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
#6235 22395153_rot_p_3.jpg
been
circa 1884*-1891
#7559 22395271_rot_p_6.jpg
blazonry
circa 1884*-1891
#6144 22395147_rot_p_1.jpg
boxer
circa 1884*-1891
#6713 22395185_rot_n_5.jpg
can't
circa 1884*-1891
#7157 22395219_rot_p_3.jpg
evident
circa 1884*-1891
#6175 22395149.jpg
keeping
circa 1884*-1891
#6143 22395147_rot_p_1.jpg
mighty
circa 1884*-1891
#6752 22395191_rot_p_3.jpg
name
circa 1884*-1891
#6236 22395153_rot_p_3.jpg
obliged
circa 1884*-1891
#6533 22395171_rot_p_6.jpg
quarrels
circa 1884*-1891
#6251 22395153_rot_p_4.jpg
quarter-deck
circa 1884*-1891
#6145 22395147_rot_p_1.jpg
spokesman
circa 1884*-1891
#5985 22395133_rot_p_4.jpg
their
circa 1884*-1891
#6166 22395147_rot_p_6.jpg
thunderous
circa 1884*-1891
#6691 22395181_rot_p_4.jpg
window