My grandmother, Gerry, had unusual handwriting. It wasn't smooth and flowing. She printed, and the choppy, disparate lines of her letterforms created a rhythm that I haven't seen in anybody else's writing. When I was a kid, she would mail things to my family, and we all would love to see her handwriting on the notes she would enclose. I consider it calligraphy, so here are some samples of it and some information on her and her fountain pen so you can see what kind of personality created such distinctive writing.
Below is something she wrote inside the cover of an address book (apparently, she later crossed it out with a pencil). The cover is heavily textured, and I think that affects the lines a bit, but her style is still evident.
She was capricious, and when she was young she loved to dress up and go out on the town. During World War II, the U.S. Army took over much of Miami Beach and used it as a 'welcome home' and recuperation center for soldiers returning from battle. She worked there as a secretary for a high-ranking officer. After work, there was a lot of partying, and she saw famous singers and entertainers perform in the hotels. It was pretty much the opposite of what was happening in the rest of the world. One day, she looked out the window and saw an unknown man in uniform entering the building. She turned to her friend, pointed out the window, and said, "I'm going to marry that man." She did. That man became my grandfather, Barney.
My parents know that I've become interested in calligraphy, and recently they found her fountain pen and showed it to me. It was a dull green Sheaffer, and it wouldn't write because it had been sitting in a box since she'd died. Still, I enjoyed seeing seeing the pen she'd used.
This was her father's name:
Apparently, she was sick when she wrote the card below, but I think you can see her spur-of-the-moment nature in her handwriting.
I think the "slashing" descenders and the length of some of the horizontal strokes are unusual. I love the creative minimalism of her 'D' in the first two lines.
A couple of days ago, my parents gave me a beautifully-wrapped gift box. I removed the ribbon, opened the box, and found Grandma Gerry's pen, only it looked
new. The body was shiny, and the nib looked pristine. Also inside the box was a letter written with the pen (in green ink--like the color of the pen), and a small Clairefontaine notebook (also green). They were from Linda and Mike, of Indy-Pen-Dance, who had restored the pen. Linda told me in the letter that the pen was a Sheaffer Balance model, made between 1937 and 1942, and that she could tell from the nib that Grandma Gerry was either left-handed or wrote right-handed with the nib rotated away from her. Linda also noted that she had adjusted the nib so that I would enjoy writing with the pen. My parents told me that Indy-Pen-Dance usually has a significant queue for restoration work, but that Linda and Mike had made Grandma Gerry's pen a priority because they like to encourage interest among beginning writers. I'm very grateful for the kindness they showed and the care they took with the pen.
Grandma Gerry's pen:
I'm thrilled. I used the pen today while I was practicing Spencerian, and it was a joy to write with. The ink flows very smoothly and the nib can produce very fine lines. The balance, as the model name suggests, is superb--when posted, the pen feels very light, yet contacts the paper easily.
I'd like to know what people think of her handwriting. I think it's very different from most people's writing, and I love it, but I'm biased. What are your thoughts?
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