Learning Spencerian Handwriting: My Tools and Resources

[@mariekatherine5238]

In 1974, I found an original, completed set of copy books in an abandoned farm house in New Hampshire. I taught myself Spencerian, and went on to use it in high school. I discovered many people, teachers included, had difficulty reading the script! Too bad. I still use it and am now teaching it to children in grades 3-8. It's perfect for improving fine motor skills and concentration---and it's beautiful!

[@MasDipoS]

Marie Katherine you're not alone

[@reiniertl]

Maybe you are using the "upfront" script, but in the book there are many variations for capitals and lowercase , many quite similar to Palmer script (Palmer script evolved from Spencerian), without to many loops and things that really make some "characters" hard to read. And in my opinion some shortcuts do not help the inexpert reader, like for example the "t" version used for words ending with "t"

[@geraldsoriano2028]

Is it possibke for you to send us a scan copy of the book that youve found in an abandoned farm house

[@Sanecrist]

I noticed that, too. I taught myself based on a font I liked when I was about 14, but I found people were very divided on my penmanship. They either loved it or said it was terrible because they couldn't read it. It was so frustrating, but a good life lesson. You can vastly improve yourself and there will be plenty of people who are mad because you "changed." But regardless, I hope to teach my kids better handwriting than I was in the early 2000's. It was glossed over too much for my liking looking back as an adult.

[@Aarush-V]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKPNqaiuma9oicU

[@laurielyon7740]

Well done! I’m 76 and am doing what you’re doing……learning good penmanship. And I’m sure we have the right approach.

[@condortraveler7855]

Im 28 and im learning as well!

[@theresedignard7445]

When you print out your .off practice sheets, you can just put your printer setting to 50% saturation to get a lighter print. Usually the 100% dark sheet works best with a cover sheet. Either use tracing paper with two paper clips, or a sheet over it on a light box. :)

[@taphophile13]

This is a super old video (by internet standards, anyway) but I wanted to say thank you for your tips for learning Spencerian Script. I started learning it at about the same time you posted this, but only had the copybooks, and gave up. I'm picking it back up again and actually looking for more resources to be sure I do it right. Your tips and links are great, I'm glad I ran across this.

[@michaelsutherland8548]

I love your frankness and honesty. I hope I can follow your example.

[@MingLee1502]

It's interesting to know that the 4 lines in a box paper origin from France, which make sense for the notebook we use at school here in Vietnam cause it used to be a French colony. I spent my school years writing on those French paper notebook with 96 pages and 196 pages. Somewhere in The Millennium, we were introduced to the small square box base on the French paper. It's basically French paper with 4 extra vertical lines that divide the box in to a smaller 4x4 for more precision.

[@Stevew443]

Thank you for the video. Your voice is so clear and relaxing, I could listen to you all day. I always loved fountain pens but my handwriting was horrible. I worked night shift at a job that did not keep me busy, so I picked up Michael Sull's book and practiced for months. My handwriting improved beyond anything I would have though possible. Now that I am retired I want to take my handwriting to the next level. I purchased the set from Mott Publishing and I am just having a bit of trouble getting started. You offered a lot of good tips that just might get me back on track. Again, thank you for the video.

[@apscafe]

yes dear appreciated

[@hannahwc608]

So nice to know that I'm not the only one interesting in penmanship!

[@azharzaidi3264]

Wonderful way of teaching and guiding correctly. I was going to start with flex writing, but she guided me to learning the basics first. So, watching this, I avoided my early failure. Thanks

[@timlawson64]

This was so helpful along with your video on fixing the grip. I am 51 years old and I was never taught cursive in all of the schools that I attended as a child. Your comments made the process so much more accessible for me. Thank you so very much!

[@candya9872]

You present your information in a very organized manner. I like how your offer what has worked for you and what has not. I am taking a class in Spencerian this weekend and was looking for some basic info on it first. Thank you for sharing.

[@CanadianPharmGirl]

Thanks for the blast from the past! Had a look at that "Modern Business Penmanship" online and it reminded me of learning to write when I was a kid... if memory serves, I was in Grade 4 in 1981 and while we didn't use the books that you featured in your video, the style of handwriting in the "Modern Business..." was exactly the style that we were learning in Vancouver (Canada) area schools 30+ years ago. In the intervening 30 years, my handwriting has sort of evolved into a sometimes sloppy, sometimes-tidy hybrid. I've recently discovered (1 week ago tomorrow) the joys of fountain pen writing (Japanese fine nibs and Pelikan Edeilstein ink to start) and am now trying to improve my handwriting to try to do the Spencerian justice.

[@apscafe]

i love to read these descriptions, so lengthy, so engaging, presented in the form of a great beautiful story

[@katdevilmainiac]

I just placed a bid on a used set on ebay and I couldn't be more excited! Thank you for your input!

[@Kabaselefh]

I struggled a lot to get a proper grip, now I am getting better

[@judykairys4911]

You present the tools for Spencerian well. Good basics, and if you want to really learn the Spencerian Penmanship, Michael Sull is very good. I took a class with Michael back in 1991, and I noticed there is a youtube presentation by Michael. I will have to watch it. When I was starting to do calligraphy & Spencerian back in the 1980's, the books or magazines were good, and PRACTICE. Michael Sull was highlighted in Victoria Magazine, and that is where I started with more decorative and flourished writing. I had excellent cursive writing skills because I went to Catholic School, and this was stressed and a requirement starting in second grade or age seven; which, is a requirement throughout each grade to graduation. There are a lot of help aides here on youtube, and I think with the text books, and just familiarizing oneself with the different strokes and working at the art of writing, it is like anything, practice makes perfect.

[@begbrook123]

Excellent video. I love how you are focusing on the basics and getting them right before moving on to other stuff like shading. The thing about Spencarian is even without the fancy capitals and shading it looks beautiful. I think you are right to get the grip and letter shapes right first. Going back and trying to fix these things later is much harder than getting them right in the first place. Hope you do more videos on your progress and how your son is getting on with the script 🙂

[@popparoc46]

It was lovely listening to you talk about these things. I am just starting out with trying to improve my handwriting and this was helpful. I'll visit all the links you suggested. Happily, I already use fountain pens and Seyes paper! - roc

[@letBIGGIErest]

I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE TEACHING THIS TO YOUR SON!

[@TiffanyAlexandriaIngle]

Loved the video! I'm just beginning my journey of learning Spencerian script. I am grateful for the tips you've shared.

[@dylanw6067]

I would love to see an update of where you are now with your practice! I'm thinking about picking up these books and wanted to know how they worked out for you.

[@owlsinsomnia2540]

Appreciated your tip about paper to use. I have pens, ink, and Spencerian books, but not paper. This is a big help. Cheers!

[@caribangerter148]

Thanks for all the wonderful tips! I have always wanted to improve my penmanship, and know I know some useful tools.

[@thomasbudi2000]

Thank you dear. i am also re-training myself to improve my handwriting which already improved a lot compare to my childhood but nowhere near the standard of beautiful hand writing. God bless dear. Wish you all the best with your and your son handwriting.

[@parthsharma7091]

Watching your video while eating chicken nuggets, gave me pleasurable experience. Either my chicken nuggets or your video don't know exactly but one thing is clear. You are very impressive teacher. Will gonns watch now all your videos

[@saints51]

What a delightful personality you project.

[@watergapman]

Thanks for the advice. My New' Year's resolution is to improve my handwriting and your video is a tremendous help. Thank you.

[@apscafe]

great video boss, very helpful video, thanks for existing here

[@danieltoo2008]

you're great, ilve learned allot from your videos. thanks. i am just piggyback learning from you.

[@ajc4762]

Your handwriting is lovely!

[@paulaustin7352]

What a great video!!! Thank you for sharing this. I have recently begun to work on my penmanship, and have started the five-booklet Spencerian copybooks (along with the Theory book) and your video is an inspiration.

[@S.Patierno]

Very nice video .. do you recommend with kids using the same materials?

[@jasminepitts3979]

omg, wasnt your page for locs back in the day? I learned so much from you!

[@robtmjh]

here is another downloadable link to E.C. Mills book: archive.org/details/MillsModernBusinessPenmanship doesn't involve the mini book reader...

[@happyone444able]

Have you tried the Carbon pen? Very very fine point, and very economical too.

[@rlytwyniuk]

Great video and thanks for the links to all the fantastic resources.

[@urbanmiss26]

This is an excellent video!!! Very informative and useful! Well done 😊

[@ThankYouUniverse11-11]

Wow amazing video .. like everything you explain .. so much information .. Thank you very much for sharing

[@ZakariyaAlAnqoudi]

it was a great idea when I chose to watch this video. I really enjoined and learned in every second of it. I guess my path to mastering handwriting is still really long, but I'll definitely enjoy every step.

[@krazyus2756]

I enjoyed your video. I admire your attempt and persistence to learn this. I just got into fountain pens and I'm thinking more about my penmanship. I am going to order those books. Ty for this video. ....Melissa

[@adamsharris405]

Thank you that was a good place to start. I have the books and have just started to use them but to be honest I didn't bother reading the theory book. I will now.

[@maddiemoskala7254]

I’m using the same books as you. Spencerian is so beautiful, I just have to learn it.

[@independentmind1977]

My father taught me on music staff paper when I was a kid. Thanks for the video, I've been trying to sharpen my writing, I've developed my own style but I want to refine it. Also, I recommend the Jinhao 126 for an extra fine tip, you will have to press down on the nib when you first buy it to spread the nib a little and then insert the cartridge (that's just how fine it is, you gotta open up the flow with that adjustment) you'll see every shake in your writing, I use it for my Field Note books and writing drafts - should cost you under 10 bucks

[@Dan-om7tm]

Try using an oblique pen holder dip pen.

[@Redeemed]

We really need a update on these books...

[@robbinallan3767]

I just found your video as I was searching for an illustration of the Majuscule I. I've been working on Copperplate and Spencerian Script for a few months now and would love to know what your success was. Thanks, Robbin

[@JuanDuenas1943]

Thank you for the sheets!

[@BenjaminVineyard]

Hello. I appreciate your exploration here. I'm just getting started with fountain pens and handwriting improvement and I discovered a neat, entry-level extra-fine point pen: the Pilot Penmanship. I ordered mine from Amazon. It came in Japanese-printed packaging. I look forward to seeing if that really fine tip can contribute to your kind of handwriting. The pen cost $8 (Jan. 2016). And the nib from this can be put in Pilot's nicer pens, say the Metropolitan (or further up their line).

[@buzzyanderson4131]

Oh my! A new discovery! Thank you!

[@Wen-ve8nx]

Thanks so much! This is the kind of video that I really, really appreciate, because it saves hours upon hours of research. You point the way to all the crucial resources. Great job!

[@MayaGoodeAuthor]

Wen0110 I'm glad you found it helpful. Good luck!

[@thunderchild010]

Just starting out. Thanks for the pointers.

[@newdawnrising8110]

That sounds like very good beginner advise. I like the video a lot. Nice job!

[@theresedignard7445]

Thanks for sharing. Great presentation and source sharing. I learned the Palmer Method of writing. Am taking up the one too. Thanks for inspiring me to practice more. :)

[@PencilsAndLight]

Great job! Thanks.

[@ninjajellydoughnut27]

I enjoyed your video. You have good pacing and is easy to listen to!

[@dkaranovic]

very very good! exactly what I was looking for! Explaining your workflow and all...it really helped me...

[@stanfordlaine5359]

Thanks for the great resources, I will have to get a set of these books off of amazon.

[@TheAdeptGuitarist]

Try Japanese nibs. Basically their nibs have a much thinner definition of fine and extra fine (much thinner lines than the German definition)

[@KimLechelle]

Very good video! Great information. I wish you had more on the subject.

[@r.mercado9737]

You are correct. First, the proper hold of the pen is critical!

[@Smartcookieibrahim]

Can you please send that 4:29 paper practice worksheets to my mail?

[@lindag1762]

You’re such a good teacher!

[@erikterstriep1088]

Can you post the link to the webpage you were referring to? Also can you write down the pens you were using?

[@TwistsRreal]

thanks for the video I had the copy books and theory book on my wishlist now have a better idea of what's inside

[@stephaniebaughman1306]

I just found this video today and thought it was fantastic! My daughter and I were just talking about some other videos we tried to watch where you had to wade through tons of extraneous talk to get to the information we needed. Not so with you! Very thorough and concise! Love it! I wondered if you could tell me the nib size you ended up liking in the fountain pen. I'm having the same problem where I can't see my little curlicues but was hoping to avoid spending a fortune on trial and error. Goulet has a 0.5 and a 1.2. Thanks for the help!

[@knifenoob5411]

Lol, so true everyone I see have blank books after the first one. How is your progress going? Some very well thought out tips here, thx for being real and showing or telling us your mistakes, that’s hard to admit to ones self let alone put it on KZbin. Thx.

[@gsgleason]

I got the same set of books, and I will look into the impeth resources as well. Thank you for the informative video. Also, if you want your camera to focus on something close up, use your hand to cover the background. I see Brian Goulet do that in a lot of his videos.

[@GenWivern2]

Not sure how I managed to miss this. It's an excellent introduction, clear and well organised - nice video quality too. Thank you, I'm following in the hope you'll post more. :) I have a couple of fairly obvious inexpensive fountain pen suggestions: the Pilot Penmanship or the Platinum Carbon Pen, both of which come close to being true needlepoints. There probably isn't a fountain pen which is really suitable for shaded Spencerian - that's partly to do with the flow characteristics of the ink. Vintage semi-flexes do okay, but the ink has a habit of creeping back along the shades, unfortunately. A dip pen in an oblique holder really does make life much easier, surprising as it may sound.

[@GenWivern2]

***** The ink dumping thing sounds like a lack of nib preparation: that's no criticism because the subject gets hardly a mention anywhere. The most entertaining answer I've seen to this - your timing is impeccable! - came up last week, so I'd suggest you look for a channel here called "OpenInkStand" and check out the most recent upload called "Removing an old nib and preparing a new one". The important stuff scrolls past at the bottom of the screen. Another way to do it is simply to suck the nib for a couple of minutes but as Schin says, that would have made for a gross video. Recommended nibs? Well, I like the Gillott 303 (cheap and temperamental; very sharp and flexible) and the Leonardt Principal EF (expensive, but a bit easier to get along with) - but they're high performance points for heavy shading and super fine hairlines. Many people seem to like Nikko G and Hiro 41 nibs, and they might be more sensible for lightly shaded classic Spencerian. The first two are more the kind of thing you'd pick for Ornamental Penmanship.

[@ZarahMcIntosh]

Great vid! What's the storage bin you had for the dip pens?

[@chandarussell]

I’m left handed. Are there any books out that help people who are left handed??

[@makennakennard49]

So I am going to get the theory and copy books but I was wondering what books to get to learn all of the extra frillies...

[@xyverz]

Thank you for all of this information. I'm looking forward to practicing my own spencerian script. =)

[@TrevorKeenAnimation]

An Ultra-Fine Point Sharpie might work well, depending on the paper.

[@parisdblack1711]

i do not know if you are still at this, but i just got my Pilot Falcon from John Mottishow at nibs.com. It has a special spencerian nib that he customized. I am trying to get use to it but I like the Falcon series of fountainpens a lot. p.s. I finished all my books.

[@xmilax96]

should i learn first learn how to hold a pen and the movements with my regular fountain pen? Luckyly for me, i never stopped using my fountain pens and cursive ever since we learnt it 😂 (which seems to be what most did?)

[@xmilax96]

Oh, and should i dobthe excersices first in pencil? Or is it enough with what i said before?

[@MsBonsai2010]

Thanks for sharing! I think you've convinced me to buy this set also. Have you finished with the copybooks yet? It would be awesome to see a follow-up video if you haven't posted one already :)

[@Soulrider2012]

Thank you for making the video and sharing the resources you've used. While the link to the actual book on the iampeth web site is broken, I was able to find the book. Do you need to be a member to download the book(s)? I've been looking at the set on Amazon of the five copy books and the theory book. Would you recommend buying the whole set or just the theory book? Thanks again.

[@RedCrrazy]

I'm trying to learn calligraphy but were I'm left handed I need and oblique pen and I don't have the money to get one I have a few normal calligraphy pens.

[@mirjameladhari]

Thank you for posting this! Very helpful

[@Anna57646]

Thank you so much for making this video you just fantastic job. In future I would recommend adjusting the lighting so the shadow of your camera tripod isn't in your cameras field of view, if possible.

[@oambitiousone7100]

Which pen did you like best?

[@vimeopictures5170]

How do i download those rare books.....i soo love dem :/

[@chris18228]

Is there any pages you can just Wright on

[@Kumofan]

The 5th is just lined paper with examples. If you want to just practice writing without examples, print or buy French rule paper

[@trampledbygeese]

Is the paper of the Spencerian Copybooks good enough to use with a fountain pen?

[@trampledbygeese]

ah, I needed to watch further along. Great info. Thanks for the video.

[@georgeredbranch652]

You're doing it right. Get to the point that letter form and joins are second nature before complicating your writing with a pointed pen / calligraphy nib. I practiced for at least a year, it's no longer practice it's just the way l write. A month ago l bought all the the bits and bobs to do Copperplate. I'm back to the learning faze. Good luck on your journey.

[@meditating010]

Have you tried japanese fine? They are really fine... any japanese make would do

[@williamreeder3660]

Thank you !

[@TheYellowFlashLight]

Very useful video. Thank you lady.

[@vondoken]

Thank you, very well done. LOVE it!

[@kimggaegaeg]

Cool video. Thanks for posting!

[@nitingarje247]

upload video for your latest handwriting to see progress of your handwriting

[@sjWiz]

What kind of paper(s) did you use to print those practice guide lines on?

[@tr1641]

Please tell me again where I can download the PDF's for the slanted writing? Thanks T

[@tr1641]

Many thanks very imformative. T x

[@jaredhaskett]

Thank you for the videos! I am also trying to learn Spencerian script. It looks like you are making great progress. Congrats! Are you planing to do any more videos or tutorials about how you are learning? I am having trouble finding out where to start exactly. I have the book and 5 copy books from Amazon and have read them. They can be a bit confusing can't they? Do you know of any other resources that you have used or maybe you can make some videos! Thanks, JH

[@cableguy20081222]

Hand writing update?

[@hanhduc3963]

Where can I buy it???

[@ChezFeroce]

What books can I buy to learn the flourish? :) I just bought the set of books! I

[@ChezFeroce]

Sure! I just ordered one called "Universal Penman" that someone recommended to me... I'll get back to you if I find it any good. I really want to learn flourish.

[@bigshortstack2929]

There are several videos on KZbin showing how to do flourishes. Not only "regular" circular and banner type, but also some in the shapes of feathers and birds....especially Hummingbirds. ENJOY. You can download those videos with some free video downloading aps. for viewing as often as you wish and at whatever times in your daily schedule that you choose.

[@LoiLaing]

Thanks for sharing this info!

[@AMIR-nm7fo]

i'm 67. I use block and spencerian.

[@frakturobsession6044]

Nice and informative video Thanks alot for sharing. I live in Egypt so we don't have instructors here for non Arabic calligraphy. I ordered this book from amazon and will arrive soon. Since you said it's not the only resource to learn spencerian, I heard alot about IAMPETH website. Is it only going to cost me just 25$ a year or is there any other subscription fees ?

[@matthewcondon1985]

Great video! Your iampeth links don't work now. I think they have been working on their site. I can't find the guid sheets or Modern Business Penmanship book. Can you help me out? Could you e-mail me the PDFs? Thanks!

[@matthewcondon1985]

***** Thanks! I went to their site recently and was glad to see the new and updated design.