Penmanship Copybooks
“Manners make the man.” and “Choose to do right.” and “Learn to be loyal.”
These are some of the phrases that were written again and again in my late-1800s penmanship copybooks. I’ve got about fifteen of them now, and they are one of the few kinds of ephemera that I collect multiple copies of. I just love the lyricism of the repeated phrases.
And to think that young children did all of this! The cursive handwriting is ornate and often perfect. Although I find it oddly touching when a student falters and has to X out the words. It’s difficult going through life writing in ink.
