author
W. Waithman Caddell
Best known as the co-author of early 20th-century books on forgery and South African intelligence, this writer brought a practical, investigative angle to nonfiction. The surviving record is sparse, but his work suggests firsthand experience with official and legal matters.
1 Audiobook
The Detection of Forgery A Practical Handbook for the Use of Bankers, Solicitors, Magistrates' Clerks, and All Handling Suspected Documents
by Douglas Blackburn, W. Waithman Caddell
About the author
W. Waithman Caddell is a little-documented early 20th-century author whose name is closely tied to practical nonfiction rather than literary celebrity. Public-domain library and book records consistently credit him as the co-author, with Douglas Blackburn, of The Detection of Forgery (1909), a handbook written for bankers, solicitors, magistrates' clerks, and others dealing with suspect documents.
He was also credited as Captain W. Waithman Caddell on Secret Service in South Africa (1911). In that book's original title pages and later reprints, he is described as Chief Repatriation Magistrate for the West Rand on the British occupation, which helps explain the official, case-minded tone of the writing.
Because so little reliable biographical information is readily available online, most modern readers know him through these specialized works. Even so, his books remain interesting for their mix of legal procedure, document examination, and real-world administrative experience.