This is by the same person 45 years later, when she was 57. The handwriting is totally different, so I suppose the "calligraphy" took too long for everyday use. The second letter is from a friend in the R.A.F. who really did write like that as a matter of course. Finally, a picture of Gran when she was a children's nurse.
Even when I first learned cursive writing (1959 or thereabouts), we were still taught to form the letters just like in your original 1900 example (except by then, we weren't expected to use the older-fashioned 'r'). To start with, we had to draw pencil guidelines across the paper and make each letter exactly the same height, each descender the same depth, etc. All 'ascenders' had to have the same size and shape of loop (and the 'z' was still a descender!) We were also forbidden to use those terrible, new-fangled, ball-point pens, it had to be a proper fountain pen! (anything else was said to "ruin your handwriting"!!) However, I think it was largely understood that once you'd learned and mastered the "official" way, then, individual style was allowed to gradually creep in until everyone's handwriting would eventually be in their own, unique style. There were some schools that taught "italic" style instead of cursive though - so it would appear that your friend in the R.A.F. presumably, went to such a school? I guess that back in the 1800s and early 1900s, people who had to write for a living, such as bookkeepers, accountants, or whatever, were expected to stick as closely to the 'official', cursive, style as possible - in the interests of legibility. Now that we mostly print out everything, I wonder if "proper" handwriting is much used any more, for anything more than jotting notes or writing out a shopping list?!
Slightly off topic. Around 1900 when my nan was in school,she told me that left-handed children used to get rapped over the knuckles with a ruler to make them write with their right hands. Just wondering whether this was a standard thing in schools then and if so when did it stop.
ps Is cursive Writing (joined-up writing) still taught in schools with the correct capitals,which I must admit I don't use myself usually I have the capital seperate from the rest of the word
It might be worth adding that although, yes, back then they were finicky about what today, may seem trivial things like "good handwriting" but if you think about it, "having good handwriting" back then, would quite likely have actually been a qualification for some jobs...! So in their own way, they were still fulfilling one of the stated aims of an education (to equip you for getting a job)?
Slightly off topic. Around 1900 when my nan was in school,she told me that left-handed children used to get rapped over the knuckles with a ruler to make them write with their right hands. Just wondering whether this was a standard thing in schools then and if so when did it stop.
My sister's husband is about 60 and left-handed and was indeed rapped on the knuckles and forced to write right-handed, in his early years, so it was still going on in the 1950s!
same thing happened to me and that was around 1974 when i started school, no wonder i didn't like teachers i'm still left handed mind.
at the moment i'm ploughing my way through someone's medical/social services records and some of the hand writing is that bad i've had 7-8 pages so far that have been totally illegible!!
This is an extract I took from (I think) St. George's school log book of around 1906 which sets out some of the school rules:
1. Pupils must stand up to answer questions and wait for permission to speak 2. Pupils must call teachers "Sir" or "Ma'am";. 3. Pupils must stand when an adult enters the room. 4. Pupils must use the right hand at all times for writing. 5. Girls will learn needlework and boys will learn technical drawing. 6. Prizes will be given for good attendance. 7. Pupils must not put their hands up unless told they can do so. 8. Pupils must not ask questions. 9. Talking and fidgeting will be punished. 10. Children who truant, behave badly or do poor work will be caned
Using the right hand for writing was obviously considered important enough to merit it being mandatory.
That’s an interesting point about not being allowed to use ballpoint pens, tatey. One of the things that struck me about chriskay’s grandmother’s writing (apart from it being quite beautiful) is how even the ink is. I would have thought that in 1900 children would still have been using pens with scratchy nibs and dipping them into the old ink wells (and “blotting their copybooks”). I thought that mass production and widespread adoption of fountain pens did not take place until the first decades of the 20th centuries and it took time for them to be accepted by schools.
I would echo Tatey's comment re: pens. When I first went to Woodchurch Road Primary School, you had to use the "School Pen". This was a dip pen with plain wood stem. Some nibs were less "scratchy" than others and you could produce a reasonable result. Only when your writing was deemed good enough could you use the new fangled "Biro's".
With the gift of hindsight, this probably wasn't the way to go !
@Chriskay - that was an amazing spot, it rolled off the tongue nicely as it was, perhaps I should have written "the drops in expectations are horrendous" but I think that is incorrect too, can both words be plural?
@Derekdwc - Capital C which is often written the same as a script C, however, it was hammered into me differently, the capital C should have a raised loop and does not look dissimilar to a small cursive b but without the end hook. The explanation I was given is that it should be started at the bottom left of the character to flow on from a full stop or previous character.
Last edited by diggingdeeper; 9th Jun 201111:08am.
We don't do charity in Germany, we pay taxes. Charity is a failure of governments' responsibilities - Henning Wehn
At Wirral G.S. when on detention, we had to write reams in that beautiful handwriting. We were not permitted to use ball point pens either and most of our parents couldn't afford the expensive fountain pens. On a lighter note, I always found it very funny that the handyman's name was Mr. Phillpots and he used to come round filling the ink wells. I could never understand why none of the other girls found this amusing. N.B. Note the absence of a comma before "and".
I would echo Tatey's comment re: pens. When I first went to Woodchurch Road Primary School, you had to use the "School Pen". This was a dip pen with plain wood stem. Some nibs were less "scratchy" than others and you could produce a reasonable result. Only when your writing was deemed good enough could you use the new fangled "Biro's".
With the gift of hindsight, this probably wasn't the way to go !
Exactly that, only in our school Biro's were not allowed at all.
God help us, Come yourself, Don't send Jesus, This is no place for children.
