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
#6109 22395141_rot_p_5.jpg
showed
circa 1884*-1891
#6208 22395151_rot_p_5.jpg
very
circa 1884*-1891
#6240 22395153_rot_p_3.jpg
her
circa 1884*-1891
#6256 22395153_rot_p_1.jpg
ranged
circa 1884*-1891
#6270 22395155_rot_p_1.jpg
scruples
circa 1884*-1891
#6271 22395155_rot_p_1.jpg
view
circa 1884*-1891
#6494 22395167_rot_p_6.jpg
lips
circa 1884*-1891
#6649 22395179_rot_p_4.jpg
coming
circa 1884*-1891
#6744 22395189_rot_p_6.jpg
philosophers
circa 1884*-1891
#7471 22395259_rot_p_5.jpg
equally
circa 1884*-1891
#7567 22395273_rot_p_2.jpg
nowadays
circa 1884*-1891
#7570 22395273_rot_p_2.jpg
fallen
circa 1884*-1891
#7656 22395283_rot_p_6.jpg
issue
circa 1884*-1891
#7692 22395287_rot_p_1.jpg
shining
circa 1884*-1891
#7795 22395685_rot_n_1.jpg
Full