I just don't have it in me to pass up a 19th century penmanship practice notebook when I find one--each one its own story, and each product of a specific hand at a specific moment in time. And just lovely things. The phrases repeated over and over speak that moment and what was being drilled into students morally in addition to covering the bases calligraphically--this one, dating to the 1870s, includes phrases such as "A friend's infirmities should be born patiently," "Delicacy of taste places much of our happiness in our own power," "Generosity is doing more than we are obliged to do," and "If we are unhappy we should inquire what makes us so, Pride." Nothing in the way of God here, but rather one's fate very much in one's own hands. Plus a wonderful page of a vast field of Q's. To me there is something about seeing these letters and phrases written over and over that pushes them into the realm of poetry and, at the same time, pure abstraction. Plus a great green paper cover with drawings of geometric shapes, making one think of beautiful geometric solid block sets of the same era.

 8 5/8" x 6 7/8". 12 pages filled front and back plus cover. Writing clear and bold, some toning and stains here and there. What can appear as folds/creases on a few pages are actually toning. A representative sample of pages documented.