Questions About Spencerian

November 4, 2015

Hello FPN, I'm a beginning penman who seeks to improve his handwriting. I've chosen to learn Spencerian in an effort to achieve this. I have some questions regarding the script and other relating topics.

I currently use a Pelikan M200 Piston Fountain Pen to write, is it any good for Spencerian? What kind of nib or pen is recommended to write this script? As a lefty, how should I grip the pen and what would be the technique to use?

I'm sorry, but I'm extremely new to the scene of the art of penmanship so I do not know much. I'm extremely grateful for any and all help anyone can afford to me.

November 4, 2015

A few years ago, I also decided to learn Spencerian, after forty years of nothing but printing. Here are some things that worked for me, but you should decide for yourself what is best for you.

Your Pelikan will be perfect for learning, but use it to learn the letterforms first, and don't do any of the shading (sometimes called Business Writing). I think it is easier, but absolutely not essential, to learn with a medium nib. I think Spencerian looks better with an extra fine nib, but that's just my opinion. After you get to a level of proficiency you like, then consider getting a flexible nib pen and adding the shading. Dip pens are relatively inexpensive and give the best contrast between the thick and thin lines, but a Noodler's Nib Creeper will give good results as well, if you prefer a fountain pen.

I did the exercises and drills for two weeks before I did any letters, and it helped me a lot. I was also overcoming decades of inertia on my handwriting--you may not need to do this.

Something simple: Turn the paper as much in any direction so that the downstrokes match your natural arm movement. I write with it 60 - 90 degrees counterclockwise, and it makes a big difference to me.

I'm a righty (northpaw?) and can't give you much advice on what a lefty should do. If you go to The Flourish Forum, there is a subforum called Advice For Lefties, which might have useful information.

I used Michael Sull's book "Learning To Write Spencerian Script". I recommend that you go to the IAMPETH website and download two books: "Theory of Spencerian Penmanship" and "New Spencerian Compendium". The first has, in Mr. Spencer's own words, everything that you need to learn. The second has all that and a lot of alternative letter forms, which I used to justify the S, T, and F that I use. (I just couldn't seem to get the textbook forms right, so I found a different textbook.)

I did line after line of first straight lines and ovals, then individual letters, then two-/three-/four letter combinations (attached, if I did this correctly), before actually writing out words and sentences. It was almost a year after starting that I was willing to write something for someone else to see, but I was working to my own schedule and standards.

DB

NLetterSequences.pdf

November 5, 2015

Thank you for the advice! I own the Theroy of Spencerian Penmanship actually, so I can use that. Do you have any advice on how to write with the arm? I have no clue how to do that. You took a whole year to learn it? Wow, I hope it won't be that long for me. Thank you so much for your help!