>Victorian Decorative Handwriting, 1883

>A little jump off from my normal eras of posting, I thought you all might get a kick out of these two pages on handwriting or lettering from “Hill’s Manual of Social and Business Forms” from 1883.  With Christmas just around the corner I know there’s many who love to make gifts and cards so thought these might come in handy.
When I was a young teen and completely enamored with the Victorian era I would sit and try to copy out the writing in this book in pen and ink.  There’s still something so romantic and fulfilling about seeing the ink drawn from quill onto paper.  Maybe you can try your hand?  You can still purchase pen and ink at most art supply stores around the Calligraphy section or go in for a fancier set sold by many stationers or book stores, including this pretty (if expensive) set from Victorian Trading Company, or this set that includes sealing wax from Barnes and Noble.

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

7 Comments on >Victorian Decorative Handwriting, 1883

  1. Suzy
    November 22, 2010 at 7:22 pm (13 years ago)

    >Love your blog and wanted to let you now I just nominated you for a blog award in my latest post!!

  2. BaronessVonVintage
    November 22, 2010 at 10:05 pm (13 years ago)

    >so beautiful! I used to work in a stationery shop when I was in grad school and my boss used to give me the most glorious paper and fountain pens as presents, but I just have never been able to make such graceful calligraphy. Even my basic penmanship is atrocious. Sigh….never hurts to have inspiration like this, though!

  3. Beth
    November 23, 2010 at 3:00 am (13 years ago)

    >Do you still have any of your practice pages? Would love to see them! ;) I always loved the idea of calligraphy and writing with a quill pen, but I don't think I've ever tried it.

  4. Meg
    November 23, 2010 at 6:47 pm (13 years ago)

    >Lauren, there's a shop in the Bay Area that does special workshops with a renowned professional calligrapher a couple times a year. I've always wanted to check it out — maybe we can plan a little mini trip sometime!

  5. the fabled needle (jen)
    November 30, 2010 at 6:36 am (13 years ago)

    >i LOVE flourishes such as these. perfect for christmas cards!

  6. Sarsaparilla
    December 1, 2010 at 11:31 am (13 years ago)

    >So beautiful! And…this is a wonderful reminder that there's nothing quite like getting a handwritten letter in the mail – even if the pen used was a plain old cheap Bic pen.

  7. The Dreamstress
    December 6, 2010 at 8:32 am (13 years ago)

    >Talk about copperplate handwriting! How beautiful!

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close