Title : J.M. Bergling and the Golden Age of Penmanship, Part 3
link : J.M. Bergling and the Golden Age of Penmanship, Part 3
J.M. Bergling and the Golden Age of Penmanship, Part 3
Lettering project inspired by the Bergling book |
(Continued from Part 2) But in the Golden Age of Ornamental Penmanship, which lasted between about 1875-1915, every business person was expected to convey their integrity and confidence by means of their pen skills, culminating in a confidant, flourished signature. To achieve this kind of writing, penmanship instructors stressed the importance of good posture.
Correct and incorrect writing position |
“Whole arm” or “off hand” capitals, with their elaborate looping flourishes, are made without penciling the letterforms in advance. Their flowing grace requires a great deal of practice. They are formed with broad movements of the arm, swinging easily from the shoulder. Fingers, wrist, and arm cooperate to create fluid movements. Each part of the flourish uses a smooth continuous stroke. By contrast, small letters should be rhythmically created with controlled finger movements.
Ideally these scripts should be executed on a smooth cotton rag paper over lightly ruled guidelines drawn with a hard pencil. The slant of the letters should be absolutely uniform. The slant can be ruled lightly with an adjustable triangle set to a fixed slope and resting on a T-square or parallel rule.
Most scripts require a slant of between 52 and 54 degrees from horizontal, or the 3/4 angle diagrammed below. An oblique pen holder angles the nib to the right, allowing a better wrist position.
The pen-based script alphabets, with their German and French variants, derive from the models produced by engravers in the eighteenth century, requiring the artist to incise a series of fine lines into a copper plate with a sharpened steel tool called a burin. This copperplate engraver’s alphabet can also be constructed with the flexible steel pen nib. Each weighted or “shaded” stroke broadens on the pulling downstroke. Whichever tool is used, this thick-and-thin copperplate style is slow to execute, making it more suitable for headings and superscriptions than for everyday handwriting.
Bergling includes broad pen alphabets familiar to modern calligraphers, such as “Blackstone,” “Mixed Roman Text,” and the single-stroke Roman and Italic alphabets. Informal round-tipped alphabets can be achieved with a Speedball “Style B” pen nib.
----
You can get a signed copy of Bergling from my website store (with your name nicely lettered if you want. Send me an email after you order it explaining how you'd like the dedication.)
----
Here's where you can get the Dover book on Amazon. You can also still find a vintage copy on Amazon.
___________________
(Part 4 of this series tomorrow.)
Thus Article J.M. Bergling and the Golden Age of Penmanship, Part 3
That's an article J.M. Bergling and the Golden Age of Penmanship, Part 3 This time, hopefully can give benefits to all of you. well, see you in posting other articles.
You are now reading the article J.M. Bergling and the Golden Age of Penmanship, Part 3 with the link address https://idealbodys.blogspot.com/2019/10/jm-bergling-and-golden-age-of_17.html
0 Response to "J.M. Bergling and the Golden Age of Penmanship, Part 3"
Post a Comment