Calligraphy Means Beautiful Writing:
In today's age of electric typewriters and digital typesetting, the concept of individuals glorifying the art of composing by using pen and ink to form handwritten letters and words in the manner of the early scribes appears like an anachronism. Yet calligraphy, which indicates " lovely writing," is being practiced by surprising numbers of people‐all throughout the contry.
While many people relate Italic writing with the word "calligraphy," the ability goes far beyond that to consist of such ornamental hands as Roman, Black litter or Gothic (more frequently recognized as Old English), 18th century English Roundhand or Copperplate ( understood for its elegant swirls of thick and thin curling lines), and many other hands from diverse places and periods.
Modern Calligraphy
Alfred Fairbanks, a British calligrapher and author of a number of books on the Italic hand refers to this as "the dance of the pen." He explains: "How outstanding that handwriting can offer an outlet for skill and esthetic sensation, particularly where the ability to draw is lacking. How worthwhile when handwriting interests the writer and pleases the reader. How rewarding when something regular and commonplace is raised towards the beautiful."
The Carolingian hand, the most widely used design of composing at that time, was followed by different Gothic hands. Among them, the Black Letter or Northern Gothic hand, was developed because it used a more compressed letter which saved space on the vellum that was utilized for composing-- vellum was expensive and always in short supply.
There are 2 schools of thought relating to pens-- the fountain pen school and the dip‐pen school. The former favor pens such as the Platignum or Osmoroid pen (which come with various points and sell for about $5-- both readily available at many art shops). Users of such pens are cautioned to buy water soluble ink due to the fact that an ink that is identified " water resistant" includes carbon which will cake in the pen avoiding the ink from streaming.
Beginning calligraphers are recommended to obtain a sloping writing surface area, such as an adjustable preparing table; to prevent that expense, they can prop a board up at an angle to form some sort of inclined surface area. Frances Manola's students at the Craft Students League I utilize easy homemade drawing boards around 16 by 20 inches in size. These have a hinged piece under the back edge which can be folded down so that the board slopes when rested on a level table. Miss Manola suggests a cushioned composing surface area on the board and for this she folds about six pages of newspaper over chip board with a clean sheet of paper on top, then tapes all sides to make a compact system. She also suggests that students keep nearby a sheet of paper similar to the one they're dealing with to test ink flow and strokes, and also a container of water to wash off the pen points when ended up. Such care preserves the points.
Although most calligraphy students are anxious to discover the Italic hand, some teachers choose not to teach it as a very