Roundhand has been in use for a number of centuries and today the bulk of the engrossing business is done in this style. No one who is skillful in this art heeds to be without profitable employment. It is therefore not necessary to speak further of its merits and value. You need this style if you intend to do pen work or if you wish to be a teacher of penmanship.
The best ink you can use is Zanerian India diluted with about five parts water and about one-fourth part of gum arabic to one part of ink. Too much gum will prevent the ink from flowing freely and too much ink will make it too black and uninviting. Japan or good fluid will do for practice but not for actual work.
Use an oblique holder with the pen point elevated above the center. The publishers of the B. E. will he glad to supply you with a holder adjusted for roundhand for 15c, 40c, 50c, 75c or $1.00. A Zanerian Fine Writer pen should be used on large work, while a 303 Gillott's should be used for writing below an eighth of an inch. Avoid a soft, coated or cheap paper. It pays to use the best.
The forms given in this course are used by the leading engrossers in the country. Because of the shaded down strokes the forms must be made with a slow hand and forearm movement. They cannot be made with a free movement like business writing. The hand should rest on the side more than in free light-line writing. The pen should be raised often—every time you come to the base line. One should use head and base lines until he becomes a master. Even then he should use them for fine work.
It takes patience and intelligent effort to win. Know the forms well before you attempt to make them. Practice without study is waste of effort and material.
The exercises given herewith are very important. Your success depends upon how well you master each one, Rule head and base lines, also a few slant lines at first. Get uniform spacing and slant. The down strokes should be uniform in thickness. Watch one thing at a time, and don't be afraid of work. See how nice you can get the tops and bottoms of the first line without retouching.
You will need to retouch some places where you fail to make it correct the first time. The turns should be studied carefully. Get them equally rounding, and graceful. Raise the pen on turns at the base line. Use a rather quick motion on the turns. You should use one-half inch ruled paper, getting your work as large as the copy. If you can make the forms large you can soon learn to make them smaller. Working on large exercises will enable you to grasp the forms and develop strength and boldness.
Lesson 2
If you have mastered the exercises presented in last month's B. E., you will find very little trouble with this lesson. Your main trouble will be to secure uniform spacing, slant, and uniform down strokes and smooth lines.
The spacing should appear the same between as in letters, but a little study will show you that the compound. hair lines take more space than simple curved hair line connecting strokes. To secure good uniform spacing- you must study spacing. Never do careless work. It always pays to do systematic, neat work. Watch the arrangement on the page,
To secure uniform slant all down strokes should be pulled towards the center of the body. Get your paper in front of you and not too far to the right. If necessary draw a few slant lines. Remember that there should be no. connective slant in roundhand. Light connective strokes should be on the same slant as the shaded down strokes.
You should put on the full pressure of the pen as soon as you make the top turns if you wish to get the down strokes uniform in heft of shade. Hit the head and base lines every time and your work will took regular.
It is not all practice that wins. Form study is necessary, for without a defirlite knowledge of the shape of a letter you cannot make it correctly. Good ink is very important. Learning to mix good in is half in becoming a good penman, See that the hair lines are light and that the shades are dark. To lighten the hair lines, add water and add gumarabic to darken shades and make sharper hair lines.
Lesson 3
Mastering the curved stroke in "c" practically means mastering five small letters. Keep the thickest part of the shade a little below the center. Get grace and strength into your work. Practice will give you confidence. Keep the "es' open and watch the space in r4a." The down strokes in "a" should be the same thickness. The up strokes ire "r" and "s" should be curved considerably. Get neat, clean dots and open, clear loops. They are very important for beauty and legibility. Fine work is carefully executed in detail.
Roundhand cannot be written very rapidly, or at least you should not attempt speed until you have first mastered it by using a slow, finger and combined movement. The more speed used the less accurate and beautiful are the forms, In a $10 or $25 piece of work there may be from 7 to 200 words, so, for a day's work you sometimes will not be required to write many words, but they must be written superbly well.
Study the forms of each letter carefully before you try to make it with a pen. You can not make a form well if you have only a hazy idea of its shape.
This style of writing cannot be written rapidly with a few pert liftings the same as business writing. It is important that you raise the pen on every down stroke at the base line. Notice how rounding and gracefully the turns are made. Turn your work upside down often and study it Change your pen often. A scratchy pen invites discouragement, and above all, you should not become discouraged.
Lesson 4
Here we have a review, which is always good for you. Strive for general things such as spacing, slant, height, quality of line, etc. If any one letter gives you trouble work on it alone. You will progress faster by working for one thing at a time than by scattering your efforts on too many letters or things. one thing at a time than by scattering your efforts on too many letters or things.
If you are experiencing difficulty in mastering roundhand, it will be well to analyze yourself. See if your tools and supplies are good, and try to discover if you are using the right movement. The little finger should act as the center of control. You can't write roundliand in the same free manner as business writing. Get your hand over and supplies are good, and try to discover if you are using the right movement. The little finger should act as the center of control. You can't write roundliand in the same free manner as business writing. Get your hand over center of control. You can't write roundliand in the same free manner as business writing. Get your hand over on the side so as to have a firm foundation for the hand to draw out the heavy firm strokes.
You must first have a strong desire to learn; then, you must practice faithfully and intelligently. You can master this beautiful style if you will persevere—and it's worth the effort.
Lesson 5
For this lesson use paper ruled 3/8 of an inch. All preceding lessons were planned for 1/2 inch paper. The object of large work is to enable you to get a good percept or mental picture of the letter, uniform down strokes, and beautiful graceful curves. Unless you have mastered the large work, do not attempt small work.
It is very important that you develop a uniform pressure on the down strokes, It will not do to have one light and the next one heavy. In the letter i, start the down stroke with a square top, continuing the same pressure until you start to turn at the base line. Avoid a wedge shape form. It is one of the marks of an amateur, In the first down stroke of m, start the shade gracefulIyI and put the hilt pressure on as soon as you pass the turn. Learn to hit the head and base lines, beginning the shade on the down strokes as near the head line as possible, and carrying it down as near to the base line as possible without making stiff turns.
Perseverance is a good quality, but don't make the mistake of making letter after letter, and page after page, without carefully studying your work and the copy occasionally. Have a definite thing in view to master. See where your work differs from the copy. You can not expect to master roundhand in a week, but you can learn to make a few of the simple strokes and letters fairly well, which is all that is expected of you. Weeks of study and careful practice will bring results.
You cannot be too careful with the dots on i, x, c, r, and s, and the retrace or blind loop on v, w, r, o and s. Study them carefully so that you may know exactly what to make. Take time to get them correct and neat. Good script is not written very rapidly.
Lesson 6
In this lesson strive for an even pressure on the do.vn stroke3. The down stroke in the letter t should be the same in heft as the down stroke in i. See that the first down strike in d is the same as the second down stroke. Make the dots on s, c, etc., as heavy as the downward strokes.
Abbreviated loop letters are often used. In some places, especially ill condensed work, they are better than the regular loops. Master them and you will find the regular loops easy.
Watch the slant and spacing. Uniformity is more important than smooth lines at first. Practice will develop smoothness. Good roundhand depends more on knowledge of form, etc., than upon skill in execution. After you know exactly how to make a letter, a little practice will accomplish much. It is useless to practice unless you have a clear ideal in mind. Therefore do considerable studying before practicing. Compare your work with the copy frequently, and practice, practice.
Lesson 7
In this lesson we present the upper loop letters, which are beautiful, difficult and very important, While they are given as three space loops in this lesson, they should be shortened or lengthened to fit the space. Sometime the loops can be made only two spaces high or twice the size of i in order to crowd in all the words desire written on a given space. Mart the shade up high in order to get firm looking letters.
Remember that the 1 is an extended i and that the turn in 1 should be round and full the same as in i and u Watch the blind loop on b, and study the curves on both sides of the loop. Raise the pen at the base line always to fine work. fine work.
The second part of it is the same as the last part of n. It should be as heavy as the first part. The second part of k needs special study, It is higher than the minimum letters. Notice the slant. The little dot on k, etc., should be neat and as thick as the shaded strokes. A good variety of words is given to practice upon. Study their carefully, and pick out the words or parts of words which appeal to you and imitate them.
A page of roundhand must be good in general qualities like slant, spacing and heft of line to look It takes about as much studying of forms as practice to learn. One must know the forms thoroughly before he can hope to make them with a pen.
Lesson 8
Lower loops are a little more difficult than the upper loops, but you can easily master them by careful study and practice. The j is the key letter to lower loops, and if mastered you should tind little trouble with the other ones. Study the light-line connecting strokes.
The first q is more legible than the second one. It pays to work for legibility first. The first part of z is the same as the first part of n. Be careful not to get too large a shoulder on the last part of z.
These loops are three spaces but ordinarily we do not make them quite that long. Sometimes we have to use two spaced loops. Try to make them shorter. Learn to make your work fit the space it is to occupy.
Unless you are a student of form your progress will be slow. Study roundhand everywhere you see it, and make a collection of good examples of work.
Lesson 9
Since the majority of capital letters are based on the compound curve, you will do well to spend much time on the exercise, Study Eye curves at the top and boo-L[0m and how the shade swells and diminishes gracefully. See that the down strokes are parallel and on the main slant. The up strokes should be parallel and on the eon- nective slant.
After you have mastered the exercise, the corns ound curved strokes in V, W, etc., should be easy. as they are practically the same.
Study the beginning stroke of V. Notice that part of it is much the same as the last part of small n. Tjnlegs you learn to see the forms clearly and see the relation of one letter to another you cannot expect to make good Letters. The beginning strokes of V, W, Z, H and K are the same. Be careful to get them the right size and not too high nor too low.
The loop on Z is the same as the loop on the small z, The last part of H is much the same as small 1 only it is curved more. Make the last part of the K the samz in shape as in small k. By making comparisons of this kind you will discover that you have already worked oil many of the strokes in the capitals. Make both strokes in I and J downward, The top part of P, B and R are not so very difficult if made slowly. Work for form and quality, not speed. Give considerable attention to the little d ts. The down strokes in A and M should be slightly curved. Begin T and F the same as P. Study the ovals and compound curves in S, L and G.
This lesson contains considerable material, and unlesss you study and practice perseveringly you cannot expect results. Be sure to study.
Lesson 10
The beginning loop of U, Y, Q, and X is full and about the same as the loop in P, B and R. See that the down stroke of the loop is curved as much as the up stroke and that it is slightly shaded. This shade should not he as heavy as the main shades. Notice the slant of the loop. It is necessary to make both shaded down strokes in 121 and Y the same in thickness. The dot on Y should he rather heavy, neat and up off the base line.
The Q and X begin exactly the same. Make the horizontal oval of Q the same as in L. Dots on the X are important for beauty but not legibility.
Practice until you can make good letters without retouching. You will make money and save time by it However, retouch letters you do not get correct the first time. All engrossers make some poor letters but usually they are able to convert them into passable letters by a little retouching.
Study the shaded down stroke in C E. and 0, The bulk uf the shade is below the center. See how graceful you can make the shade, If put on too suddenly it will make an awkward break. The slant of the finish of C and E should be the same as the general slant, The middle loop in E should slant upward slightly, You will find the ability to make various harmonious (not freakish) style of letters will serve you well in actual engrossing. Some letters fit a certain space better than others.
The O and D are rather trying on the nerve but you can learn to make them if you are determined. Some raise the pen in while others find it best to make the letter without raising the pen. Make the top oval part of A downward after you have made the body part.
Figures are very important for they are used often, They will be easy to make after you have a good mental picture of them. Watch slant, height and weight of strokes.
The small kiters are presented for a review. See how uniform and graceful you can make them. Hit the head and base lines evenly; that is, pull all the shades down close to the base line before making the turns. Work and he happy.
