For more resources for learning Spencerian Script, please click on Pointed Pen DVDs,
Spencerian and Spencerian Pen Nibs under the Tools & Materials/Calligraphy & Illumination category on the left.
B2463. Spencerian Practice Pack/Sull Michael Sull's Spencerian Practice Set
The traditional method for students to learn Spencerian Script was known as the copybook format, where a model line of Spencerian penmanship was printed at the top of a sheet with blank lines underneath for the student to practice her/his own writing.
In this set by Michael Sull, the 29 printed sheets feature 100 model lines of penmanship encompassing the lowercase letters, capitals, words, sentences, and over 700 blank lines for your writing. The set also includes 5 blank practice sheets each for two sizes of script (10 total), with instructions.
B1816. Learning to Write Spencerian/Sull Learning to Write Spencerian Script
By Michael Sull & Debra Sull. 1993. 75pp. 6.75" x 8.5". Paper.
An instructional manual for Spencerian covering equipment and tools, practice, and extensive instruction on the individual letters, by the man largely responsible for the revival of interest in this traditional American form of penmanship. A companion instructional DVD is also available: DVD12.
B3209. Designing Faces, Figures, Florals /Schneider Designing Faces, Figures, Florals and More: Contemporary Ornate Pictorial Calligraphy by Linda Schneider. 2009. 85pp. 8.5"x11". Paper
A great instructional workbook for pointed pen flourishing. You learn the basics of flourishing and how to apply those techniques to ornament your work. Linda's flourish style is unique. Instead of feathers and birds, she uses the flourish strokes to create delightful flowers, ladies, dogs and even the Eiffel Tower.
DVD23. Off Hand Flourishing DVD DVD23. Off-Hand Flourishing: Techniques for Ornamental
Penmanship by Michael Sull. DVD.106 minutes.
Michael covers basic tools and materials: pen points, oblique holders, papers. He continues with instruction on preparing and using colored and gold inks, including mixing a sepia ink from vermilion sumi & Higgins Eternal; using Dr. Martin’s Bleed Proof White; and Schmincke metallic gouaches.
The "off-hand" instruction begins with the primary flourishing strokes, and then Michel presents the basic steps for cartouches, scrolls, border designs, quills, birds, title flourishing, accent flourishes, and creative patterns. The DVD finishes with a selection of over 50 different historical designs by a range of master penmen. It’s the closest thing to having Michael in the room teaching you!
All our DVDs are made to run on USA and Canada machines. If you live outside North America, you should check with the manual for your machine to see if it can play NTSC format DVDs. If your DVD player can’t play our DVDs, your computer may be able to.
Instructions and examples of pictorial flourishes: quills, birds, swans, etc. Originally published under the title Fascinating Pen Flourishes. Recommend by Heather Held, Michael Sull and others for the many examples (over 150) from a range of master penmen. For many years, this was the best reference in print, and it is still a valuable one.
B2476. FW Tamblyn's Home Instructor Penmanship FW Tamblyns’s Home Instructor in Penmanship
F.W. Tamblyn. 8th ed. 2001. 174pp. 8.5"x5.25". Spiral.
80 pages of instruction on basic script starting with holding the pen and positioning the paper, followed by pages of exercises, letterforms, words, and sentences to copy. Then 33 pages on Artistic Writing (Spencerian) -- instruction on adding the stresses to capitals and appropriate lowercase letters. Smaller sections on Engravers Script, broad-edged
alphabets, off-hand flourishing, engrossing, and diplomas. A great reprint. A highly recommended manual.
Reprints the 7th edition, 1938, with a new foreword and an added biography of Tamblyn.
DVD12. Learning to Write Spencerian Script DVD Learning to Write Spencerian Script
By Michael Sull. DVD.
A 60-minute instructional video by Michael Sull, author of the comprehensive text of the same title: B1816. First, he gives a brief history of the hand, and then he gives letter-by-letter instruction.
All our DVDs are made to run on USA and Canada machines. If you live outside North America, you should check with the manual for your machine to see if it can play NTSC format DVDs. If your DVD player can’t play our DVDs, your computer may be able to.
DVD40. Spencerian with Ron Tate DVD Spencerian with Ron Tate DVD. 2009. 1 hour, 27 minutes.
This step-by-step, stroke-by-stroke, instructional DVD presents the history, tools, and techniques for this beautiful hand. You learn Spencerian Script with the help of professional calligrapher, Ron Tate. Spencerian is an American style of penmanship. The lower case has only a few stressed strokes in a word. In copperplate, every down stroke is thickened by applying pressure to the pen. Spencerian Script can be written with more speed than copperplate. Spencerian originated in Ohio in the 1860s with Platt Rogers Spencer.
This includes 15 chapters showing:
Instruction and demonstration of all the letters of the alphabet
Hand positions and correct posture
Practice exercises
Writing angles and letter sizes
Samples of master penmen scrapbooks
The Madarasz Book
Old copy books
Oblique pen holders and pen points
List of on-line resources
Practical tips for envelopes
Pen flourishes
This DVD is formatted for North America. For those outside the USA & Canada, it will work with the DVD drive on your computer, but may not work on your TV's DVD player.
B2470. Elegant Hand / Henning An Elegant Hand: The Golden Age of American Penmanship and Calligraphy by William E. Henning. Edited by Paul Melzer. 2002. 320pp. 8-1/2"x11". Hardcover.
Chronicles the history of the Golden Age of American penmanship, guiding the reader through the lives and careers of important American penmen beginning with Platt Rogers, Spencer, the Father of American Handwriting, and Spencer’s gifted student, George A. Gaskell, whose books and periodicals reached the hundreds of thousands of students throughout the second half of the 1800s.
Illustrated with more than 400 examples, most from
original specimens.
B2503. At Home with Artistic Penwork (5 Book Set) At Home with Artistic Penwork by Stephen A Ziller. 8.5"x5.25". Paper.
Set of five instructional books on pointed pen work: Business Writing (68pp), Artistic Writing (Spencerian & Ornamental) (36pp), Card Writing (32pp), Engrossing Alphabets (32pp), and Bird & Design Flourishing (48pp). First published in the 1940s for home instruction.
