The universal penman, or, The art of writing made useful to the gentleman and scholar, as well as the man of business
Subtitle: exemplified in all the useful, and ornamental branches of modern penmanship; with some necessary observations on the excellency of the pen, and a large number of select sentences in prose and verse; various forms of business, relating to merchandize and trade; letters on several occasions; accurate specimens of the oriental languages, and alphabets in all the hands now practis'd
By: Written, with the friendly assistance of several of the most eminent masters, and engrav'd by Geo. Bickham. The whole embelish'd with beautiful decorations for the amusement of the curious
Publisher: Printed for, and Sold by the Author, at the Crown in James Street, Bunhill Fields
Published: 1741
Place of publication: London
Language: eng
Number of pages: 212
Subjects: Copybooks; Early works to 1800; Penmanship; Commercial correspondence
Other titles: Art of writing made useful
Notes: Engraved throughout.

The Universal penman was originally issued in parts between 1733 and 1741. There is conflicting evidence about the number of parts and plates originally intended and how long it would take to issue a completed publication though Muir concludes that it was to appear in weekly numbers over a year for a total of 52 parts and 208 plates. Individual copies with this title appear in a variety of forms, with a number of different title-pages and states of plates.

This issue conforms essentially to Muir's edition B, before the plate numbers were renumbered consecutively, but with the new plates added in 1741, including a new collective title-page, two new dedications, a poem to the penman by Joseph Bancks, and a revised table of contents. It contains a the earlier state of the 1733 title-page with the imprint reading: "Printed for the author, and likewise sold, by Charles Stokes stationer ..." The leaves of parts 2-25 are numbered sequentially, with some variations. Parts 26-52 have their leaves numbered individually.

The original penmen were the Bickhams, Joseph Champion, Willington Clark, E. Austin, Nathaniel Dove, E. Dawson, John Holden, William Kippax, John Bland, T. Treadway, Gabriel Brooks, William Brooks, Samuel Vaux, Mos. Gratwick, J. Oldfield, John Day, John Shortland, B. Whilton, Richard Morris, Peter Norman, Zachary Chambers, and William Leekey.

See Muir, P.H. The Bickhams and their Universal penman (The library, n.s. 25, p. 162-184 and 247-248 (Dec. 1944/Mar. 1945))

Heal, A. English writing-masters, p. 171-172

Becker, D.P. Practice of letters, 188.