New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-08-18
REFORM IN PENMANSHIP.
THE COPY PLATE is NO LONGER THE HIGHEST
TYPE OF EXCELLENCE-WHAT DRAUGHTs-
MEN HAVE COME To-


Probably all who have had a common school edr-
cation remember wildly the agonies they suffered
during the half-hour a day devoted to making pot
hooks and copying unmesning phrases in their
writing books The same number of unforunates
realize with equal vividness how widely different
their own present chrography is from the flowing
copy plate which they tried to initiate. with more
less success in their youthful days. The pen
manship Of the world has always been far short Of
the ideal copy-book standard but since the general
Introduction of the typewrting machine It has
grown from bad to The part of the
munity who have university educations worse
of In this regard than the common school gradu-
ates. for the reason that II they ever did write
halfway decent hand as the result Of their teach
er's strenuous efforts. 1t completely ruined
when they began to take notes of lectures at COL
lege.
The world moves. and the educational experts
have arrived at the conclusion that the whole sys-
TEN Of instruction In writing is wrong: that the
beautiful and elaborate curlycues and intricate
shading of the old copy plate system are not only
useless and difficult to acquire. but that in the
crafty OF cases. they really unreliable. Every
has received more or less letters written by some
so-called frst-class penman. which are beautiful
TO look at in the regularity OF their strokes and
teachers have come to a realizing sense of a fact
that the first purpose OF handwriting Is to be legibe
amount Of time formerly spent in celebrating shad
ing and curves. II spent in practising the modern
perpendicular hand will give four times better re-
suits in the way Of mastery Of the art: greater
freedom In writing, and the acquisition OF style
which will be legble even II 1t departs from regu-
larty.
The same gradual transition has taken place in
the art of lettering practised by draugh smen.
Twenty years ago draughtsmen and engineers
learned elaborate lettering. the rustic style. the old
English. and many others, and many weary hours
were spent in the draughtlng-room putting these
varied heroglyphics on the drawings. The doctrine
that simplicity and utility are the highest form OF
beauty has made Roadway among the draughtsmen.
as elsewhere. The first reform was in the substitu
ton OF plain block lettering OF the old style. The
making OF block lettering how ever. Is slow task.
and much valuable time was wasted The next . re-
schrft" which is a species OF freehand work done
with a special pen, which shades broadly and al
most automatically The "rundschrift' may be put
on a drawing with great rapIdity. but it require.
considerable skill to do 1t well. and the result OF
poor mediocre work is painful to the eye
The whole subject OF lettering has now become
a lost art The draughtsman Of to-day doesn't ink
his fingers and break his back at ANYTHING OF the
kind He buys q box OF assorted printed letters
paper cloth with well gummed backs. and when
his drawing is DONE ticks the back or sufficient
number Of these letters and afixes them TO his
drawing after the manner OF the humble postage