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
#6316 22395157_rot_p_3.jpg
respectable
circa 1884*-1891
#6396 22395161_rot_p_4.jpg
occasion
circa 1884*-1891
#6427 22395163_rot_p_2.jpg
never
circa 1884*-1891
#6470 22395167_rot_p_3.jpg
But
circa 1884*-1891
#6491 22395167_rot_p_6.jpg
settling
circa 1884*-1891
#6653 22395179_rot_p_4.jpg
smoking
circa 1884*-1891
#6837 22395197_rot_p_4.jpg
ship
circa 1884*-1891
#6963 22395205_rot_p_2.jpg
oweing
circa 1884*-1891
#6964 22395205_rot_p_4.jpg
lingering
circa 1884*-1891
#7111 22395215_rot_p_6.jpg
mysterious
circa 1884*-1891
#7154 22395219_rot_p_2.jpg
evidently
circa 1884*-1891
#7217 22395227_rot_p_3.jpg
aided
circa 1884*-1891
#7308 22395236_rot_p_7.jpg
harmony
circa 1884*-1891
#7525 22395269_rot_p_2.jpg
pleasure
circa 1884*-1891
#7614 22395277_rot_p_4.jpg
designating