The sun., 1915-10-24
Bygone Art
of the Old
Pen Master
Memories Of a Pupil Who
Studied Under One
Gifted Hand.

But in hundreds Of New England
towns and villages one will still hnd
them: rooms that are opened only
when the minister is expected, the
sewing circle meets or some other
function Of importance makes 1t seem
desirable to reveal them in all their
musty splendor.
Prominent amons the works OF art
TO be found hanging on the walls are
wonderfully executed pen drawings Of
lions as big as Boston terriers. grace.
fui deer blithely bounding into the
space OF the white bristol board upon
which they were drawn, crosses Of
ornamental designs. baskets Of now-
ers, fantastic in outline and scheme
yet strikingly Indicative Of more than
passing skill with pen and ink
| Garish frames OF gilt. In conspicu.
Gus contrast to the severely plain eff
fects OF the blacks and whites. attract
the attention and hold one In spell.
bound fascination as ne hnds more and
| more and more worth studying in
the wealth Of detail which charac-
| terizes these weird and wonderful
pen drawings OF a quarter century
, back.
They constitute wonderful testi-
monials to the skilful teachings Of
the former professors OF penanan.
ship who occupied an important
niche in the New England school cur
riculum twenty-five years ago. TO
the writer the writing hour" was
as much Of an entertainment In pre-
paratory school days as an hour at
the moving picture show is to the boy
OF to-day. And how well I remember
that red checked young teacher and
the beautifully written cards bearing
his own name that he executed there
before our admiring gaze:
professor W. l.. Barton. teacher Of
penmanship, graduate Of Oberlln Col.
lege."
Such an INTERVIEWING Of those initial
letters, such gracefully bold curves,
such audaciously striking shade lines.
And all done right there on a common
school desk. before our very eyes, even
without cuffs to deceive us-tor
recall that Prof. Barton told us they
interfered with the free forearm
| movement that was at once our envy
and de. pair.
No matter how many looked over
MS shoulder, how many whispered ex.
fressions of astonishment reached his
ears. that master hand never faltered,
never trembled. Each capital was bold
ana dashinS and shaded, each small
letter round and perfect All. Prof .
Barton indeed had skill. And as I re-
call the lavish hand with which he dis
tributcd diplomas at the end Of the
term 10 those whom he said were
qualified Ia teach penmanship | may
he justified in believing that his nerve
Was also all right.
ours was Just about an average claao
a. | remember IT, There was the ma
jority, those VINO woaid become legible
and fairly SPEEDY and graceful writer's.
''i Ah''' N'iN illt lew no UtIu
p-nholder as II II were a broom handle
and VINO would never learn tn do more
than scrawl an apology for handwrit-
ing. tn. too there We're the select
rev, probably not more than half
uozen. myself included. who showed
unusual aptitude and who immediately
became the professors favorites. N
ns he sold all sorts OF accessories. in
Guiding bristol board. rulers. oblioue
penholders and a special brand OF pen,
glossy ink. SC. I have since learned
that any Ave cent bottle Of ordinary
ink can he made glossy by dropping in
lump or two Of gum arabic,
After We the penmen-eect, became
proficient IN executing wonderfully
wrought capitals and rounded small
letters 10 the satisfaction of our
teacher he put US at work on orna-
mental pen drawing. II was a per-
formsnce tfat really did require CON
siderable skill attained through faith
ful hours OF practice at the freehand
exercises taught by the writing mas.
ters or those days. \ light pencillinE
was first placed on the bristol board NJ
the most important parts OF the design
This was all followed as closely as pos
sble with ink lines Straight strokss
could be put in with the Felp OF
ruler, but the cro ..tions generally called
for much scrollwork, featherstitch
effects, loops and gracefully waving
curves
My piece de resistance WAS noble
buck. The work in that pen drawing
The body was one mass Of shaded
scrolls, great capital O's they re-
sfmhled. II ones hand faltercd. II he
lost his nerve from the time he pu'
pen = the bristol board at the neck
of the animal until he finished this
scroll work at the tail the whole thing
Was spoiled.
1t was days before | dared make the
attempt. MY hand would tr-mbr az
took M the pen, dipped /, n india
Ink and prepared 10 make professor
oi ptnmanShip' getaway without
scoring. i'ut not until had bought
my seventh piece ~ bristol board did
that all Important scroll dc credit 20
the star pupil ~ Prof. ". l.. Barton.
teacher ~ prnmnnshp, graduate 4
berlin . ll"er Had II uut been +
IN" "ncnliraKementS uf my u.tru, tor
should have abandoned tIls work
along about the th!rd fallIrr. lili he
snurr"d me on and sold M the has.
tot board at 10 cents the snrct
| fancy the money We star pupils
sUtuI uC,uI.Iiue skill sufficient T., war