Penmanship and drawing were arts highly esteemed by middle class Victorians. With the great emphasis placed in education on mastering the pen and learning proper technique, and the value placed on fine writing and drawing, high quality pen and ink work abounds from the 19th century.

Scope and contents:

The Pen & Ink Collection includes examples illustrative of penmanship, pen and pencil technique, illustrated letters, and watercolor. The collection includes letters of Thomas Tomkins, the English penman, and Platt Rogers Spencer, along with instruction materials for the Spencerian system of penmanship.

Among the more interesting items are Louis Bail's teacher's guide to technical illustration (1875), a sketchbook of artist, Edward Clay, and a series of illustrated letters of an aspiring graphic artist, John Paulding. The collection also includes a register from "The Curtis," a summer guest house in New Hampshire, which several visitors embellished with drawings or watercolor sketches, and a 25 volume manuscript set on "Checkers, theory and practice" (1875-1895).

Related materials:

Victor Moreau Rice, whose papers reside in the Manuscripts Division, was co-founder of the Spencerian system of penmanship.

Provenance:

Acquired variously.

Recat. 7/98 rsc

Subject index to the Pen & Ink Collection

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