Hi,
I'm working on an academic paper and at this point, I'm facing a problem to properly explain the meaning of the word penmanship in Portuguese.
It's not difficult to find some direct translation to calligraphy. In an Introduction to the book "An elegant hand: The golden age of American penmanship
and calligraphy", Tysdal defines penmanship as "the ability to write
a ‘good hand’". Following this definition, the book shows a lot of examples, including some made with a pointed nib.
On the other hand, on his "Formal Penmanship", Johnston specifically says that penmanship means good writing using broad nib pens to reproduce book hand or formal hands.
"By penmanship I mean
more particularly that kind of writing in which a broad-nibbed pen is used to
form the letters. It is conveniently referred to by the name of ‘formal writing’,
and early varieties of it distinguished from ‘running’ hands, or ordinary
writing, by being called the ‘book hands’, because for something like 2000
years books were made in such writing, before the invention of printing" (Edward Johnston)
By doing a penmanship activity it's mandatory to use broad nib? Is this just a very specific Johnston's point of view? Or there's a different approach to the activity from the british to the americans?
Could anybody help me sending a book reference or an online text about it?
Best reguards.
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Comments
It's been hard to define these words in Portuguese. I'm trying to quote some classical authors in order to support what I'm saying but, yes, I really can't just laying on their shoulders. Thank for encouraging me.
About Tysdal's definition, it is simple and quite problematic because of the abstract use of "good hand". I explored the meaning of the "Kalli" in other Greek words like "Kallistéphanos" (splendidly garlanded), "Kallínikos" (Glorious victor) and "Kaliméra" (good morning), for example. In general, geeks use the word "Kalli" to describe an ideal condition or perfection.
More recently, the more common uses of the word "penmanship" in American English refer to neat and proper writing: kids' penmanship was one of the criteria for doing well in elementary school (at least when I was in elementary school). That more frequently occurring use of the term is wholly tool-agnostic, and young schoolkids are more likely using pencils than any kind of fancy-nibbed pen.
(Teaching neat writing in late-20th-c. schools is not wholly unrelated to Johnston's efforts, it might be noted. His attention to the craft of writing inspired educational movements that led to the kind of curriculum I had (though his beloved broad-nib pens got dropped somewhere along the way.))
Now in the 21st century, it also might be worth noting, the gendered aspect of the term "penmanship" seems a flaw.
Indeed, I found many many examples named as penmanship using pointed nibs. It seems clear now that Johnston's efforts for a formal penmanship education were honoured but as Craig said, lost in a way.
One more question: So, if penmanship means a skill of writing well, what's its difference from the calligraphy, supposed to be the art of write in an ideal condition?
Does anybody have any book or paper references to share?
Thank you very much.
“Penmanship” had practical, educational and commercial overtones. It was a skill required not just in higher education, but in a lot of office jobs—secretary, clerk, bookkeeper, etc.—before typewriters were invented.
There were a great many penmanship schools in the 19th century, teaching this basic office skill.
“Calligraphy” was a later idea, advanced by Edward Johnston et al, the idea being to separate the aesthetic and cultural qualities of writing from the taint of Mammon.