Main Street Museum‘s 1st night event:  Show n’ Tell Typography at The Center for Cartoon Studies Friday September 2, 2011, 7pm White River Junction, VT. Speakers: Molly Howard of the Center for Cartoon Studies, Interdisciplinary Artist Laura Di Piazza and designer Taylor Haynes.

Ornamental Penmanship’s golden age spanned from 1850 to 1925. This “was a unique period in American calligraphic history. Beautiful penmanship was the rule of the day, and the flexible pointed pen was king” (Sull). The Spencerian system of writing was developed by P.R. Spencer in the mid-19th century. Spencerian is considered the first American hand. It is similar to the English Copperplate hand in that they both are scripts and lettered with a pointed pen. The English Copperplate hand is circular-based and each letter consists of thick strokes (shaded) as well as hairlines and is lettered with disconnected strokes. The Spencerian hand, with it’s oval-based forms and…