Looking For Help Finding An Italic/round Hand Style.

[Abner C. Kemp]

I've always admired italic writing styles and would like to learn something that is a bit neater than my standard cursive. That said, I would prefer to be able to use a wide array of nibs so some of the italic hands that necessitate a very sharp and broad nib wouldn't quite fit my requirements. I'm not looking for anything with a ton of flourishes and I would prefer to be able to write the font at a fair pace (i.e. gothic is quite fun but takes much too long to form the capitals). Any recommendations?? I would also like to purchase some kind of a book that can get me started. I was thinking about "The Italic Way to Beautiful Handwriting: Cursive and Calligraphic" by Fred Eager as it seems quite popular but I would love to hear your suggestions.

 

Thanks!!

[bobje]

Abner,

three weeks ago I started with a version of the Fred Eager book you cite, but for K-12 students. Excellent teaching guide and produces improvement and progress quickly. "The Italic Way to Beautiful Handwriting" simultaneously trains for both cursive (informal, quick), and calligraphic (formal, more perfectly formed, but slower). The first several weeks are spent just learning the italic letter forms with a pencil. A used version of the book is available at very reasonable prices on abebooks.com. Try to find an original paperback used edition, rather than the recently photocopied reprint. Additionally, this FPN sub-forum

https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/forum/151-broad-or-edged-pen-calligraphy/

is excellent, as is this one, not on FPN.

http://theflourishforum.com/

 

Last, the Lloyd Reynolds video series on YouTube, findable on the Reed College alumni channel, is also excellent. Good luck, and we can keep track of each other's progress in 2016 on the FPN italic subforum!

Bob

[Randal6393]

Excellent suggestions from Bob Page, just looked up the book on Abebooks. Had six of the original pub, from $5 to $10 each. I started down the Italic road with this book, some 35 years ago. Use italic as my daily hand and occasionally do a more formal piece in italic. Well worth working on.

 

Enjoy,

[Abner C. Kemp]

Thanks guys. I ordered a copy of Mr. Eager's book from abebooks.com for an excellent price -- looking forward to learning a new hand.

[HDoug]

I used "A Handwriting Manual" by Alfred Fairbank. It teaches a streamlined version of italic (Italian Humanistic cursive) without the entry strokes or flags (because our dip and fountain pens don't require them). Out of print, but later versions include a variety of modern examples.

 

From Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Handwriting-Manual-Alfred-J-Fairbank/dp/0823021866

 

Doug

[Randal6393]

Alfred Fairbank's A Handwriting Manual is a classic italics teaching manual. Was used by Lloyd J. Reynolds to develop his lessons in italic handwriting. Fred Eager developed his lessons based on Reynold's work. (Yes, Eager was an early student of Reynolds.) My copy holds pride of place on my bookshelf and gets referred to often.

 

I feel the non-serif style is great for rapid writing but loses many of the characteristics of italic. But it is an excellent style for the first hand a student develops. And not all students care to go beyond his version of italic.

 

Just looked at Amazon, copies available for $5.00 (including shipping). So it is a book that is easily acquired in the USA. Should, in my opinion, be on every calligrapher's shelf.

 

Enjoy,

[HDoug]

I feel the non-serif style is great for rapid writing but loses many of the characteristics of italic.

I disagree, but it is all rather subjective. It is the rapidity of writing that created italic to begin with. The "formalized" version has the entry strokes, flags, etcetera. It is the letterforms themselves that give italic its characteristic look. IMO only, of course. Not trying to start an argument. Historic examples of quick italic being used for the purposes most of us use handwriting now show a form similarly lacking in the formal strokes I mention.

 

Briem helped reform Iceland's handwriting and this guide is also without the unnecessary strokes yet characteristically italic:

 

http://66.147.242.192/~operinan/8/2/205.html

 

Doug

[Randal6393]

Yep, you are correct in that italic is mostly formed by the narrow rectangle shape into which letters are supposed to fall and the angular oval of the "a" and the "o". However, much of the character and whimsicalness of a personal script comes from flourishes, swashes, serifs, etc. So perhaps what I should have said is that many writers of italic go beyond the basic italic hand and embellish it. This seems to be something the hand allows. Unlike a Roman Capital, which has a bit more structure and looks somewhat strange if embellished.

 

I'm looking at a lot of the 20th century writing manuals -- Reynolds, Fairbanks, and Eager in particular -- and comparing them to the 16th century writing masters -- Arrighi, Tagliente, Palatino, etc. Find much more in the way of serifs and embellishment. Of course, that is probably due to the fact that the 16th century writing masters were teaching a legal hand, to be used in addressing letters to the Papal Offices. As well as in producing legal briefs. Where as we are looking for a simpler hand, to be used for everyday writing.

 

Enjoy,

[Inky.Fingers]

Randal,

 

Perhaps, a posting of different styles of Italic helps: plain old Italic exemplar, palatino, Arrighi, tagliente.,etc wold help?

[Randal6393]

Yep, I am going through my manuals and working on a sheet now. But it will take a bit of time.

 

Enjoy,

[Thaddeus]

(...) Try to find an original paperback used edition, rather than the recently photocopied reprint. (...)

 

What's wrong with the recently photocopied reprint of Fred Eager's book?

[dms525]

To understand the differences between italic script of the 16th century writing masters with that of the 20th century authors of italic writing manuals, one must consider differences in culture and technology and, perhaps above all, the role in society of handwriting.

 

In brief, the scribe prior to the arrival of moveable type printing presses was generally a copier of older documents and, to a limited extent, a secretary to nobles and military leaders. By the second half of the 15th century, the printing press had impacted the livelihood of the scribe greatly. On the other hand, the growth of both governmental and church bureaucracies during the renaissance expanded the number of documents that needed to be created, and these were hand written. There was also a growth in literacy among the upper classes and, with the expansion of international banking and trade, among the growing merchant class. These developments created opportunities for teachers of legible writing, the "writing master." They taught the sons of merchants and those seeking positions as secretaries to governmental officials, the nobility or the church.

 

I believe that the fancier, flourished versions of italic script we see in the renaissance writing manuals reflects their purpose. They were instructional, but they were also self advertisements for their authors. The writing master needed to differentiate himself from the competition and did so by displaying virtuosity in the form of fancified scripts.

 

In contrast, the proponents of italic writing in the 20th century were not targeting professional calligraphers, artists or creators of formal documents primarily. They were advocating adoption of italic writing as the everyday hand for the general public. Thus the letter forms taught were less flourished but could be written at reasonable speed and still be legible.

 

A comparison of the exemplars displayed on the web sites of The Society for Italic Writing with those on the IAMPETH (which is aimed at professional calligraphers to a large degree) is instructive.

 

Well, probably TMI, but I hope it provides some perspective.

 

Happy writing.

 

David

[Inky.Fingers]

Love your respond David. Would love to have a sample of your current Italic hand and with any flourish that accompany it.

[dms525]

Love your respond David. Would love to have a sample of your current Italic hand and with any flourish that accompany it.

 

 

 

[Inky.Fingers]

David,

 

That is exceptionally well written. Straight and forward italic. I am somewhat of a half breed for penmanship, can't find my spot yet. I have been practicing "italic" for the most part of 1+ months. Don't know what to make of it yet. Here's a sample with 2.3mm Pilot Parallel to see my mistakes. Any recommendation is welcomed.

 

[dms525]

Thank you, #InkyFingers!

 

I think your italic is quite good, if you have only been at it for "1+" months. The thing that is most striking to me as needing work is your too-sharp entry and exit strokes. To my taste (and as I was taught) these should be tight curves, not sharp angles (except for the entry stokes of t and p). Here's a nice illustration of that from Fred Eager's book:

 

 

 

David

[Inky.Fingers]

Thank you David. It's deliberate. I have seen Lloyd Reynolds video and Manual, Ken Browns, David Harris, and a few others. But I am most impressed with Palinto and Tagliente, as you say are old Masters. Their handwriting are gorgeous and I am trying to absorb just enough for everyday writing.

 

Does this look better now?

 

Edited January 1, 2016 by #InkyFingers

[dms525]

#InkyFingers -

 

You have certainly captured the spirit of Palatino in the posted writing. You do show some variability in letter forms, but so did most of the "old masters," being human. One thing to keep in mind: The writing manuals of the 15th and 16th century produced the samples of handwriting using woodcuts. Inevitably, some precision was lost. If you can access photocopies of actual handwritten text, I think you would appreciate the difference.

 

If you have or can get a copy of A Book of Scripts by Alfred Fairbank, I think you would enjoy the many examples of handwriting in his plates.

 

Happy new year and happy writing!

 

David

[HDoug]

...

 

If you can access photocopies of actual handwritten text, I think you would appreciate the difference.

 

...

 

David

 

Access to original manuscripts (or images of such) is a challenge that is being overcome by digitizing technology and the internet. Although Fairbank's lament that we still don't see many examples of everyday handwriting continues to be true, we can see quite a growing array of different types of handwriting of a particular style.

 

This link goes to search results for "humanistic cursive" at the Digital Scriptorium:

http://vm133.lib.berkeley.edu:8080/xtf22/search?rmode=digscript&smode=basic&text=humanistic+cursive&docsPerPage=30

 

Here's an image from the very first item:

 

 

Doug

 

PS Oooh, and this is interesting. An example from 1472. A book, yet written quickly in a "quick" cursive. I use the term quick to describe this kind of hand that is highly joined and lacking in flags and bells...

 

[dms525]

The effort to digitize archived manuscripts seems to have accelerated in recent years. This is a great service to those of us wanting to see/study these works but without access to the originals.

 

The example you shared, Doug, is exceptional - the script, the page composition and the floral design. Thank you for sharing it.

 

David