The Universal Penman - Engrav'd By George Bickham

[Vivien]

Hi!

 

I'm new here, but I hope I'll be able to contribute nonetheless.

 

As part of my quest to improve my handwriting (which although
functional and legible is hardly a thing of beauty), I happened
upon The Fountain Pen Network.

 

Although I am still struggling with the terminology (Copperplate,
Spencerian, Round Hand? Etc...), I find this site interesting and
informative.

 

During my browsing I came across repeated references to
"The Universal Penman". This book as I understand it sets the
standard for handwriting and therefore I set out to find it.

 

As luck would have it, I believe I managed to do just that.

 

http://archive.org/download/AncientHistory-WorksInPublicDomainPublishedBefore1923PartThree/TheUniversalPenman1733.pdf
http://archive.org/download/AncientHistory-WorksInPublicDomainPublishedBefore1923PartThree/TheUniversalPenman1743.pdf
http://archive.org/download/AncientHistory-WorksInPublicDomainPublishedBefore1923PartThree/TheUniversalPenman.pdf

 

The file size, scan quality and length vary, but all three are
over ~210 pages.

 

Regrettably, although certainly beautiful it is lacking in practical
instruction and is definitely beyond my skill. Nonetheless, it is my
hope that someone might find this of use.

 

Vivien

Edited September 21, 2014 by Vivien

[knarflj]

Vivien, welcome to FPN, and thanks for the links to the Universal Penman. I had a copy out of the library for weeks recently, and really want to buy my own soon - it's just so beautiful and inspiring to page through, even though I will probably never even try to achieve such a lovely hand. It's nice to know that in the meantime, I can find it online if I want to.

 

I don't know whether UP sets the standard for all handwriting, but I can't imagine better exemplars of Copperplate/Round hand. Have you found the IAMPETH site yet? http://www.iampeth.com/lessons.php Lots of practical instruction there.

 

Jenny

[Randal6393]

Yep, The Universal Penman is often referenced for ornamental penmanship. Great piece, wonderful examplar.

 

IAMPETH is just as often referred to for tutorials on writing. The Copperplate videos are a great way to start out in fancy cursive hands. And the site has a great number of books on penmanship.

 

Enjoy,

[Vivien]

Thank you both for the welcome.

 

I did find IAMPETH early on, references to it are quite common on this site. I have been browsing amongst the large selection of material contained there, however it is taking me time to digest it all. At present I need to orient myself a bit before I can work out a plan and schedule.

 

[Anne-Sophie]

Thank you so much for the links!

 

We now know, where our very own Masterpenman, Caliken, got his inspiration from.

[caliken]

deleted

Edited September 25, 2014 by Ken Fraser

[MaxDeMendizabal]

On 9/21/2014 at 2:54 PM, Vivien said:

Hi!

 

I'm new here, but I hope I'll be able to contribute nonetheless.

 

As part of my quest to improve my handwriting (which although
functional and legible is hardly a thing of beauty), I happened
upon The Fountain Pen Network.

 

Although I am still struggling with the terminology (Copperplate,
Spencerian, Round Hand? Etc...), I find this site interesting and
informative.

 

During my browsing I came across repeated references to
"The Universal Penman". This book as I understand it sets the
standard for handwriting and therefore I set out to find it.

 

As luck would have it, I believe I managed to do just that.

 

http://archive.org/download/AncientHistory-WorksInPublicDomainPublishedBefore1923PartThree/TheUniversalPenman1733.pdf
http://archive.org/download/AncientHistory-WorksInPublicDomainPublishedBefore1923PartThree/TheUniversalPenman1743.pdf
http://archive.org/download/AncientHistory-WorksInPublicDomainPublishedBefore1923PartThree/TheUniversalPenman.pdf

 

The file size, scan quality and length vary, but all three are
over ~210 pages.

 

Regrettably, although certainly beautiful it is lacking in practical
instruction and is definitely beyond my skill. Nonetheless, it is my
hope that someone might find this of use.

 

Vivien

Thank You, a very good scanning work. 

[Inkyways]

 

I recently got a copy of this Older Offset print edition. It is beautiful and well done on a low priced publishing of the whole collection of the plates Of George Bickham's work.

Actually this is the English copperplate and this books is the "Ornamental inspirational  English Calligraphy"

This book is not a tutorial  guide but an archival work of G. Bickham's published work for many years when he was developing his writing style.