August 25, 2010
The Rise and Fall of Handwriting by Kitty Burns Florey
“I took a stroll through the pen department at a nearby office supply store, fifty feet of writing implements: ballpoints, fountain pens, rollerballs, gel pens, felt-tips, highlighters, bold points, fine points, superfine points, micro points, needle points, comfort grips, super-comfy grips, rubber grips, precision grips, non-slip grips, classic grips, water-resistant pens, fade-resistant pens, airplane-safe pens (“won’t leak in flight”), pens “specially formulated to help prevent check fraud,” latex-free pens, “go-anywhere” pens (“clip it, hang it, wear it”), erasable pens, expandable pens, pens with built-in highlighters, “won’t bleed thru paper” pens, permanent markers, washable markers, china markers, click pencils, pencils that support breast cancer research, refillable pencils, never-need-sharpening pencils, drafting pencils, antimicrobial pencils…
I was dazzled. I buy way too many of these doodads.”
This is an excerpt from Kitty’s book which is a fascinating exploration of handwriting, its history, and its future in this electronic age. I highly recommend this book!