Pennmanship and The art of writing
Today, when pennmanship is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, and we type notes into our phones rather than write them by hand, we give little thought to handwriting, much less the different ways in which letters might be formed. That was not the case during the days of writing with quill and ink.
The Polite Lady advised her daughter,
Let me , therefore , advise you , my dear Sophy, to be remarkably careful and diligent in learning the art of writing. Follow the directions of your master, who, I persume , will lay before you the most perfect copies and examples . Of all the various hands, a round hand is, in my opinion, the most proper; for when you are a mistress of that, you may, with great ease, learn either a neat running, or Italian hand; but if you begin with the latter, you never can arrive at any degree of perfection in the former.
When you write never be in a hurry, but proceed with the greatest care and deliberation: always write as well as you can, and then your hand will be still improving; for if you do not, instead of improving, it will every day, become worse.
Polite Lady pg. 8-9
During the High Middle Ages, the book hand used by scribes was the dominate script used–think the gorgeous illuminated manuscripts. Laborious and often difficult to read, few could write or read it, limiting its usefulness. A new style of writing, Secretary Hand developed for use in business and correspondence. From this style, numerous modern script styles developed, including the Round Hand, Runing Hand and Italian hand specifically noted by the Polite Lady.
English Round Hand (also called Copperplate) was the primary style of handwriting from the mid 1700s to 1800s. More legible to the modern reader that Secretary Hand, the Round Hand family of scripts is less ornate, with open flowing ovals, and sloping slanted letters. Less ornate did not mean plain or simple though, ascenders and descenders had loops and flourishes might be used, especially at the beginning and end of lines. Highly readable, but time consuming to write, Jane Austen and the Declaration of Independence used this style of hand.
A more refined version of Round Hand called Italian Hand was used by fine ladies in their correspondence. Developed in the late 16th century, Italian Hand is narrower and more slanted than Round Hand, with less contrast between thick and thin strokes. This style was said to exhibit feminine qualities like grace, lightness of hand, and subtlety, thus rendering its almost exclusively use by women, while men favored the sturdier, bolder Round Hand.
Running Hand provided a more dynamic, less rigid style than Round Hand, with many variants for the letter forms, allowing the user to select the more efficacious form to use as they wrote. The flexibility and variability is probably why the Polite Lady suggests learning it first would be to a lady’s detriment. Running Hand was often used by clerks and in business correspondence. The flowing style makes it the most cursive like of the Round Hand family.
Compare these different styles:
Secretary Hand
Square Hands (Roman)
Round Hand/Italian Hand
Running hand
There seemed to be two basic approaches to learning the art of pennmanship. Both relied heavily on the role of practice. John Jenkins’ 1813 Art of Writing breaks letters down into individual strokes, which the student is to perfect by practice, then move on to making letters. The Young Clerk’s Assistant demonstrated the letter forms and instructed the student then to practice them over and over until perfect. Study might be completed under the instruction of a master, or indivudually with the use of a copy book or other instrucitonal tome. In either case, it mean pages and pages and pages of penmanship practice!
It is easy to understand why writing was considered hard work! Tell me what you think.
Find more on the art of writing here.
References
Champion, J., Penmanship Exemplified, 1758
Dehlet, Tamie. Genealogy: Handwriting in the 1700s-1800s Copperplate or English Round Hand. Tribune-Star. May 12, 2013. Accessed Nover 15, 2022. https://www.tribstar.com/news/lifestyles/genalogy-handwriting-in-1700s-1800s-copperplate-or-english-round-hand/article_12f4484a-2739-5d9b-af3c-3beda7a1cf86.html
The Family Of English Round Hands. Penna Volans. Accessed 1/23/2020 https://pennavolans.com/the-family-of-english-round-hands/
HURFORD, ROBERT. Handwriting in the Time of Jane Austen. PERSUASIONS ON-LINE V.30, NO.1 (Winter 2009). Accessed 11/28/22. https://jasna.org/persuasions/on-line/vol30no1/hurford.html
Jenkins. John. Art of Writing.1813
The Polite Lady. 4th ed. Thomas Carnan: London. 1786.
Rodgers, Dave. Introduction to 19th Century Penmanship &How to Do It. Frontier American Illustrated News. December 25, 2020. Accessed Nov 15, 2022. https://www.frontieramericanillustratednews.com/post/introduction-to-19th-century-penmanship-how-to-do-it
The Young Clerk’s Assistant. Lowndes: London 1787
Writing a Running Hand. Her Reputation for Accomplishment. June, 2, 2011. Accessed 11/14/2022 https://herreputationforaccomplishment.wordpress.com/2015/06/02/writing-a-running-hand/
I always loved to write in calligraphy. I admire anyone with beautiful handwriting.
I wonder if men in general were taught the Secretary style, and women preferentially the Round or Italian? We see references in Austen and other writers of her time to someone having a “masculine” or “feminine” hand – being taught separate styles would account for much of that.
Good Grief: No wonder Bingley’s writing was horrid. Especially if his sister was trimming his quill for him. LOL! Your previous post on how to trim a quill was really good. I try to imagine writing in this style and with a quill no less. Or, in Bingley’s case, a dull one or not trimmed to suit his hand. I have tried calligraphy and love the look but… dang, it is hard work. If you make a mistake… the whole thing is wasted. I agree with the previous comment from Catherine where letters or notes are mentioned as being in a masculine or feminine hand. Now I understand what that means. Thanks for sharing.
I remember learning how to write cursive in the 2nd grade. We practiced making ovals and ‘push pulls’ and spacing on lined tablets. My husband’s handwriting is much different than mine, he is 10 years older than I; he was born in 1943 while I was a 1953 baby.
My mother and his sister (both born around the same time), their handwriting is almost identical. I think it was called the Palmer method.
Gads! I went through grade school when they were just starting to transition from fountain pens to ball point pens. I remember 6th grade practicing cursive over and over and over and over and over… I developed a beautiful handwriting which sadly has deteriorated with age and lack of use. Now when I have to write by hand I find I can no longer produce those lovely sweeps and swirls. I have to concentrate on controlling my pen and sometimes it gets away from me and produces letters I never intended! My son, who grew up in the 80s, doesn’t write cursive. He prints everything when he has to write by hand.
I have just begun to work with a quill pen. It is difficult! I did drafting and have very good handwriting. However, working with a quill is another skill. I have been searching in vain for some source of more detailed instruction on writing Round Hand, but all I find so far is the single sheet with the addition of Italian. Are you aware of any way to get instruction?