Handwriting History collection:
Herman Melville wrote and revised the manuscript for Billy Budd from approximately 1884—1891. Melville had a wide range of handwriting styles, from carefully considered to hastily scribbled. His range of writing offers us a sterling opportunity to explore variations in personal handwriting styles and to test our abilities to read them.
The ink examples on the website are drawn from chapters 1—5; the pencil examples are from chapter 20.
The words and phrases have been checked for accuracy against the Melville Electronic Library edition.
Contact us for scholar or instructor access if you would like it.
Please send questions and requests for access to david@americanpaleography.org
David Kaminski
See an assortment of the exhibited words and other polygons here:
circa 1884*-1891
#6005 22395135_rot_p_2.jpg
seemed
circa 1884*-1891
#6039 22395139_rot_p_4.jpg
ends
circa 1884*-1891
#6161 22395147_rot_p_5.jpg
bridle
circa 1884*-1891
#6388 22395161_rot_n_3.jpg
profer
circa 1884*-1891
#6638 22395179_rot_p_2.jpg
pretty
circa 1884*-1891
#6648 22395179_rot_p_4.jpg
shall
circa 1884*-1891
#6735 22395189_rot_p_4.jpg
vessel
circa 1884*-1891
#6750 22395191_rot_p_3.jpg
swept
circa 1884*-1891
#7212 22395227_rot_p_1.jpg
manifestations
circa 1884*-1891
#7321 22395241_rot_p_5.jpg
avowal
circa 1884*-1891
#7340 22395243_rot_p_5.jpg
superior
circa 1884*-1891
#7475 22395263_rot_n_1.jpg
abuses
circa 1884*-1891
#7728 22395289_rot_p_5.jpg
manning
circa 1884*-1891
#7885 22395689_rot_p_3.jpg
of
circa 1884*-1891
#7937 22395947.jpg
and