Handwriting Resources

&#149 Examples of Old Handwriting
www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/oldalpha.htm
Shows letters found in 17th-century documents.

&#149 Medieval Paleography
orb.rhodes.edu/textbooks/palindex.html
Online course from England’s Leicester University on the study of written documents from the Middle Ages.

&#149 Old English Mailing List
A mailing list for anyone who is deciphering old English documents. To subscribe send “subscribe” to old-english-l-request@rootsweb.com (mail mode) or old-english-d-request@rootsweb.com (digest mode).

&#149 Old Handwriting Examples
homepages.rootsweb.com/~mahudson/ole-hw.htm
References names and words in various scripts.

&#149 Reading Census Handwriting
www.sierra.com/sierrahome/familytree/hqarticles/censusreading/

&#149 Tips on Reading Old Handwriting
www.sierra.com/sierrahome/familytree/hqarticles/handwriting/

&#149 Martha Ballard’s Diary
www.dohistory.org/diary/
Online display of the late 18th- and early 19th-century diary featured in the book A Midwife’s Tale; features tutorials on reading handwriting and examples.

&#149 Deciphering Old Handwriting
www.amberskyline.com/treasuremaps/oldhand.html
Examine examples and try your hand at a few samples.

&#149 The Fraktur Tradition
www.region.waterloo.on.ca/Jsh2/
Learn more about Fraktur and look at a few examples. Click on Collections, then Fraktur.

&#149 History of Handwriting
www.parkerpen.co.uk/history/
Interesting overview of the history of handwriting from the Parker Pen Co.

&#149 Early English Handwriting
ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/dave_tylcoat/handwrit.htm
Try your hand at reading examples from 1547 to 1612.

&#149 Dysgraphia
www.dyslexia-ca.org/dysgraph.htm
Find out more about learning disabilities and handwriting.

Books
&#149 Handwriting in America: A Cultural History by Tamara Plakins Thornton (Yale University Press, $16.95)

&#149 Handwriting of American Records for 300 Years by E. Kay Kirkham, (Everton Publishers, $11)

&#149 Handwriting of the 20th Century by Rosemary Sassoon (Routledge, $27.99)

&#149 Pen, Ink, & Evidence: A Study of Writing and Writing Materials for the Penman, Collector, and Document Detective by Joe Nickell (Oak Knoll Press, $49.95)

&#149 Reading Early American Handwriting by Kip Sperry (Genealogical Publishing Co., $29.99)

&#149 “Read It Right” in Unpuzzling Your Past by Emily Croom (Betterway Books, $14.99)

&#149 Understanding Colonial Handwriting by Harriet Stryker-Rodda (Genealogical Publishing Co., $4.50)