I’ve been on the lookout for old books on lettering and proper techniques lately. I like to read about what is traditionally considered fine practice, and recently stumbled upon the index of The New Spencerian Compendium of Penmanship, from 1879.

Wow!

The pages cover the craft of not only lettering, but also embellishment and pen drawing and shading. This might be more heavy lifting than the average lunch break permits, but I encourage book marking the index for later reading, if you’re at all interested in the foundation of drawing letters.