Gorgeous bit of penmanship in Christmas 1909 inscription

This wonderfully styled 1909 inscription to Mrs. Belknap is featured on the first page of a copy of Arms and the Woman, the first novel published by Harold MacGrath.¹

Fine penmanship has become a lost art, much like the sending of personal (non-digital) mail. That's too bad. Though I suppose some of society's current penmanship efforts will provide plenty of interesting work for handwriting experts and interpreters 100 years from now.

I do greatly admire the handwriting of my wife and son, who each have their own distinctive (and very readable) styles.

Here's an example of Ashar's writing, from 2012, in which he makes a list of locations he would like our family to visit. He was 12 when he wrote this out.

From "The unschooled version of a seventh-grade-ish curriculum plan for 2012-13"

Footnote
1. MacGrath worked in the newspaper industry until he became a full-time novelist and writer of short stories for magazines. Later, he became one of the first men hired to write exclusively for the movies. He made a lot of money, traveled the world, and built himself an English-style mansion in the area of Syracuse, New York. I like that.