Deciphering victorian handwriting alphabet

Something as basic to us as writing was quite different in 18th Century British-America. British-Americans in that century spoke English, yet they used words that we do not, and we use words that did not even exist then. Literacy estimates vary, but it is thought that almost all of the adult New England population at the end of the eighteenth century could read at least to some degree.

It was almost mandatory for each and every person to have his or her handwriting practice, may it be in school or at home. Penmanship, or the art of writing by hand, was a skill that Victorian people pride themselves with since their primary mode of communication is writing letters. Obviously, Internet and computers were non-existent during the Victorian era.

Palaeography/Handwriting

This follows the unavailability of any digital machine to produce automated fonts, delete options and spelling checks. Therefore, Victorian penmanship required extensive handwriting practice both for accuracy and readability.

Such limitation in communication required letters to be written neatly as to be easily understood if they were to be sent to families and friends from another part of the British Empire. Usually, a successful letter delivery took months. Hence, legible handwriting ensured that the contents of the letter would endure its way towards its addressee.

The penmanship during the Victorian times was called Copperplate. It is a neat, round and usually cursive writing done with a metal Quill pen and ink.

Children would also dedicate a lot of their time both in school and at home practicing cursive handwriting for kids. As a result, towards the end of the Victorian era, most children had learned how to perform cursive writing appropriately. There were different types of copperplate penmanship, such as: Most of these cursive handwritings further developed during the Edwardian Era, or the period right after the Victorian Era.

As a type of Copperplate cursive writing, French Style penmanship was both neat and round. Capital letters were cursively intricate and lovely, as they mostly followed the S-shaped line of beauty.

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Penmanship in Victorian era Palace Style penmanship was rather a slanted cursive handwriting. Its emphasis on down strokes was also apparent. Capital letters, however, maintained the intricate round beauty similar to French Style.

Edwardian style penmanship was much more closely similar to Palace Style compared to French Style. However, as it has developed further during the Edwardian Era, more complicated expressions towards cursive writing were to be seen.

The Edwardian Style appeared to be more of the contemporary handwriting style compared to the French Style. Today, with all the digital automated fonts available, learning the Victorian penmanship is not going to be an easy task.

The best way to learn this is to grab a copybook containing Victorian 18th-century handwriting and to engage oneself to dedicated handwriting practice.Some of the worksheets displayed are Victorian coleraine, How to decipher unfamiliar handwriting, Better handwriting for adults, Cursive writing guide letters, Cursive alphabet, Cursive cursive writing writing cursive passages, Victorian modern cursive font on dotted thirds pdf, Children should be seen and not heard.

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Victorian Era Handwriting Calligraphy Penmanship Alphabet Lettering, originally published in by GA Gaskell as Penman's Handbook.

An article by Thomas Jay Kemp providing tips to help you decipher handwriting or newspaper type in old letters, wills, census records, and newspapers.

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Deciphering 19th Century Handwriting and Type in Records & Newspapers As you look at each handwritten letter in her name, you have to think through the options.

Palaeography is the study of old handwriting. This web tutorial will help you learn to read the handwriting found in documents written in English between and At first glance, many documents written at this time look illegible to the modern reader.

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