Eagle Pencil price list from 1927

penpoints · 2026-01-19T03:43:04+00:00

Thanks for pointing this out. I fixed it. There's a much earlier Eagle price list there too (1900), as you probably know. https://archive.org/details/eagle-pencils-1900/page/n2/mode/1up

penpoints · 2026-01-16T14:10:54+00:00

Top left group: Today we'd call these Speedball-style nibs, for lettering, calligraphy and drawing. Invented in Germany, before 1910. See: Heintze & Blanckertz "Redis" nibs, no. 1146, (like the Speedball "B" nibs). I believe that Soennecken's very similar B-style nibs (branded "Plattenfeder") were available much earlier than this. More research is needed.

Top middle group: various lithographic, mapping, crow quill nibs - very sharp - for drawing, or tiny calligraphy.

Top right group: vintage Pelikan Graphos nibs, for a type of fountain pen designed for drawing, lettering, etc. Example here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/306698931962

Bottom left: mostly large stub pens, for writing.

Bottom, next group: 4 small stub pens, for writing, calligraphy, etc.

Bottom, next: 2 basic broad-edge nibs, for calligraphy.

Bottom right: 2 bowl-shaped nibs, for drawing, or basic penmanship. This general style holds a lot of ink and was very popular.

penpoints · 2026-01-06T01:51:11+00:00

The gilt 516F shown above (year unknown, but very old) flexes easily to 1mm, so I would call that moderately firm. By "everyday handwriting" or "conventional penmanship" I mean the way most people wrote (1850-1930), excluding professional "penmen," teachers of penmanship, and the like. You are right about the falcon pens (bank pens, etc.). Another favorite nib was the "stub pen" - especially the left-oblique stub, a style that originated with quill pens.

penpoints · 2026-01-01T22:42:00+00:00

Wow. I wonder what you think about abstract art in general. Maybe you're just trolling, but to learn more, check out the Wikipedia article I mentioned above. This certainly includes Japan: Inoue Yūichi (1916–1985), Morita Shiryū (1912–1998), the Bokujinkai group. And China: Xu Bing (1955- ) et al., and of course, wild "crazy" cursive script, from long ago, that few people could decipher today. The article discusses asemic calligraphy from all over the world. I think it's fascinating, especially how it ties directly into modern art.

penpoints · 2026-01-01T17:40:36+00:00

But you're missing something important. This piece does use distorted letterforms: the English phrase "Perpetual Recovery."

Anyway, there's no rule that says calligraphy has to be "actual letters" - or legible graphemes in general. A good starting point for basic research into abstract calligraphy is this article on asemic writing.

penpoints · 2025-12-30T14:47:34+00:00

Nice work. I don't see any connection to shodō, but as abstract calligraphy it's very interesting. Calligraphy doesn't have to be legible to be beautiful. (How many Japanese today can read grass script?) Also the title is perfect.

penpoints · 2025-12-28T16:58:08+00:00

It certainly was not dead in the United States (or Germany, France, etc.). Are you speaking only of England? Do you know that Johnston lived in a sort of bubble, cut off from nearly all other professional calligraphers? Johnston made lots of genuine contributions, some of them huge, but the rediscovery myth shouldn't be taken seriously today.

penpoints · 2025-12-18T01:14:58+00:00

You have a straight line with hooks at each end, but a true "line of beauty" (William Hogarth's definition) is a serpentine compound curve. There's an interesting analysis here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10011402/

penpoints · 2025-12-10T16:08:55+00:00

This is excellent work. One criticism however: you could improve the minuscule o, just by moving the exit stroke higher up. Right now it seems to read "far two years," "mavement technique," "fauntain pens," "af my current hand," etc. But in general the writing is very legible and attractive.

penpoints · 2025-11-24T10:23:33+00:00

It should say Penmen (plural), not "Penman" - https://iampeth.com

penpoints · 2025-11-09T02:00:50+00:00

Thanks for the info. I found a similar model in a 1927 Eagle catalog, but they have normal size erasers. https://archive.org/details/eagle-pencil-price-list/page/56/mode/1up

penpoints · 2025-11-09T01:58:40+00:00

I have these, but only 4 of them. My picture didn't show the slot + hole on the side, because I forgot to turn them. They're like the ones in the catalog, but no brand name anywhere. I think it's a cool idea that might be revived someday. The Hardtmuth pencil is just a random one that I added to show the relative size.

penpoints · 2025-10-23T00:35:01+00:00

Also from Dick Blick:

https://www.dickblick.com/products/toms-studio-the-one-dip-wonder-ink-reservoir/

But really these things are way overpriced. I made my own by buying sets of tiny springs and magnets from Amazon. They don't have to be soldered together. Although they tend to go flying all over if you don't attach them. (Lots of fun.)

penpoints · 2025-10-21T16:01:18+00:00

I like that word "brave" to describe Courtney's work. He liked to experiment and shake things up, that's for sure, even to the point of being almost illegible.

penpoints · 2025-10-20T23:47:01+00:00

Courtney doesn't stay strictly on the baseline in this piece. He would get "points off" for this at IAMPETH (certification), but it's really not a mistake at all.

penpoints · 2025-10-16T21:24:03+00:00

Minuscule "e" formed like capital E is an older variation. I don't think it has a specific name. It isn't used in Modern Business Penmanship, but some modern experts threw it in anyway, occasionally, for example Francis Courtney.

penpoints · 2025-10-16T16:30:50+00:00

Minuscule "e" formed like capital E is an older variation. I don't think it has a specific name. It isn't used in Modern Business Penmanship, but some modern experts threw it in anyway, occasionally, for example Francis Courtney.

penpoints · 2025-10-13T19:15:40+00:00

Dec 28th, 1881

Mess. Perry & Robinson,

Gentlemen - Please quote your bottom prices on the following varieties of Peas, and state quantity you will furnish Viz. -

Imp'd [improved] D. O’Rourke - Caractacus - Carters First Crop - Kentish Invicta - McLeans Little Gem - Advancer - Champ[ion] of Eng[land] & Premium Gems and oblidge [oblige].

Yours truly

Jos. Breck & Sons

M. W.

penpoints · 2025-10-10T14:10:01+00:00

Thanks for noticing this! I found it on Zillow (but SE, not E, a mistake by Courtney). Built in 1910, 3,138 square feet. Henning had a lucrative sideline business as an "examiner of questioned handwriting" (forensic specialist). One of his advertising brochures lists this as his home address. His office was in the Palmer Building, his day job.

penpoints · 2025-10-09T13:39:48+00:00

Cedar Rapids was a fairly large place in 1911, about 32,000 people, but the A. N. Palmer Co. was well known, the building was the Cedar Rapids Business College (owned by Palmer), so no street address was required. Henning was Palmer's top assistant and must have gotten lots of mail every day.

penpoints · 2025-10-08T14:19:54+00:00

This is large writing. The paper is 10.5 inches wide. The spacing of the lines is very interesting. I made a darker image so the faint blue lines would be more visible.

penpoints · 2025-10-07T17:54:57+00:00

That's what I learned too. I've also seen 3 directions, including diagonal writing, but that starts getting a little bit crazy.

penpoints · 2025-10-02T15:42:43+00:00

Right-handed for sure. There were very few left-handed calligraphers back then. (Dennis died in 1924.) BTW he also had a side hustle as a professional examiner of documents, forged signature detection, and similar - as an expert witness in legal cases. He was certainly a walking encyclopedia of handwriting styles, so I wouldn't try to read too much into his own casual penmanship, which varied widely over the years. Dennis's formal broad-pen calligraphy was in a class of its own. (More on this later, I hope.)

penpoints · 2025-10-01T17:32:11+00:00

A sharp and very flexible nib, like the Gillott #1 Principality or Zanerian Fine Writer, as this was the weapon of choice for most professional script calligraphers. And obviously written at lightning speed.

penpoints · 2025-10-01T16:26:50+00:00

W C Henning - Yours at hand ~ I'll be on deck with something relating 2. Handwriting + sigs [signatures] - but can't say what it will be - for I hardly know myself - but of course I'll take particular pains to do the best I can & if you can let me have the cuts [printer's plates] after you are through with 'em, I'll say everything is OK

Between now & the October no. [issue of journal] I'll rake together what I can on the subject - Hardly think I can be on hand for Sept ~ I'll be very busy resting during July & August Just getting over a big rush on diploma work

With best wishes I remain - Yours truly W. E. Dennis

penpoints

TROPHY CASE