Very interesting. I've never seen such a vertical hold before, if I'm viewing this correctly. Is the paper resting on the light pad or is it on some kind of slant board? Certainly works for you.
Yes, Mike, the paper is resting flat on the light pad - no slant board. The old journals consistently diagram the pen hold (for Spencerian) with the pen resting just to the right of the 3rd knuckle for business writing (and Spencerian). This makes sense in that you are using mostly muscular and whole arm movement. There is very little movement in the hand. You will have some finger movement in applying pressure for shade. But the majority of the time, you are using the major muscles of your arm (to “hold back” if you will) to create delicate hairlines.
In Engrosser’s Script and Copperplate, you are using mostly finger movement to create heavy shades. The movement relies heavily on finger pressure to create the shades. Placing the pen before the knuckle allows counter pressure against your knuckle. This offers stability for applying the finger pressure for shades. If the pen is past the knuckle, to the right of it, there is less stability, and therefore less control.
I will try to find a reference for this because it was an “a-ha” moment for me when I found it. I have one illustration for quill writing (Copperplate) and the pen is before the knuckle (to the left of) as well. I’ll keep looking.
Try it - don’t worry so much about your letter forms, just go slowly and concentrate on which muscles you are using and where you feel the pen against your hand. Do it for both Spencerian and Copperplate with both pen holds and see if it feels different for you. It will be awkward at first, but you may find having it more vertical for Engrosser’s gives you much more stability.
With that said, where the pen rests will also relate to your hand size.
