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.
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.