Cursive handwriting makes a return in 2024 to classrooms in California schools, and since the Richard Harrison Collection is all about beautiful writing we thought we would introduce readers to some of the most beautiful handwriting in our collection.
Here's a delightfully illustrated letter from the English calligrapher Marie Angel to Richard Harrison, the founder of our collection. Marie Angel was known for her lovely calligraphy and her endearing illustrations of the animal kingdom, many of which were commissioned for publication (My Cat Has Eyes of Sapphire Blue is just one of her books for which we have the original leaves on vellum). In this letter she features two of her Siamese cats.
 |
| Marie Angel, letter to Richard Harrison 28 December 1960 Harrison Collection of Calligraphy & Lettering |
Richard Harrison receives a letter from the American calligrapher James Hayes, who answers an invitation to submit his calligraphy to the collection. Shall it be a quotation of Harrison's choosing or something selected by Hayes himself? We'll have to take a look at the James Hayes portfolio to find out.
 |
| James Hayes, letter to Richard Harrison, 27 March 1977 Harrison Collection of Calligraphy & Lettering |
Study notes from a long ago Library Study Group here in Book Arts & Special Collections have been written out in Susie Taylor's impressive Italic handwriting. For several years, a group of library patrons --calligraphers, printers, book artists, and fellow travelers--met about once a month in our Rare Book Room to explore, view, and talk about the treasures in the collections. For the April 1999 meeting Susie Taylor, Curator of the Harrison Collection prepared a selection of incunables for the group: these are books printed within the first fifty years of the invention of printing (from about 1455 to the end of 1500). Incunabula is Latin for "swaddling clothes." Here we can read Susie's notes about two of the books that were enjoyed on that Saturday in April.
 |
| Library Study Group, notes by Susie Taylor, Curator Susie Taylor Collection, Richard Harrison Collection of Calligraphy & Lettering, |
We are great admirers of the art of the decorated envelope; one of our favorite designers is Alan Blackman, whose "Letters to Myself" were sent to his young son Stephen (with one for himself). The ensuing years brought hundreds of decorated envelopes in the mail. Here's one that may be found in the Harrison Collection. In 2015 the Library invited Alan to exhibit 200 of his decorated envelopes and working tools in what has to be one of our all-time favorite exhibitions.
 |
| Alan Blackman, decorated envelope Richard Harrison Collection of Calligraphy & Lettering |
HAPPY NATIONAL HANDWRITING DAY!
Comments
Post a Comment