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Show & Tell / A late mother's day card
« on: May 16, 2019, 09:27:27 AM »
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Copperplate, Engrosser's Script, Roundhand Calligraphy / Some Resources on the original English Roundhand
« on: May 08, 2019, 02:53:10 PM »
Hi there! So today one thing lead to another and I was faced with the question of distinction between English Roundhand, Engrosser's Script, and Copperplate as an umbrella term. I did a fair bit of research, and this topic has certainly appeared on this forum a couple of times. After digging through the rare books section of IAMPETH, I found these three books most representative of the original Roundhand script that I had in my head:
https://www.iampeth.com/pdf/art-writing
The Art of Writing is the earliest textbook I can find on penmanship on Iampeth, digging through the grave of their rare books pages. The author rambles a little too much, but gives a very specific instruction for every stroke, and onto every letter. This is true Roundhand similar to the Universal Penman.
https://www.iampeth.com/pdf/penmanship-and-shorthand
Published in 1821, this book has great examples of Roundhand. The proportions of the letter are pretty much the same as the ones in the Art of Writing.
https://www.iampeth.com/pdf/practical-penmanship-being-development-carstairian-system
This book, called "Practical Penmanship Being A Development of the Carstairian System" (published in 1830), covered how to cut the quill, the correct grip using a quill pen (and strings tied to the finger, kind of funny looking by today's standards...), and a "practical" approach to writing with a quill pen. I find this and some other books on Roundhand in the 1850s more or less resemble very early Spencerian, with much less width in each letter, and more ornamental. The author also incorporated oval movement exercises and a fair amount of end flourishes in his examples.
And as this more recent thread have discussed here https://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=5768.0, the main difference in execution of these two variations of Copperplate, if you will, is the pen lift at header or baseline. Although Engrosser's supposed to look like there is no gaps between strokes, in reality, if the pen lift technique is not mastered, still creates interruption. Personally I think there's also a difference between the letterforms: English Roundhand has much less bold shades, a less austere look, and more "flowy", if you may.
In my opinion, I think we may have exaggerated the differences between the two, because the structure of letters are so similar. Since the primary instrument for Roundhand (quill pen) is not in use as much anymore, perhaps we can achieve both through the use of a pointed pen, with a little tweak in technique.
https://www.iampeth.com/pdf/art-writing
The Art of Writing is the earliest textbook I can find on penmanship on Iampeth, digging through the grave of their rare books pages. The author rambles a little too much, but gives a very specific instruction for every stroke, and onto every letter. This is true Roundhand similar to the Universal Penman.
https://www.iampeth.com/pdf/penmanship-and-shorthand
Published in 1821, this book has great examples of Roundhand. The proportions of the letter are pretty much the same as the ones in the Art of Writing.
https://www.iampeth.com/pdf/practical-penmanship-being-development-carstairian-system
This book, called "Practical Penmanship Being A Development of the Carstairian System" (published in 1830), covered how to cut the quill, the correct grip using a quill pen (and strings tied to the finger, kind of funny looking by today's standards...), and a "practical" approach to writing with a quill pen. I find this and some other books on Roundhand in the 1850s more or less resemble very early Spencerian, with much less width in each letter, and more ornamental. The author also incorporated oval movement exercises and a fair amount of end flourishes in his examples.
And as this more recent thread have discussed here https://theflourishforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=5768.0, the main difference in execution of these two variations of Copperplate, if you will, is the pen lift at header or baseline. Although Engrosser's supposed to look like there is no gaps between strokes, in reality, if the pen lift technique is not mastered, still creates interruption. Personally I think there's also a difference between the letterforms: English Roundhand has much less bold shades, a less austere look, and more "flowy", if you may.
In my opinion, I think we may have exaggerated the differences between the two, because the structure of letters are so similar. Since the primary instrument for Roundhand (quill pen) is not in use as much anymore, perhaps we can achieve both through the use of a pointed pen, with a little tweak in technique.
3
Introductions / Hi there from DC!
« on: April 24, 2019, 03:19:00 PM »
I'm a calligraphy hobbyist living in Washington, DC. I started to practice consistently from start of this year, when I started having eye issues that bar me from looking at a computer for too long. I am currently practicing Copperplate and Spencerian, and have previously picked up a bit of blackletter, though I much prefer pointed pen scripts. When I'm bored at work, I practice business penmanship with a pencil.
I don't have any friends who have even a remotely similar hobby, so I wanted to join to forum to find like minded calligraphy enthusiasts.
I look forward to learning from everyone on this forum!
I don't have any friends who have even a remotely similar hobby, so I wanted to join to forum to find like minded calligraphy enthusiasts.
I look forward to learning from everyone on this forum!
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