How Handwriting Has Evolved Throughout History

handwriting skitch — Handwriting isn't what it used to be. Wikimedia Commons, Courtesy of Derek Kwait

2018-05-04T15:03:00.000Z

Handwriting used to be a status symbol.
People used to receive formal penmanship training.
These days, digital word processors have minimized the importance of neat handwriting.

If you have terrible handwriting, you might be able to blame your genes or anatomy. But you can definitely blame history.

What used to be a prized art form that required formal training is now an afterthought in most public schools. No wonder you can't read your chicken scratch.

Here's how penmanship has evolved — or rather, declined — through the years.

This handwritten illuminated manuscript dates back to the year 1000.

Handwritten manuscripts and religious texts were the standard until Gutenberg's printing press debuted in 1440.

handwriting bible — Calligraphy in a Latin Bible of AD 1407 on display in Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. The Bible was hand written in Belgium, by Gerard Brils, for reading aloud in a monastery. Adrian Pingstone/Wikimedia Commons

Even after the printing press, documents like the US Declaration of Independence from 1776 were written in crisp, neat script by professional penmen. (The ornate signatures add a flair of their own.)

In the 17th and 18th centuries, handwriting was a status symbol. Both men and women received formal penmanship training with manuals called copybooks.

handwriting copybook — A penmanship copybook from 1840-1850 on display Concord Museum, Concord, Massachusetts. Daderot/Wikimedia Commons

Joseph Carstairs introduced a "bold and free writing" style of cursive in England in 1809.

bold free handwriting — "Bold and free writing" exemplar of running handwriting in the round hand style by English master penman Joseph Carstairs, published in 1820. Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

Source: Handwriting Identification: Facts and Fundamentals

Cursive became the go-to for writing letters, like this note from Arthur Conan Doyle to Herbert Greenhough Smith in 1901.

arthur conan doyle letter — Letter from Arthur Conan Doyle to Herbert Greenhough Smith in 1901. Special Collections Toronto Public Library/Wikimedia Commons

In the mid-1800s, Platt Rogers Spencer introduced the Spencerian cursive writing system in an attempt to democratize handwriting in the US.

cursive handwriting — Spencerian script from 1884 from the Gem City Business College of Quincy, Illinois. D.L. Musselman/Wikimedia Commons

Source: The History Channel

In American schools, Austin Norman Palmer presented a simpler version of the Spencerian script with his Palmer method.

handwriting palmer method — The Palmer method. A. N. Palmer/Public Domain/Wikimedia Commons

As computer word processors gained popularity in the 1980s and '90s, schools stopped teaching penmanship.

computers school 1990s — Barbara Morgan looks at a computer with one of her students at McCall Elementary School June 31, 1998 in McCall, Idaho. Bill Ingalls/NASA/Getty Images

Today, handwriting isn't the art form it used to be.

handwriting sarah's dad — "Dad's handwriting." — Sarah Schmalbruch, reporter at INSIDER Courtesy of Sarah Schmalbruch

Since 2010, 42 out of 50 US states have adopted the Common Core State Standards in public schools, which don't require teaching cursive.

handwriting derek — "Notes from an interview, though my not-on-the-fly isn't much better." — Derek Kwait Courtesy of Derek Kwait

People take notes in classes or meetings, but rarely write letters or official documents by hand.

handwriting navah — "My handwriting has good intentions and is meant to be quick and optimized for note taking, but that comes to stab me in the back when I later can't read what I wrote." — Navah Maynard, marketing associate at Insider Inc Courtesy of Navah Maynard

As early as 1955, the Saturday Evening Post lambasted the US as "a nation of scrawlers."

handwriting marc — "Written by a kindergartner or 32 year old professional? The world may never know..." — Marc Fein Courtesy of Marc Fein

Source: Handwriting in America: A Cultural History

In 1977, the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association (WIMA) created National Handwriting Day on John Hancock's birthday, January 23, to help people appreciate writing the old-fashioned way.

handwriting nicki — "I just try to write quickly, and sometimes skip letters altogether. It's kind of a cursive hybrid but a bad one." — Nicki Mandel Courtesy of Nicki Mandel

“Though computers and e-mail play an important role in our lives, nothing will ever replace the sincerity and individualism expressed through the handwritten word,” WIMA Executive Director David H. Baker said in a statement.

handwriiting tamar — "Teachers always point out how bad it is." — Tamar Lakritz Courtesy of Tamar Lakritz

Source: WIMA

Even if that handwritten word is illegible.

handwriting amanda — "All my friends affectionately know it as mine (for all the obvious reasons)." — Amanda Gelb Courtesy of Amanda Gelb

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16 photos that prove that people don't know how to write by hand anymore

This handwritten illuminated manuscript dates back to the year 1000.

Handwritten manuscripts and religious texts were the standard until Gutenberg's printing press debuted in 1440.

Even after the printing press, documents like the US Declaration of Independence from 1776 were written in crisp, neat script by professional penmen. (The ornate signatures add a flair of their own.)

In the 17th and 18th centuries, handwriting was a status symbol. Both men and women received formal penmanship training with manuals called copybooks.

Joseph Carstairs introduced a "bold and free writing" style of cursive in England in 1809.

Cursive became the go-to for writing letters, like this note from Arthur Conan Doyle to Herbert Greenhough Smith in 1901.

In the mid-1800s, Platt Rogers Spencer introduced the Spencerian cursive writing system in an attempt to democratize handwriting in the US.

In American schools, Austin Norman Palmer presented a simpler version of the Spencerian script with his Palmer method.

As computer word processors gained popularity in the 1980s and '90s, schools stopped teaching penmanship.

Today, handwriting isn't the art form it used to be.

Since 2010, 42 out of 50 US states have adopted the Common Core State Standards in public schools, which don't require teaching cursive.

People take notes in classes or meetings, but rarely write letters or official documents by hand.

As early as 1955, the Saturday Evening Post lambasted the US as "a nation of scrawlers."

In 1977, the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association (WIMA) created National Handwriting Day on John Hancock's birthday, January 23, to help people appreciate writing the old-fashioned way.

“Though computers and e-mail play an important role in our lives, nothing will ever replace the sincerity and individualism expressed through the handwritten word,” WIMA Executive Director David H. Baker said in a statement.

Even if that handwritten word is illegible.

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

Business Insider tells the innovative stories you want to know

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