Spencerian Cursive Copybook Set Plus Theory

My preferred hand-writing style is more like a classical 'Copper-plate', but this is also a really beautiful script, which is definitely worth the (small) effort required to learn it. Some of the letters are too 'American-colonial' for my taste [lower-case 'r' and some of the capitals.] I went to elementary school in the US, but finished my basic education in a more 'British' (former) colony and preferred the local script, to what I'd been taught. I never had any real interest in penmanship or calligraphy, until I was exposed to different hand-writing styles. Both of my parents, who were educated in Europe, had very beautiful cursive scripts. My father's was very close to the Spencerian style (and. also, at that 'magical' 51° slope), but had been adapted for multi-lingual use. However, everything my mother wrote looked like a work of art. It was a pleasure to watch her sign my report cards for school, or to write an 'airmail' to her relatives, abroad. Her individual letters were created mostly with unconnected side-and-down-strokes, with clockwise round-strokes and it was magical to watch! (Almost like Chinese and Japanese calligraphy.) This text-book, as old-fashioned as it is, plus the multiple practice pages, will help anyone who thinks that their hand-writing needs a 'kick in the pants' to improve [...almost everyone, in this Age of Keyboards?] will benefit greatly from this series. This purchase was supremely good value to me and I would highly recommend it for anyone who's into beautiful writing.

These are wonderful for those who are interested in improving their penmanship in a traditional way. PR Spencer is the father of American cursive, long predating the modern cursive that you see today. First developed in 1870s, there is no wonder that the instructions, language and style is a little old-fashioned but hey, that's what we want, right? If you want your kids to learn cursive handwriting, these copybooks may just be a little too boring, tedious and old fashioned for them. But for us adults who appreciate beautiful 19th century writing, look no further. Traditionally, Spencerian penmanship is done using a quill pen. Yep, the turkey feather stuff. That's why in the later books there are some shadings on the letters.. all they have to do back then is press harder on the quill pen and the shading occurs. Unfortunately, one cannot achieve shading with a modern roller ball or gel pen. You would need a steel dip nib, a flexible fountain pen or a quill (if you're really dedicated) and inkpot to achieve this. Still, it's not necessary, you can get any fine pen to practice the whole set and ignore the shading. You can generally use any old pen to practice, although I recommend using the finest pen you can find.. a 0.4 or even 0.3mm pen. This is so you can really concentrate on the letter forms as you practice. Using a thick/broad pen to practice letterforms is like cooking with a cold.. you can't tell what you're doing wrong! This is NOT copperplate! Spencerian penmanship is NOT meant to 'test the limits of your flexible nibs.' Yes, there is some shading in this script but not much. These are very light shading just to accent the letters, some letters are shaded, and some not. Some are shaded more, some less. These little nuances and variety in the script is what makes is beautiful. In comparison, copperplate/engrossers utilize even shading for all letters and is not meant to be a handwriting style. It's important not to get these two scripts confused. Honestly, if you buy this book and fill up every page diligently, I don't see how you won't improve. Unless you've been writing with your eyes closed or something, if you put effort with this book, you WILL improve. It's like a side effect you can't shake off. Once you are done with the book, perhaps you will find an itch to practice with a dip nib to get those coveted shades.. then you'll find you need better ink and better paper.. next thing you know, you're up to your knees in copybooks and penmanship books and nibs. It's a slippery slope, my friends, to the world of beautiful penmanship.. and this is the first step!

A while back I saw a Kickstarter campaign for a fountain pen, and in the video, the guy had the coolest handwriting. The campaign ended up being a bust, but it got me interested in fountain pens, so I bought, rather impulsively, a Lamy Safari italic, and 2 Visconti pens. After buying the pens, I realized that my handwriting, while decent, wasn't anything that would impress anyone. I stumbled on iampeth.com which is a great resource for learning all about different scripts and their histories. Unfortunately, a lot of the stuff on the site is ridiculously complicated and not anything that could really be used day to day, including the ultra-embellished Spencerian script. So, I started looking on Amazon to see if I could find any Spencerian guides. I came upon this and bought it. The set comes with 5 books and a theory book. The theory book is hilarious. It advocates things like getting out a protractor and ruler to measure the exact distance and angle you're sitting with respect to your paper. Okay, ya no... not doing that. But in any case, it's an amusing historical insight into a bygone era. The books themselves are of pretty high quality. They feel like something out of their era but in a very nice way. Each book starts with basics, building upon the last book, and gradually if you use this, you're handwriting will improve. I wouldn't say that I was dedicated enough to come out with absurdly beautiful handwriting, but my handwriting has definitely improved and doing it on my own terms as opposed to having some rude elementary school teacher beat into me was satisfying. I'd definitely recommend a finer tipped tipped pen and ink that won't bleed. The paper is good, but it's not thick enough to prevent bleeding with wet inks, and the lines are small, so writing with a fat tip is going to make mastering some of the flourishes difficult. All in all, if you're interested in having cooler looking handwriting to go along with your expensive fountain pens or even just generally, these books are a good investment.

This "Spencerian Cursive Copybook Set" is well-suited for beginners or anyone looking to improve their handwriting. The quality of the paper is excellent, making it easy to follow along with the neat and structured prompts in the practice booklets. The Theory Lesson Book, though not as polished as modern guides and originally published in 1874, offers a unique and detailed perspective on Spencerian cursive. While it may require some patience to fully appreciate, it remains an informative resource. As someone experienced in calligraphy, I found the set slightly basic for my needs but recognize its great value for novices. I plan to keep this set for my son to use as he grows older, confident that it will be an excellent learning tool. Overall, this is a worthwhile purchase for those interested in developing their cursive writing skills.

I was looking for workbooks that I could write in and not feel bad about it. And these fit the bill perfectly! Not only do they teach the basics of Spencerian handwriting, they break it down into easily digestible principles (literally) that once you understand them you can break down any letter to know what it's supposed to look like. I got the whole set, and when I get through one of the workbooks, I know I can just buy it again individually. Don't expect to get through this in a few days. Some people say it can take more than a year to do it. I don't think I'll take that long, but I'm alreayd 69, I can't be waisting any time! My handwriting (cursive and block) have already improved dramatically after just a month. I probalby won't stick with Spencerian forms forever, but it's a really great foundation to begin with.

These are re-published new copies of the original 1864 course on how to learn Spencerian penmanship. It is an interesting, effective, and fun as I hoped it would be! The included “theory” book walks you through how to sit at your desk, how to hold your pen, and a detailed discussion of the size and spacing of every letter, lowercase and capital, and how it all fits together. The five practice books then instruct you to practice each of the individual “principles” or shapes that form the letters, then the letters themselves, working all the way up to complete sentences as you progress through the books. NOTE! The one thing this course doesn’t really discuss is the pen and ink, presumably because in 1864 it was assumed you’d be using a pointed metal nib on a dip pen. Today’s learners have a lot of options—ball point pens, gel pens, cartridge pens, dip pens, all in different sizes, colors and nib types. Not all pens and nibs will work well for this course! I’ve seen a few bad reviews, and nearly all of them were complaints about the ink bleeding through the paper. This will NOT happen if you’re using the correct pen/nib and using them correctly. If you’re an absolute beginner trying to figure this out, I suggest you start with a dip pen (not cartridge or any other type) with a Speedball brand fine tip pointed nib such as their #512 EX FINE. This is the general type of nib required to faithfully reproduce Spencerian penmanship and is most similar to what you’d be using if it were 1864. I would also suggest Noodler’s brand ink if you can get it—Speedball ink tends to be a bit more watery but may also work fine here. Finally, make sure you follow the instructions for correctly holding and using the pen; it requires only the lightest touch to make Spencerian, and uses very little ink (and makes your nib last longer) when done correctly. I have attached a video of a lesson page I completed, and as you can see there is absolutely no bleeding of ink to the back side of the page.

Teach your child to write cursive; the public school won’t! Born in 1952, I had the worst handwriting in my class. Now I have very good handwriting. Get a Pilot Metropolitan fountain pen to practice with also.

I bought this set for my homeschool freshman son, wanting to get back to the basics of excellent handwriting. Having homeschooled two other children through high school who, despite being urged to do handwriting of some sort every school year through 10th - 11th grades, consistently balked at learning how to write manuscript. I'm sorry I didn't make it more of a requirement than an option. I've noticed, and had confirmed my by other parents, both homeschooled and "regular" school, that there has been a significantly decreasing emphasis on this skill in the past 15 - 20 years. I'm determined that my youngest will have this skill well developed when he graduates. One key reason for this is that the older two students, one now a college senior, recognized their own folly upon going to college. Their lack of proficiency with manuscript, they've come to realize, just slows them down with note taking, in writing answers to essay questions on tests, etc. Another reason for proficiency with this skill becomes apparent when its time for students to prepare for college, if they're intention is to attend one. Inability to use manuscript proficiency, some studies have consistently shown, results in a lower score on essay answers. A lot of homeschool parents are "curriculum" junkies, so a lot of us have extensive collections of materials. I've had very many handwriting materials over the years and I find that the Spencerian set is the best one I've ever seen. Skills are broken down into easily comprehensible and focused sections, requiring a small time investment for each. This makes use of the system much more likely; learning and practicing skills is not burdensome. The language employed is engaging and direct. The materials themselves are attractive and very inviting. I haven't seen anyone encounter the set so far that doesn't respond with delight in the appearance and a desire to thumb through and take a look. In addition to the elegant appeal of the appearance, the presentation and overall design for use is very efficient: lessons are in the theory book, which one will have forever available, with practice meant to occur in the copybooks. You can simply purchase one theory book and reuse it, time and again, and simply purchase a set, or singles, of the copybooks, or migrate to paper over time. I'd recommend this set for anyone who is starting a child in third or fourth grade - as long as that child has average to above average reading comprehension abilities, or with intention of direct instruction - all the way to adults who want to improve their own handwriting. If I were to do things over again on this subject, I'd start and stay with this program. In addition to all of its smart features, it is an incredible value, which I know comes at a high premium for a lot of homeschool families, who are always working to stretch their budgets.