Introduction to Brush Calligraphy
Calligraphy, the art of beautiful handwriting. The term may derive from the Greek words for “beauty” (kallos) and “to write” (graphein).
Calligraphy has a rich history in many cultures, since this form of art started long ago when writing instruments became available. In western or English calligraphy, the writing style which we are more familiar with today is known as the Copperplate style. In brush calligraphy, we make use of modern writing tool (ie. a brush pen) to produce writing in the Copperplate style.
The following contents are extracted from “Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy- A Step-by-step Manual” by Eleanor Winters. They provide some interesting historical background to Copperplate calligraphy, but is not essential for picking up the skill.
Historical Background
The emergence of Copperplate as a calligraphic style in the 18th century were attributed to two major factors: the stature of England as a major economic power and the development of metal-plate engraving.
By the mid-17th century, England had earned its dominance commercially and with it came the need for an ever-increasing number of scribes, educated in writing and record keeping. Writing schools were established to provide specialised training in penmanship and accounting for enterprising young men.
Many writing masters also published copybooks, printned texts from which student could copy the calligraphy of the master scribe. The method by which these books were reproduced was copperplate engraving, thus giving this particular style of writing the name “Copperplate”.
The Copperplate style is also known as “Roundhand” in the 18th century. Hence it is common to see the two terms - Copperplate and Roundhand- being used interchangeably now. Copperplate gained popularity as a business hand because of its speed, clarity and legibility. This letterform survived through the 19th century. However, the invention of ball point pen in the 20th century marked the end of the Copperplate era.