For a time, I worked as a calligrapher at The Court of The Lord Lyon in Edinburgh where there are housed in Register House, a great many historic documents. archived and preserved for future generations.
My point is simply one of practicality. If the historic content is to be of any value, it obviously has to be read and understood. Handwriting doesn't have to be ancient to be problematic. Go back as recently as 150 years and there would appear to be many, today, who can't write or read the basic everyday scripts of the day. Aside from the issue of the aesthetics of hand-production on which we mostly agree, unless there is a change in attitudes and a concerted effort in education, a great deal of past information will be lost forever. I know and appreciate that the emphasis in this topic is concerned with the continued use of hand lettering, but the ability to read and understand the basic information on relatively recent documents is surely just as important for our heritage.
Ken