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
#6015 22395135_rot_p_4.jpg
now
circa 1884*-1891
#6134 22395145_rot_p_5.jpg
character
circa 1884*-1891
#6190 22395151_rot_p_1.jpg
cynosure
circa 1884*-1891
#6604 22395175_rot_p_6.jpg
insultingly
circa 1884*-1891
#6622 22395177_rot_p_2.jpg
Red
circa 1884*-1891
#6889 22395199_rot_p_9.jpg
able-seaman
circa 1884*-1891
#6905 22395201_rot_p_4.jpg
employed
circa 1884*-1891
#7170 22395223_rot_p_4.jpg
unconventional
circa 1884*-1891
#7367 22395249_rot_p_2.jpg
demonstration
circa 1884*-1891
#7519 22395269_rot_p_4.jpg
by-path
circa 1884*-1891
#7557 22395271_rot_p_6.jpg
valor
circa 1884*-1891
#7633 22395281_rot_p_2.jpg
dying
circa 1884*-1891
#7672 22395285_rot_p_2.jpg
reason
circa 1884*-1891
#7699 22395287_rot_p_3.jpg
fustian
circa 1884*-1891
#7842 22395685_rot_p_2.jpg
place