20th Century Handwriting
Perhaps the most familiar to contemporary researchers, 20th-century handwriting is most similar to that of today. More often than not, however, handwritten items in Special Collections from the 20th century are in cursive rather than print. With public instruction firmly entrenched in the educational sphere, much writing follows a similar pattern, personal flair notwithstanding.
Manual: The Palmer Method by A.N. Palmer
Published in 1919, The Palmer Method contains drills and instructions for improving and standardizing handwriting in the business setting. A.N. Palmer's complex drills and strict instructions leave little room for deviation: "It is not Palmer Method if the lines are tremulous."
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The Palmer Method of Business Writing : a Series of Self-Teaching in Rapid, Plain, Unshaded, Coarse-Pen, Muscular Movement Writing ... / by A.N. Palmer. Pages 19-95. [The Palmer method of business writing : a series of self-teaching in rapid, plain, unshaded, coarse-pen, muscular movement writing ... / by A.N. Palmer, Mortimer Rare Book Collection, Z43 .P18 1919, Smith College Special Collections, Northampton, Massachusetts.
Example: Letter from Felix Frankfurter to Dorothy Kenyon, 1919
Written by future Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Felix Frankfurter in the same year The Palmer Method was published, this letter shows the limitations of standardized handwriting. While Frankfurter's handwriting is on the more legible side, it's far from Palmer Method perfection.
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Frankfurter, Felix, 1919 Frankfurter, Felix, 1919. Dorothy Kenyon papers, Sophia Smith Collection, SSC-MS-00085, Smith College Special Collections, Northampton, Massachusetts.
