp "of The Handwriting Institute," Dr. Walter P. Pasternak "of the Human Ecology Fund," and Daniel S. Anthony "of The New School for Social Research and former assistant to Mrs. Roman."[^5] The editors' account, signed Rose Wolfson, states that "Sometime later, The Human Ecology Fund in New York City contributed research funds for the preparation of this book" and that "From 1959 to the beginning of 1962, Klara Roman labored on it."[^5] A preface in the first person states that The Handwriting Institute subsidized Roman for the work and retained an editor to help her with it.[^5] The preface also states that when she died the Encyclopedia was about eighty-five per cent finished.[^5] Pasternak is listed as technical writer in the 1957 annual report of the Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology, which was renamed the Human Ecology Fund in 1961.[^8][^9] ### Death The New School Archives date her death to 1962.[^1] Wolfson's account in the Encyclopedia says she found a letter from Roman dated July 31, in which Roman wrote "I have lost my way," and that Roman "had died on August 9"; the same passage places the year at 1962.[^5] The accounting memorandum for MKULTRA Subproject 137 dated February 1963 (stamped 2/25/63) states that she "died in 1962 and did not send in an accounting" and that the file held "a letter from her brother stating that the manuscript is almost finished." The memorandum gives the year only.[^10] A memorial edition of the periodical Handwriting Analysts News, titled for her, appeared in 1963, and the school holds a copy.[^3] ### MKULTRA Subproject 137 A file in the [John R. Everett](/people/john-r-everett/) records at the New School, labeled "Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 1977-1978," describes "two projects conducted at the New School in 1962 that received funding through MKUltra," the second of which "concerned graphology and psychopathologies."[^11] The [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/)'s released file for MKULTRA Subproject 137 names no contractor. Its memorandum of August 24, 1961 states that the purpose of the subproject was "to support the work of Dr." [redacted], whose institution is also redacted, "in completing a psycholexicon on handwriting." It continues: "Dr." [redacted] "has an international reputation for her work in graphology and speech. She is advanced in years and her health is failing. It is important that her manuscript, now eighty percent complete, be finished in order not to waste many tedious years of effort." The memorandum describes the Technical Services Division's "general requirement to further the Agency's capability for the indirect assessment of personality," states that the project "will be funded through the" [redacted] "for security and cover purposes," and states that the investigator was "neither cleared nor witting of Agency sponsorship."[^12] The attached proposal, "A Proposal for Support to Complete the Manuscript of a Psycholexicon on Writing and the Written Word," requests $2,000, of which $1,750 was for a half-time research assistant-secretary and $250 for photographic services, with no salary for the principal investigator. It states that "no compendium of terms exists for student or layman which deals with the history and evolution of handwriting, its psychology and psychopathology," that the manuscript was "presently 80 per cent complete," and that twelve more months were needed.[^12] The curriculum vitae attached to the proposal has the name redacted. Its entries are set beside her recorded biography below. | Subproject 137 curriculum vitae (name redacted) | Roman record | |---|---| | "clinical psychologist, specializing in the psychology of speech, reading, and handwriting" | Graphologist and clinical psychologist[^1] | | 1928, diploma from a redacted institution | Graduated 1928 from the Hungarian Royal State Institute for Abnormal Psychology[^1] | | 1930, constructed a measuring device, the Graphodyne, an apparatus for writing speed and pressure; 1955, perfected the first all-electronic Graphodyne | Invented the "graphodyne," an instrument to measure writing speed and pressure[^1] | | 1948, research appointment at the "Institute for Psychosomatic and Psychiatric Research and Training," "in conjunction with" a redacted "Institute for Psychoanalysis" | Called to Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago by Franz Alexander[^2] | | 1949, member of the faculty of a redacted institution | Invited to teach at the New School in 1948; course on file for 1949[^1][^3] | | Official handwriting expert to courts and for juvenile delinquents, 1932 to 1947 | Research consultant to the Manhattan Criminal Court treatment clinic[^1] | The invoice for Subproject 137 shows a $2,000 treasurer's check, number 185479, dated September 11, 1961, payable to a redacted institution, with a receipt dated October 4, 1961. The accounting memorandum of February 1963 states: "Dr." [redacted] "died in 1962 and did not send in an accounting." It records that she had "four editorial assistants during the period," that "We have two letters from Dr." [redacted] "acknowledging receipt of the money and a letter from her brother stating that the manuscript is almost finished," and that "The Fund will receive its usual acknowledgement in the publication of the manuscript." Two men whose names are redacted "concur that no further accounting is possible." A certification states that the recipient "died in 1962 without rendering an accounting" and that "a manuscript has been published and value received." The accounting form for the $2,000 advance of September 11, 1961 was approved on March 10, 1964 over the signature of Sidney Gottlieb, marked "DC/TSD."[^12] The F. Ungar Publishing Company published the Encyclopedia of the Written Word in 1968.[^6] The Human Ecology Fund's 1961-1963 report, as tabulated by anthropologist David H. Price, lists a grant of $2,000 for "Book: The Psychology of Writing" to "Roman, Klara G." in the field of psychology.[^13] The copy of the Subproject 137 memorandum for the record of August 24, 1961 that the CIA sent to the New School on September 7, 1977 carries a red insertion, "New School for Social Research, New York City," placed beside the blacked-out name of the investigator, who is referred to as "her" in the text.[^14] The covering letter, signed by A. R. Cinquegrana of the Office of General Counsel, states that "the name of the School has been reinserted wherever it appears in the original documents." The release still redacts the investigator's name.[^15] The curriculum vitae attached to the proposal also lists a 1946 lectureship in the postgraduate training of high school teachers, and a 1948 research appointment to the staff of an Institute for Psychosomatic and Psychiatric Research and Training "in conjunction with" an Institute for Psychoanalysis; all institution names are redacted.[^16] The memorandum states that the project cost was not to exceed $2,000.[^17] The investigator of Subproject 137 was Roman. The released file redacts her name, but its curriculum vitae matches her record entry for entry, the red insertion on the copy sent to the school places the investigator at the New School, the Everett file places the graphology project at the New School in 1962, the Human Ecology Fund's report lists the $2,000 under her name, and her Encyclopedia thanks the Fund and its technical writer. The 1961 memorandum states that she was neither cleared nor witting of Agency sponsorship. [^1]: New School Archives and Special Collections, Maurice Edwards papers documenting the work of graphologist Klara G. Roman (NA-0010-01), biographical note (source cited there: introduction by Rose Wolfson to the *Encyclopedia of the Written Word*). https://findingaids.archives.newschool.edu/repositories/3/resources/284 [^2]: Klara G. Roman, *Handwriting: A Key to Personality* (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1954), preface, pp. v-vi. University of Ghana digital repository copy: https://ugspace.ug.edu.gh/bitstreams/a2528ff1-0d2f-4ccc-ad93-b6b7e13b1c37/download [^3]: New School Archives and Special Collections, Roman, Klara G. archival objects: course "Graphology: A Psychological Method for the Study of Personality," 1949, 1959, Series 6, Box 6, Folder 31, https://findingaids.archives.newschool.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/19951 ; *Encyclopedia of the Written Word*, 1962-1969, Box 1, Folder 4, https://findingaids.archives.newschool.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/32418 ; *Handwriting Analysts News*, Klara G. Roman Memorial Edition, 1963, Box 1, Folder 13, https://findingaids.archives.newschool.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/32422 [^4]: New School Archives and Special Collections, Institute of World Affairs records, Series 3, "Propaganda Research Center, 1947-1953," https://findingaids.archives.newschool.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/27434 ; "Graphology in Political Intelligence, 1952," https://findingaids.archives.newschool.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/27446 [^5]: *Encyclopedia of the Written Word* (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1968), acknowledgments, preface and editors' account signed by Rose Wolfson. [^6]: Library of Congress catalog record (LCCN 68-12124), "Encyclopedia of the written word; a lexicon for graphology and other aspects of writing, written and compiled by Klara G. Roman. Edited by Rose Wolfson and Maurice Edwards. New York, F. Ungar Pub. Co. [1968], xviii, 550 p.," as reproduced in the Internet Archive MARC record, https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofwr0000roma [^7]: New School Archives and Special Collections, Maurice Edwards papers (NA-0010-01), biographical note on Edwards. https://findingaids.archives.newschool.edu/repositories/3/resources/284 [^8]: Society for the Investigation of Human Ecology, *1957 Annual Report*, officers and staff ("Walter P. Pasternak, Technical Writer"). Wayback Machine capture of https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21090820/1957-annual-report-society-human-ecology.pdf [^9]: John D. Marks, *The Search for the Manchurian Candidate* (New York: Times Books, 1979), chapter 9, p. 149 n. ("In 1961 the Society changed its name to the Human Ecology Fund"). [^10]: MKULTRA Subproject 137, accounting memorandum, February 1963, New School copy NS010102_000027, PDF p. 76 (page image 137-8). https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/objects/NS010102_000027 [^11]: New School Archives and Special Collections, John R. Everett records (NS-01-01-02), Series 3, Subject files, File "Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), 1977-1978," Box 7, Folder 29. https://findingaids.archives.newschool.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/34220 [^12]: MKULTRA Subproject 137, Central Intelligence Agency release DOC_0000017396 (19 pages): memorandum for the record, August 24, 1961; proposal, budget and curriculum vitae; obligation memorandum, August 28, 1961; invoice and receipt for check no. 185479 (September 11 and October 4, 1961); accounting memorandum, February 1963; accounting by individual for advance, approved March 10, 1964. https://archive.org/details/DOC_0000017396 ; https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/00017396 . The contractor, institution and most signatories are redacted in the release. [^13]: David H. Price, "Buying a piece of anthropology, Part 1: Human Ecology and unwitting anthropological research for the CIA," *Anthropology Today* 23(3), June 2007, fig. 4 (source given there: Human Ecology Fund, *Report*, 1963, pp. 13-42). https://archive.org/details/human_ecology_torture_suicide [^14]: Central Intelligence Agency release DOC_0000017396 (MKULTRA Subproject 137), memorandum for the record, August 24, 1961, page image 137-10, as reproduced with a red insertion in the New School copy, John R. Everett records NS010102_000027, PDF p. 78. https://digital.archives.newschool.edu/index.php/Detail/objects/NS010102_000027 [^15]: Cinquegrana, A. R., Office of General Counsel, Central Intelligence Agency, letter to John R. Everett, September 7, 1977, in NS010102_000027, PDF p. 7. [^16]: MKULTRA Subproject 137, curriculum vitae, New School copy NS010102_000027, PDF pp. 82-83 (page image 137-11). [^17]: MKULTRA Subproject 137, memorandum for the record, August 24, 1961, New School copy NS010102_000027, PDF pp. 78-79. --- *The Info Web has an MCP server for agents at https://theinfoweb.org/mcp (streamable HTTP, no auth): search by meaning, exact text, source or date, and follow typed, footnoted connections. Setup and the same tools over GET: https://theinfoweb.org/llms.txt*