Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1860-09-15
Ancient and Modern PenmanshIp.

rum tue louuoll DuiueT
Great is the difference between the clerkly
penmanship in the body of ancient deeds and
the rough, rude, and often illegible signs of
those famous men of the sword, those funct-
ions in the middle ages were so much in de
mand and it may be remarked that in those
days when the circumstance of having a pen
III hand must have been a remarkable event in
the lives of the great mass of the community
the penmanship of the few learned clerks was
noticeable for its beauty, and also for its cor
respondency, to some extent, with the contem-
porary style of architecture.
The effect of the Introduction of Italian ar
chitecture may be traced both in manuscripts
and books Many of the specimens of the
handwriting OF Queen Elizabeth are singular
ly beautiful, and show much variety There
is the small Italian hand, which was much
used when writing, as Princess, to her dear
cousin and King Edward vi, and on other
complimentary occasions and a very large
hand, which combined the Gothic and the
Italian, which good Queen Bess" used when
she threatened to unirock Bishop.
ks Looking at ancient documents of time
when being obliged to resort to the use Of a
cross for signature was not considered dis
graceful, even to the nobility, it is curious to
notice the great varieyIOf crosses and the diff
ferent degrees of artistic skill which are shown
Ill tncIl. as Ile pTHcllCe OF Wfltlng became
more general, the use of the cross became
lees so and although many could not write
their right name, they managed to sign with
letter or peculiar form or flourish which had
resemblance to one.
In collection of autographs of the relatives
of Shakspear, published by Mr.. Halliwell, a
great variety is shown. Agues Arden's sig
nature resembles the letter IT, such as would
be made by a school boy who had just got out
of his pot hooks" John Shakspear signs with
a sword like cross, so firmly and vigorously
marked that one can fancy if the opportuni.
ties had offered, that this baud might have
been cultured into that of the skilled draughts-
man. Others of those signs are crosses sur
amounted by circles, and some show imperfect
attempts at regular signatures.
Remembering the systems of book keeping
and accounts which are now required for sue
cessful trade, ii is difficult to understand how
business, to any extent, could have been car
ried on. Tallies kept by notched sticks, with
certain hieroglyphcs for the different goods,
were much used instead of books, and no
doubt those instruments were produced by
many of the traders of London and elsewhere
with us much gravity as regular bill at the
present day.
In the reign of George III, when education
hau become more general the crosses of those
who could not write lost the distinction and
artlsuc character OF olden times, and the
large, polG' round hand, corresponds in style
with the buildings and furniture then i'm use
This wrltlng-although without much beauty
has, Notwithstanding, the merit of distinct
ness. In these railway times with the ex
cepton of book keepers in banks. and clerks
in merchant Offices, few seem to have time 70
trim their letters. Few artists write A good
hand. Physicians prescriptions are often ns
difficult to decipher as ancient hieroclyphics
and it must be confessed that writers Tor the
press are not generally remarkable for either
the distnctness or beauty of their manuscript
AS regards artists, the practice of handling
the brush and pencil is not favorable to grace
full penmanshp; and in respect to the terar,
profession, it is generally difficult for the pei
to keep pace with the thoughts, to say nothing
of the fact that time often presses