Spencerian Penmanship Set of 5 Copybooks

Not bad for a reprint on a 1887 book... these books are made up of the 7 principles or strokes you need to create all the letters and write in this style. You also need the theory book which is what was given to teachers to teach classrooms full of children. After completing the first four pages of book one I can’t yet write in Spencerian that will come, however my general handwriting has improved so much and dare I say looks nice. For the price I’d recommend. They are old books so there is some wording and teaching methods that are out of date for instance I’m left handed however if you get past that they are pretty good at teaching a lost art of penmanship.

All the best books on penmanship, of course, hail from a past generation when the skill was inculcated at an early age and in a way which one couldn't see being acceptable now i.e. rigorous copying, repetition and strict attention to detail. Nevertheless, this seems to me to be the best way to learn - just like practicing piano scales and arpeggios. An excellent series of books for developing that elusive "muscle memory." I drew up a copy page with some design software and print a few copies, as required, so that I don't spoil the books!

I'm new to calligraphy and Spencerian scrips. I'm practicing with these books and learning and improving my writing

Five attractive 24 page copybooks, supplied in a large envelope at a very good price. Anyone who worked diligently through these would emerge at the end with beautiful handwriting, without doubt ... though I wonder how many people would have the heart to write in them. These books are not quite perfect, and there is scope for some confusion. It seems that the copybooks themselves originate from 1864, whilst the information given on the inside covers is taken largely from the 1874 "Theory of the Spencerian System of Practical Penmanship", with a few additions from the "Compendium of Spencerian or Semi-Angular Penmanship" of 1866. It would be tiresome to go into the inconsistencies in detail, but worth noting. The other problem is that on some pages the printing is slightly out of register between the exemplars and the guidelines: fine detail is everything with Spencerian and this fault is rather disconcerting. None of this should put off potential purchasers, however, though I would strongly recommend buying these along with the theory book and regarding the latter as authoritative. Once again, Mott Media have done a fine job in keeping these books in print at a sensible price, thus making an important contribution to keeping Platt Rogers Spencer's beautiful handwriting system alive.

There is some debate whether you should buy these copy books, or print things online. I wholeheartedly attest, getting these 5 copy books full of exercises, is a 100% investment into progress. The one advice I would offer is, do the exercises in pencil. Ok yes, we seek to be good penmen, but following copybook examples with pencil is more gentle & controlled, plus there is no bleed through on adjacent page. I have spent loads of time on book 1, but that was getting the basic principles. I feel accomplished to go on to book 2, and quickly progress! 👍

Harken back to the days when penmanship meant something. A beautiful set that should be mandatory study in all schools

Fantastic books really helping with my penmanship at the moment already noticing a difference in my writing, would recommend to everyone who wants to improve handwriting.

Hard work but I’m getting the hang of it, exercises make perfect sense now and books easy to use.

It included all 4 workbooks and covered all the details needed to begin improving and learning Spencerian script.

Gutes Heft mit Kalligraphie Sätzen, die man üben kann. Ich liebe es.

This is an excellent course in elegant nineteenth century longhand. I also brought the theory book. I am an artist by profession and I wanted to learn the beautiful script of the nineteenth century, but I immediately noticed that the different way you are taught to hold the pen made it, while more difficult, far more easy to control and manipulate your pen. I decided to completely change the way I hold my writing/drawing pens and to adopt this manner for all my work. This is hard and causes my hand to cramp up now and then but it is worth the effort. Maybe the Spencerian manner of holding a pen is of even greater importance than the writing! The covers contain extra instructions, also that you are meant to use these books with pencil. The paper will bleed through with fountain pens. I think that one needs a lot more practice anyway than just the booklets give you space and I find some letters more difficult than others so devote more pages to them. So I have brought the Clairefontaine french ruled exercise books. Look for the wire bound larger books, I found sellers with really good deals on the net. Clairefontaine paper is made for fountain pens and is a joy to use. It makes your writing easier too, to have proper paper. The French ruling is the perfect help. I am really enjoying the books, I am half way now, and my ''normal'' handwriting has improved noticeably. Another thing I really liked, and I don't know if it was in the theory book or in the instruction books, but in the end, after you mastered the lines and letters, you are free to develop further into our own style. To make the beautiful thick/thin lines you will need a flexible fountain pen, or a dip pen with flexible nib. A ''calligraphy'' nib will not give you the right effect and will not teach you the difference in pressure needed. That means a vintage pen or a very expensive modern gold flexible nib fountain pen, or, the only affordable modern flexible nib fountain pen: the ''Noodler's Ahab''. (this is a pen for people who like to fiddle with their pens). I love it, use it for sketching too as the difference in pressure and line is an important part of my style. I prefer the Ahab now for sketching as a flexible dip pen (besides the need for an inkwell and constant dipping), tends to snag very easily unless you have very smooth paper, which means you'd have to make your own sketchbooks. And the same goes for writing obviously. If you want to learn beautiful elegant longhand and learn a superior way of holding pens, I wholeheartedly recommend these books. I hope this review was helpful to you.

Prévoir un stylo plume EF, ou F japonais avec une encre pas trop fluide, le papier n'est pas exceptionnel, ça passe vite au travers. Ce lot de cahiers peut s'accompagner de ce guide : https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/088062082X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (Commandé mais pas encore reçu.) Toutefois on peut s'en passer, les explications (en anglais) sont indiquées, même si elles sont surement plus succinctes que dans le guide. Petite note à l'usage des étourdis ou des personnes qui ont un peu survolé le descriptif. Il n'y a pas 5 cahiers identiques comme je l'ai cru ! Mais 5 cahiers différents, numérotés, couvrant tout l'apprentissage, étape par étape. Très agréable de faire des lignes ^^ et de progresser étape par étape.

I have longed to learn Spencerian Penmanship for quite a while now. And with the proverbial leap to fountain pens, it was even more of a possibility to write in a florid and beautiful handwriting. Only, I couldn't write in any lettering except the usual cursive. These books are tried-and-tested for teaching most accurately the art of penmanship in P.R. Spencer's famed quick-writing style. The books are, however, quite tiny, and might finish before mastering the art of penmanship. But they are worth every bit of the investment.