LEARN · AMERICAN · HUB

American cursive

From Spencerian copperplate to Palmer school cursive: the hand of American letters from the 1850s to the 1950s.

Letters

All 26 letters in two styles →

Practice

Practice sheets

Trace, copy and blank rows, A4 or Letter.

Trace on screen

With a finger, a stylus or a mouse.

Reading quiz

Read real words in this hand.

Generator

Dear Lucy

Open the generator →Make a workbook from your own words →

History

Round hand is a style of handwriting and calligraphy that began in England in the 1660s. It is known by its round oval letters, its open, flowing line and its contrast of thick and thin strokes.

Read the history →

Real letters in this hand

Read by FamilyLore, from public archives.

See them on the shelf

11 Jul 1776 · PennsylvaniaJasper Yeates to Col. Edward HandTwo weeks after the Declaration, a lawyer heads to Fort Pitt

15 Dec 1855 · ScutariFlorence Nightingale to Lt. Col. LefroyFrom the hospital at Scutari, in the first winter of the Crimean War

28 Jul 1859 · IndianaRachel Ward to David WaltersA courtship letter; they married the next year

4 Dec 1862 · MississippiCapt. Calvin R. Johnson to his wife LucyA captain of the 14th Wisconsin writes home from the Mississippi campaign

See them on the shelf

A, the letter a

PrintedA a

Sounds likea (/æ/)

Open letter a →

American Cursive 1850–1950: Spencerian, Palmer, Copperplate