Once upon a time, writing was always by hand. Then, Gothenburg changed everything. Illuminators of manuscripts/ books were relegated to the margins of the written word as print took over.
When it came to written communication, as in business, etc., everything was ... by hand. A standard of excellence in penmanship was important to being understood by the recipient of a handwritten communication. Then came the typewriter. Excellence in penmanship was pushed to the margins of communication by the superior efficiency of the mechanical typewriter. By the way, the typewriter offered a profound change in the doing of business and the place of women in business.
Lamentable as it is, penmanship and especially fine cursive writing such as copperplate, etc. is now in the class of the illustrators whose work once was inseparable from hand written books. The undeniable utility of word processors, computers, etc. has rendered such skills more of an occasional artistic joy to behold rather than a realistic everyday necessity to use.
For myself, I will continue to sigh my name the same way I write my notes, papers, etc., i.e., in cursive. For utility, I will transfer my notes and papers to the computer and store them on the Cloud. My filing cabinets have been repurposed to storage bins for parts, odd items, etc. My file are now electronic. Hopefully these will be at least as enduring as the clay tablets of ancient Babylon or the hieroglyphs of Egypt. Sincerely. bruce.
