Messages

1876

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: A Little Game - Guess the Nib!

« on: July 12, 2014, 12:18:13 PM »

Spencerian no 1???

Absolutely correct. Good one.
The quote is from an 1866 edition of Spencer's Spencerian Key to Practical Penmanship, it begins chapter XXI, Drawing, page 151.

I'm happy to send you one (plus the exemplar if you want it). I have your address from the letter exchange.

You're "it" now--come up with your own mystery nib.

Mike

1877

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: A Little Game - Guess the Nib!

« on: July 12, 2014, 11:04:51 AM »

A quill??! (Just a wild guess,

That's a brilliant guess. Not correct, but brilliant. I hope someone uses a quill one day on this (or any) thread.

I don't know which book you mean, but thought it must be a classic,

again, correct.

so I thought of the Universal Penman, and all originals from this time were written with quill …)

And now you all can have a laugh .
[/quote]
No laughing here. You're a good guesser. Try again, if you like.

1878

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: A Little Game - Guess the Nib!

« on: July 12, 2014, 10:38:27 AM »

Hunt 99?

Nope.

Tell you what--I'll give a hint that should make it much easier.

The sample quote continues thusly:

"Writing and Drawing are sister Arts,
children of Form, and deriving from
their common element, the line,
with all its beautiful variations."

and is the first line in a chapter from a book, which I know at least a few of you have, and all of you have heard of.

And I'll send you this nib for the first correct guess, if you want. I have lots, and can get more at will.

1879

Spencerian Script / Re: A little Duntonian Anyone?

« on: July 12, 2014, 10:19:10 AM »

Fascinating! And Camden, Maine is one of my favorite places!  Great share. Thank you!

Just curious--how do you know Camden, Maine? It's a bit out of the way from Florida.
(my excuse--I lived on Peaks Island for 4 1/2 years in the '80's)

Here's a view from my porch overlooking Casco Bay and the Portland skyline:

1880

Spencerian Script / Re: A little Duntonian Anyone?

« on: July 10, 2014, 09:17:37 PM »

The hi-res .tiffs' are best. What is esp. interesting about those examples is that they show an evolutionary stage in the development of semi-angular writing (and Dunton's writing) in the United States because if you look at the capitals they're sort of halfway between Roundhand ones and later semi-angular ones, so T for example has the capital stem, but the A doesn't and nor does the B. The M and N have two shades too.



Dunton's business card uses the later styles of capitals which were popular in the 1870s, the A esp. so I suspect the business card was probably done in the late 1860s or 1870s.

Also, if you compare the lower case letters on the card to the lower case on his 1859 work, the business card letters have much more angular turns and the 1859 engraved ones are more rounded, which again was a feature of earlier semi-angular script.

Very astute observations.
Thanks very much for the link

Mike

1881

Spencerian Script / A little Duntonian Anyone?

« on: July 10, 2014, 06:44:21 PM »

Hi everyone,

I always found it interesting that what we call Spencerian today might well be called Duntonian, were it not for the vigorous marketing efforts of Platt Rogers Spencer's sons in spreading their father's method of writing across the country. Although A. R. Dunton was a contemporary of Spencer and outlived him by decades, was a superior penman, and also wrote teaching manuals and taught as well, and published his method of writing well before P. R. Spencer, Dunton remains much less known and the credit for "inventing" this style of writing is given to Spencer. Oh, the power of marketing.

For those who may not know A. R. Dunton, I'm attaching a bio from Vol. 1 of Michael Sull's superb book Spencerian Script and Ornamental Penmanship (do get a copy if you can find one).

Following the bio, I'm attaching a scan of one of Dunton's business cards (I was lucky to buy on eBay about 10 years ago). The card is about 4 1/2 by 2 inches. This is not engraved--to say it was engraved would probably make Dunton whirl in his grave--but rather done with a pen, probably a quill he sharpened himself. The x-height on the smallest words--Summer and Residence--is about 1/32nd of an inch, and his hairlines the finest I've ever seen. Just incredible.
(If anyone has another original example, please post a scan of it here, if you will, I'd love to see more of his work)

1882

Coffee & Nib-bles / Re: Where in the World?

« on: July 10, 2014, 04:09:31 PM »

One more country to the list
India
Pune, Maharashtra

Hi Prasad,

Nice to have someone from India on the forum. I visited Pune in 1988 on a trip with friends in Ahmedabad, visiting various places like Shirdi and Sakuri. Not sure if I'll ever get back there, but if so, I'll say hi.

1883

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: Go *like* The Guilded Age on YouTube!

« on: July 10, 2014, 01:44:34 PM »

Wow. What fantastic work.
Heading to YouTube to like it.

1884

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: A Little Game - Guess the Nib!

« on: July 09, 2014, 04:34:41 PM »

That's great! I've never seen an original in person, just the pictures Dr. Joe posted on zanerian.com and I also got some tips from Chris. Mine was mostly based on what I observed when I owned the PIA Hourglass Adjustable Oblique which, while based on the original Bullock design, differs on the build. Unfortunately I don't have much woodworking experience and I definitely can't use a lathe to turn pens so I've just been experimenting and making them for my own pens. I have also taken to converting old straight holders into obliques for fun, so far I've just used the Zanerian method to mount them.

I have a PIA hourglass also--they are a little different.
Rummaging through my supplies drawer, I see I have the little flourished envelope the Bullock came in, as well as the 1992 catalog from Paper and Inks Books (as they were known then). Sheesh, some people don't throw out anything.
Anyway, I'll post some close-ups in a thread I'll start in tools and supplies within a few days for your perusal.

1885

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: A Little Game - Guess the Nib!

« on: July 09, 2014, 03:43:40 PM »

Thanks Mike! They are great, I did ask Brian to make the foot/grip section thicker to accommodate my large hands and I've since replaced the flanges on both since I started making my own Bullock style ones.

Oh, I love those Bullock style flanges. In fact, I wrote the words with the mystery nib in a Bullock holder I bought new about 20 years ago. Are you using the double pin to secure the flange to the staff as he did? Do you make the whole pen or just the flanges?

1886

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: A Little Game - Guess the Nib!

« on: July 09, 2014, 03:26:57 PM »

I think Schin made an example also of the 511 in the post where she compares Dr. Martins Bleedproof white with the new Mc Caffrey's White … I am not on my computer at the moment, so searching is a bit a hassle !

Yes, I remember that post--May 1 on this forum. I thought she used a Leonardt Principal EF with that comparison. I'll ask her. But then, she could use a telephone pole to write and get better results than me on a good day with the mystery nib. Major talent.

1887

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: A Little Game - Guess the Nib!

« on: July 09, 2014, 03:05:49 PM »

I totally cheated as my range of knowledge is limited.  With the help of Mr. Google, may I ask if it's a Hunt 512?

Oh, you may enlist the help of Mr. Google if you like--it's not cheating. You see, Mr. Google is pretty good with a keyboard, but can't hold a candle to anyone on this forum with a pen.
Not a Hunt 512. (Hint #2--it's not a bowl-pointed nib like the 512).

1888

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: A Little Game - Guess the Nib!

« on: July 09, 2014, 02:44:30 PM »

Esterbrook 355

No, although I had an E355 in one of my holders and wrote this as comparison. The 355 is a lovely little nib, a little balky for me on the upstrokes, but producing an amazingly fine line. I couldn't get the thicks as thick as with the mystery nib (there's a hint) using the 355, at least without being in danger of breaking the 355. It might be useful to know the size of the letters made by the mystery nib. The miniscules are about 5mm, so quite large. The 355 can't make the thicks thick enough at this letter size for my taste. Great for smaller letters though.
Note, at 600 x 600 resolution, so as to fit on this page, the scan can barely pick up the finest lines of the 355.




Don't you wish you could go to the drugstore and find these at this price nowadays?

1889

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: A Little Game - Guess the Nib!

« on: July 09, 2014, 01:56:55 PM »

170

Hi Heebs,

I assume you mean the Gillott 170. That's definitely a nib that could have made this exemplar--real fine and flexy--but not this time.

How are those "orca" penholders from Brian working out? Comfortable? The look a little thicker at the base than mine from Brian. You have a good eye to have designed those.

1890

Open Flourish | General Discussion / Re: A Little Game - Guess the Nib!

« on: July 09, 2014, 01:23:40 PM »

Hmmm … Brause 511??

Wow, another nib I don't think I've used before, so no, not the 511. I'll have to check the misc. box for that one, too. Any examples of writing with the Brause 511 on the forum?