I purchased all these Spencerian penmanship booklets at Amazon and was very well pleased. My handwriting improved considerably. I've had compliments on my handwriting thanks to the drills provided in these booklets.
I started typing all of my thank you notes and notes I included in greeting cards decades ago! I would always excuse them for my poor handwriting. But my handwriting was complicated by a fine motor tremor in my writing hand and I used that as an excuse. Thus over time my penmanship deteriorated to an undiscernible foreign script of unknown origins! So it has been my experience that all this typing that we are doing in our American culture is making writing and penmanship a lost art! People have simply forgotten pen-on-paper writing! I have found that penmanship is a therapeutic hobby. But I must first improve my penmanship and this is where your wonderful video comes in! Thank you for this resource unbeknownst to me! Having discovered fountain pens I now concentrate on my pen gliding on the paper, focusing on nothing but the curves of each stroke. There seems to be no competition. Just me and my pen and my words as they come to life on paper! Penmanship as a therapeutic tool is better than Xanax! Trust me! Ha!
The “correct hold” described in the book, really explains the use of the last to fingers as a slider and to keep the distance of fingers relatively constant. I’m fascinated by the fact that the prescribed hold flows very well once you “get it”. Brutally formal, but very efficient!
Thank you for the review. It was nice to see what these books looked like, also nice to know I'm not the only one trying to improve upon my lost skill of writing cursive.
I re-taught myself my senior year of high school in 2011-2012, when most others my age never even learned. I’m fairly sure my elementary school in rural Mississippi taught something like a simplified Spencerian script but I forgot about half of the capital letters between third and twelfth grade. It was amusing to realize that my cursive quickly became a far cry for my TERRIBLE print and looks a lot like my grandmother’s, who took actual handwriting classes. The only big difference is my S’s look like my mom’s and my N’s and A’s are narrower than my grandma’s. I’m a lefty, my grandma is a righty. I use cursive still, and occasionally hand write letters to friends.
Marie...so glad to see another video on these books! Please, please, please, finish them and post videos of your progress...good or bad. Several have started videos on the Spencerian books, but never posted updates...did they ever finish?...we may never know. I myself have thought about posting a video journal of my working through the books, but I fear I may not be dedicated enough at this point to follow through. Keep it up!
Awesome video. Thank you for posting. Like to see an update and how you got along thus far. I grew up using these books. For about 3 years or so. My journals from 3rd to 8th grade are amazing! Over time, I lost the ability to write that neat, but if I focus I can still do it. It's practical and useful and I still get complements on my handwriting. If anyone is on the fence about these books or looking for some, buy them. They are the best course for practical everyday writing that looks amazing. After this, I'd look into a calligraphy course. Note, THIS IS NOT CALLIGRAPHY. It doesn't show you how to write awesome, big script letters or Gothic text you find on degrees. There are no flourishes. But if you want your handwriting to stand out in beautiful every day cursive script that looks like the declaration of independance, then this is for you. I cannot recommend it higher.
Thanks for this, and especially for the closeups of the practice books. I'm glad to see you can use ink in the books. I had seen reviews that said the paper was only good for pencil.
Thank you for this information. I have purchased the set of amazon and received yesterday. Also got a selection of fountain pens off aliex to find one suitable. I intend to get my handwriting neater and this should be the way ti go. Subbed and liked.
@@messenger3478 I'm sorry to hear that, hope all is better now. I've just started and waiting for my workbooks and with past experience of other skills, I know it takes discipline & time so stick with it. A later update will be great if you can manage it. Keep at it, best of luck. Tom
I think these should be standard requirements for grade school students. I remember when I was given my by my grandmother and it truly was the best gift!!
Nobody seems to mention the practice exercises make you write large, while in actual penmanship (as in correspondence, journaling) you will be writing small. I am over halfway through book one, and although it is hard not to learn proper form, I wonder how easy it is to "scale it down". Also, the instructions talk about dip pens, so it's probably best to use a dip pen, but the instructions seem to have a non-angled dip pen. In any case, working with a pencil or a ball-point pen is a lot different, in terms of pressure you must put on the instrument to write. Also, speed of movement is not mentioned; I have to come onto UA-cam to see how experienced practitioners actually write. Finally, it's important to know that the "principles" (the 4-7 different line types) they say all letters can be made with are violated early on, because the instructions say to adjust the slants depending on on the letter. Then there are the small hooks. In any case, I wonder how far you got?
Spencerian Script was replaced by a simplified system called Palmer in the early 20th Century. Palmer was eventually dropped in most public schools starting at the end of the 20th Century as schools decided cursive was no longer a requisite skill.
MAC VENA, actually Palmer was replaced by Zane-Blosser, which was a simplification of the Palmer method. Zane-Blosser dispensed with the loops and curls that exist in Palmer script. My parents, schooled in the 30s and 40s, were schooled in Palmer. While many of the ubiquitous exemplars that hung over American elementary school classroom chalkboard when I learned to write in the 1970s, most of them had been replaced by the Zane-Blosser exemplars by that time.
@@inkyguy My memory is not good enuf to determine which one of these 2 I was taught, but I do remember those large and long yellow strips that had the letter shapes stapled up on the wall over the chalkboard. Thank you for the name of the Z-B one. I only knew the Palmer name. How I wish I was taught Spencer.
Thank you so much for this, I've spent like a year trying to decide if I buy this course or not. I already know how to write cursive but want to learn spencerian as a means to improve my handwriting and use more my fountain pens, they also thank you 😁 Regards
Thank you, I was looking for learning resources and saw your video and then I went to ebay and bought a set. Shipping to Asia was bloody expensive but I believe its all worth it considering I spend way more on pens and inks without improving my penmanship its a disgrace. I should fix this disgrace. So thank you for sharing.
I thought Spencerian would require a flexible nib to obtain the variety in the thickness of the line. How do you obtain that with a stiff Lamy Safari fine-size nib?
ared18t please do this. Also, the only thing fundamental in Spencerian is the letters are made up of combinations of seven basic strokes. The shades are optional.
Fountain pens require less pressure and leave more consistent lines. They make this writing style feel so much more natural. I recomend the Pilot Metropolitan fine point fountain pen. It runs $11 on Amazon and works really well.
@@OldScoolSkaterDan Yes. The Pilot Met. F nib is actually finer than the Lamy X-F. The Met is in the same price range. An important part of this discipline requires you to relax your hand and train the larger muscles. This is impossible with a pencil or ballpoint pen. If you cannot access a decent fountain pen (not calligraphy pen), get a high-quality gel. The ink must be very liquid and flow fast so that you don't have to apply any pressure to get a good, long line. Several generations of ballpoint pen users have lost this knowledge almost totally.
Don't ignore the sections on sitting posture, paper placement, hand position, hand movements, grip, etc. Fundamentals matter. And Dunning-Kruger is a real thing! (Don't be _that_ person :-)
I purchased all these Spencerian penmanship booklets at Amazon and was very well pleased. My handwriting improved considerably. I've had compliments on my handwriting thanks to the drills provided in these booklets.
I started typing all of my thank you notes and notes I included in greeting cards decades ago! I would always excuse them for my poor handwriting. But my handwriting was complicated by a fine motor tremor in my writing hand and I used that as an excuse. Thus over time my penmanship deteriorated to an undiscernible foreign script of unknown origins! So it has been my experience that all this typing that we are doing in our American culture is making writing and penmanship a lost art! People have simply forgotten pen-on-paper writing! I have found that penmanship is a therapeutic hobby. But I must first improve my penmanship and this is where your wonderful video comes in! Thank you for this resource unbeknownst to me! Having discovered fountain pens I now concentrate on my pen gliding on the paper, focusing on nothing but the curves of each stroke. There seems to be no competition. Just me and my pen and my words as they come to life on paper! Penmanship as a therapeutic tool is better than Xanax! Trust me! Ha!
The “correct hold” described in the book, really explains the use of the last to fingers as a slider and to keep the distance of fingers relatively constant. I’m fascinated by the fact that the prescribed hold flows very well once you “get it”. Brutally formal, but very efficient!
Thank you for the review. It was nice to see what these books looked like, also nice to know I'm not the only one trying to improve upon my lost skill of writing cursive.
I re-taught myself my senior year of high school in 2011-2012, when most others my age never even learned. I’m fairly sure my elementary school in rural Mississippi taught something like a simplified Spencerian script but I forgot about half of the capital letters between third and twelfth grade. It was amusing to realize that my cursive quickly became a far cry for my TERRIBLE print and looks a lot like my grandmother’s, who took actual handwriting classes. The only big difference is my S’s look like my mom’s and my N’s and A’s are narrower than my grandma’s. I’m a lefty, my grandma is a righty.
I use cursive still, and occasionally hand write letters to friends.
Marie...so glad to see another video on these books! Please, please, please, finish them and post videos of your progress...good or bad. Several have started videos on the Spencerian books, but never posted updates...did they ever finish?...we may never know. I myself have thought about posting a video journal of my working through the books, but I fear I may not be dedicated enough at this point to follow through. Keep it up!
Awesome video. Thank you for posting. Like to see an update and how you got along thus far. I grew up using these books. For about 3 years or so. My journals from 3rd to 8th grade are amazing! Over time, I lost the ability to write that neat, but if I focus I can still do it. It's practical and useful and I still get complements on my handwriting. If anyone is on the fence about these books or looking for some, buy them. They are the best course for practical everyday writing that looks amazing. After this, I'd look into a calligraphy course. Note, THIS IS NOT CALLIGRAPHY. It doesn't show you how to write awesome, big script letters or Gothic text you find on degrees. There are no flourishes. But if you want your handwriting to stand out in beautiful every day cursive script that looks like the declaration of independance, then this is for you. I cannot recommend it higher.
No real questions at this time. You seem like a very nice person. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for this, and especially for the closeups of the practice books. I'm glad to see you can use ink in the books. I had seen reviews that said the paper was only good for pencil.
Thank you for this information. I have purchased the set of amazon and received yesterday. Also got a selection of fountain pens off aliex to find one suitable. I intend to get my handwriting neater and this should be the way ti go.
Subbed and liked.
Thank you very much for that - I've just ordered the full set of books! :)
Thank you Marie for sharing this. It's very interesting! Kimberly
The copybooks are in the mail coming tomorrow! So excited!
How are you progressing? I just placed my order......
I'm still one book 1. Been having issues in my life preventing me from continuing.
@@messenger3478 I'm sorry to hear that, hope all is better now. I've just started and waiting for my workbooks and with past experience of other skills, I know it takes discipline & time so stick with it. A later update will be great if you can manage it. Keep at it, best of luck. Tom
I noticed that @5:59 those are lower case i and not a u, you can see the dot at the top the example row.
I think these should be standard requirements for grade school students.
I remember when I was given my by my grandmother and it truly was the best gift!!
Nobody seems to mention the practice exercises make you write large, while in actual penmanship (as in correspondence, journaling) you will be writing small. I am over halfway through book one, and although it is hard not to learn proper form, I wonder how easy it is to "scale it down". Also, the instructions talk about dip pens, so it's probably best to use a dip pen, but the instructions seem to have a non-angled dip pen. In any case, working with a pencil or a ball-point pen is a lot different, in terms of pressure you must put on the instrument to write. Also, speed of movement is not mentioned; I have to come onto UA-cam to see how experienced practitioners actually write. Finally, it's important to know that the "principles" (the 4-7 different line types) they say all letters can be made with are violated early on, because the instructions say to adjust the slants depending on on the letter. Then there are the small hooks. In any case, I wonder how far you got?
Spencerian Script was replaced by a simplified system called Palmer in the early 20th Century. Palmer was eventually dropped in most public schools starting at the end of the 20th Century as schools decided cursive was no longer a requisite skill.
MAC VENA, actually Palmer was replaced by Zane-Blosser, which was a simplification of the Palmer method. Zane-Blosser dispensed with the loops and curls that exist in Palmer script. My parents, schooled in the 30s and 40s, were schooled in Palmer. While many of the ubiquitous exemplars that hung over American elementary school classroom chalkboard when I learned to write in the 1970s, most of them had been replaced by the Zane-Blosser exemplars by that time.
Thankfully, schools are again integrating cursive writing into the curricula. Universities and employers made them.
@@inkyguy My memory is not good enuf to determine which one of these 2 I was taught, but I do remember those large and long yellow strips that had the letter shapes stapled up on the wall over the chalkboard. Thank you for the name of the Z-B one. I only knew the Palmer name. How I wish I was taught Spencer.
@@inkyguy You had me at " Ubiquitous ! "
@@inkyguy Thanks for the history lesson! It looks like I was taught Zane blosser in grade school.
Thank you so much for this, I've spent like a year trying to decide if I buy this course or not. I already know how to write cursive but want to learn spencerian as a means to improve my handwriting and use more my fountain pens, they also thank you 😁 Regards
Thank you, I was looking for learning resources and saw your video and then I went to ebay and bought a set. Shipping to Asia was bloody expensive but I believe its all worth it considering I spend way more on pens and inks without improving my penmanship its a disgrace. I should fix this disgrace. So thank you for sharing.
Hi There, also just starting. How is it improving since you wrote this? Still at it or doing other things?
antonc108 has
Where can I get these practice books in Indian market? Please give me reply so that I can get them. Thank you so much.
On the Theory book it reads 9 Easy Lessons, are there for booklets missing?
Is this an easy way to write? I’m Australian and don’t know whether I should use American cursive. Thanks 😊
No, this isn't easy and not a "normal" way of writing day-to-day.
I thought Spencerian would require a flexible nib to obtain the variety in the thickness of the line. How do you obtain that with a stiff Lamy Safari fine-size nib?
Push harder?
ared18t please do this.
Also, the only thing fundamental in Spencerian is the letters are made up of combinations of seven basic strokes. The shades are optional.
What about left handers? I hope you have more videos I like the first one. How do you get the books
+john simpson you can buy them on amazon.com
the theory book has little notes that contain instructions for those who are left-handed ;)
john simpson
Mott Media Publishing also sells them: www.mottmedia.com
Wax on, wax off. Wax on, wax off.
Very interesting. Thanks.
I gave like immediately when seeing ink spot on your finger
ciao, I lost the page 16 of the fourth book, would you please show it to me?
What kind of paper(s) should I use to print out practice sheets?
sjWiz hp premium is very good paper because ink doesnt feather.
Can I get these online?
Thx for the overview. Nice job. Can you put the type of pen you spoke of in the description?
Lamy Safari : ua-cam.com/video/HfJcD3AA6tU/v-deo.html
do i need a fountain pen for this?
ayoola obi No, can use any pen!
then why do most people use that pen, i was thinking to get the same result i need to use that type of pen.
Fountain pens require less pressure and leave more consistent lines. They make this writing style feel so much more natural. I recomend the Pilot Metropolitan fine point fountain pen. It runs $11 on Amazon and works really well.
@@OldScoolSkaterDan Yes. The Pilot Met. F nib is actually finer than the Lamy X-F. The Met is in the same price range. An important part of this discipline requires you to relax your hand and train the larger muscles. This is impossible with a pencil or ballpoint pen. If you cannot access a decent fountain pen (not calligraphy pen), get a high-quality gel. The ink must be very liquid and flow fast so that you don't have to apply any pressure to get a good, long line. Several generations of ballpoint pen users have lost this knowledge almost totally.
I found it best to start in pencil, do you can erase mistakes and then write over it in pen when your more confident.
Thanks
I learned regular cursive in elementary school but it has gone to crap
Don't ignore the sections on sitting posture, paper placement, hand position, hand movements, grip, etc. Fundamentals matter. And Dunning-Kruger is a real thing! (Don't be _that_ person :-)
@@IcyTorment, so ... Dunning and Kruger pulled a Dunning-Kruger. Voila!
that lowkey lawn mower noise drives me nuts.
That would make me crazy.
When the Student is ready, the Teacher will appear.
might have been the D'Nealian method - the one you learned in school
Thanks for this. Hadn't heard of this name. I'm guessing this came later. The slant is barely discernable.
Beautiful hands btw