Understanding Colonial Handwriting

Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2002. Revised. Softbound. VG, ex-library pamphlet, with minimum of labels and markings, held within protective boards with cloth binding. Teal glossy wraps with white lettering, staple-bound27 pp, bw illustrations. From the publisher: In genealogical research it is all very well to locate original records, but to read them correctly is another matter altogether. Few people know this better than Harriet Stryker-Rodda who, after years of experience searching through colonial records, has developed a simple technique for reading colonial handwriting. In this handy little book, Mrs. Stryker-Rodda presents examples of colonial letter forms and script, showing the letter forms in the process of development and marking the ways in which they differ from later letter forms. She also provides a comparison of English and American handwriting and examples of name forms and signatures all to bear out her central thesis, that the reader must find meaning in a group of symbols without needing to see each letter of which the whole is composed. This excellent guidebook is indispensable in dealing with the problems of reading and interpretation.