I’ve noticed that almost no-one uses it. My g’s aren’t as complicated, but I deliberately changed my handwriting when I was around 17; it was illegible and I suddenly needed to turn in notes from my undergrad chem lab notebook regularly. So, I went from a scrawling cursive inspired chicken scratch (when i see old stuff I handwrote it’s impossible to read) to my current handwriting, which I (patting myself on the back) regularly get compliments from people who have to read it.
Science isn’t about me, it’s about sharing, so I figure my notes ought to be readable.
I’ve just started learning Spencerian script, that’s a ways off but I could do that.
Well that’s cool. One of these days I’ll break into calligraphy I suppose, at least get a passable Spencerian and Textura Quadrata. But really I’m more of a letterer at heart.
Also, I have had reason to delve into primary historical records in municipalities around New England. Going through 130 year old Fire Department records gives you a real appreciation for the handwritten word, and I have come to appreciate the time and meticulousness that was required to maintain legible records, and the public servants who clearly made that a priority, for posterity.
I used to work at the Supreme Court of NSW, in a brain-dead monkey job that left me with a lot of free time. So, I’d hide down in the basement and read old court files.
The oldest of them dated from early colonial days; late 18th/early 19th century. Leather-bound books, two feet wide and three feet tall, filled with unbelievably gorgeous handwritten copperplate.
Of course, most of what was written was along the lines of “Patrick O’Carnie, found guilty of horse theft, sentenced to death by hanging, commuted to one hundred lashes and twenty years hard labour”.
I know the pain. Once (in a former life) I had to transcribe old court files from the Reichskammergericht from 1580-1600. They looked very similar to this:
