{"id":127591,"date":"2018-07-18T13:00:55","date_gmt":"2018-07-18T17:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/?p=127591"},"modified":"2018-07-18T15:39:28","modified_gmt":"2018-07-18T19:39:28","slug":"the-handwriting-of-famous-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2018\/07\/18\/the-handwriting-of-famous-people\/","title":{"rendered":"The Handwriting of Famous People"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>The Romans were among the first to develop a written script, and their penmanship was round and even. In the Middle Ages, the price of parchment soared, and handwriting, accordingly, became small and condensed. Years later, in the eighteenth century, elegant handwriting became a sign of refinement. Later still, in the twentieth century, American schools taught a standardized cursive by encouraging students to draw loopy letters through horizontal lines. Now hardly anyone writes anything at all. Through September 16, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.themorgan.org\/exhibitions\/magic-of-handwriting\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Morgan Library and Museum<\/a> is showcasing the handwriting of more than a hundred major artists, authors, composers, and historical figures drawn from the\u00a0<\/em><i>Pedro Corr\u00eaa do Lago Collection<\/i><em>. A selection is presented below.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Stephen Hawking<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_127595\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/hawking_a_28276_01.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127595\" class=\"wp-image-127595 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/hawking_a_28276_01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1538\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/hawking_a_28276_01.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/hawking_a_28276_01-195x300.jpg 195w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/hawking_a_28276_01-768x1181.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/hawking_a_28276_01-666x1024.jpg 666w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127595\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stephen Hawking (1942\u20132018). Signed title page from <em>A Brief History of Time<\/em> (1993), with thumbprint signature witnessed by Hawking\u2019s personal assistant, Judith Croasdell, inscribed by Croasdell to Philip Dynes, October 9, 2006.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Allen Ginsberg<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_127594\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ginsberg_a_01187.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127594\" class=\"size-full wp-image-127594\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ginsberg_a_01187.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"764\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ginsberg_a_01187.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ginsberg_a_01187-300x229.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/ginsberg_a_01187-768x587.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127594\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Allen Ginsberg (1926\u20131997). Signed self-portrait photograph, inscribed, \u201cSummit Ayers Rock Self Portrait Arms Length, 24 March 1971.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Henri Matisse<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_127598\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/matisse.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127598\" class=\"size-full wp-image-127598\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/matisse.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1297\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/matisse.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/matisse-231x300.jpg 231w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/matisse-768x996.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/matisse-790x1024.jpg 790w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127598\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Henri Matisse (1869\u20131954). Autograph note signed with initials, February 16, 1949.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Frida Kahlo<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_127596\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/kahlo_a_24646.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127596\" class=\"size-full wp-image-127596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/kahlo_a_24646.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1363\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/kahlo_a_24646.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/kahlo_a_24646-220x300.jpg 220w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/kahlo_a_24646-768x1047.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/kahlo_a_24646-751x1024.jpg 751w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127596\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Frida Kahlo (1907\u20131954). Signed photograph of Kahlo\u2019s work <em>The Frame<\/em> (1938), hand-colored and inscribed to Roberto Botelho, October 23, 1947.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Sigmund Freud<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_127593\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/freud-bill.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127593\" class=\"size-full wp-image-127593\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/freud-bill.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"687\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/freud-bill.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/freud-bill-300x206.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/freud-bill-768x528.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127593\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sigmund Freud (1856\u20131939). Autograph invoice signed to Roy Grinker, written on a personal\u00a0correspondence card, Vienna, June 30, 1934.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Josephine Baker<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_127592\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/baker_a_19249.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127592\" class=\"wp-image-127592 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/baker_a_19249.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/baker_a_19249.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/baker_a_19249-227x300.jpg 227w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/baker_a_19249-768x1014.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/baker_a_19249-776x1024.jpg 776w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127592\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Signed photograph of Josephine Baker (1906\u20131975), inscribed to Mlle Le \u201cDunf.,\u201d Paris, 1930.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Marcel Proust<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_127602\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/proust_a_01173.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127602\" class=\"size-full wp-image-127602\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/proust_a_01173.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"833\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/proust_a_01173.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/proust_a_01173-300x250.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/proust_a_01173-768x640.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127602\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marcel Proust (1871\u20131922). <em>Swann\u2019s Way<\/em> (<em>Du c\u00f4t\u00e9 de chez Swann<\/em>), autograph manuscript draft of the opening passage, ca. March\u2013April 1913.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Marie Antoinette<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_127597\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/marieantoinette_a_03910_01.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127597\" class=\"wp-image-127597 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/marieantoinette_a_03910_01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"809\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/marieantoinette_a_03910_01.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/marieantoinette_a_03910_01-300x243.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/marieantoinette_a_03910_01-768x621.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127597\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Marie Antoinette (1755\u20131793). Letter signed to Ferdinand IV, King of Naples, Versailles, September 24, 1788.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_127600\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/mozart.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127600\" class=\"size-full wp-image-127600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/mozart.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"703\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/mozart.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/mozart-300x211.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/mozart-768x540.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127600\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756\u20131791). Concluding portion of an autograph letter signed to his father, Leopold Mozart, February 7, 1778.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Sir Isaac Newton<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_127601\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/newton_a_01136_01.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127601\" class=\"wp-image-127601 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/newton_a_01136_01.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"637\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/newton_a_01136_01.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/newton_a_01136_01-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/newton_a_01136_01-768x489.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127601\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sir Isaac Newton (1642\u20131727). Autograph manuscript related to coinage during his service to the Royal Mint, undated (after 1696 and before 1727).<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Michelangelo<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_127599\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michelangelo_a_01208.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-127599\" class=\"wp-image-127599 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michelangelo_a_01208.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"569\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michelangelo_a_01208.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michelangelo_a_01208-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/michelangelo_a_01208-768x437.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 62.5em) 67vw, 100vw\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-127599\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michelangelo (1475\u20131564). Pen-and-ink drawing with autograph instructions for a marble order for the facade of San Lorenzo, Florence, 1518.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>All images courtesy of the Morgan Library.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Romans were among the first to develop a written script, and their penmanship was round and even. In the Middle Ages, the price of parchment soared, and handwriting, accordingly, became small and condensed. Years later, in the eighteenth century, elegant handwriting became a sign of refinement. Later still, in the twentieth century, American schools [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2384],"tags":[699,3220,14156,34745,575,1263,34740,492,34741,19715,28417],"class_list":["post-127591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-look","tag-allen-ginsberg","tag-frida-kahlo","tag-henri-matisse","tag-josephine-baker","tag-marcel-proust","tag-marie-antoinette","tag-michelangelo-buonarroti","tag-sigmund-freud","tag-sir-isaac-newton","tag-stephen-hawking","tag-wolfgang-amadeus-mozart"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.4 (Yoast SEO v25.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Handwriting of Famous People by The Paris Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The handwriting of major artists, authors, composers, and historical figures, from Josephine Baker to Stephen Hawking.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2018\/07\/18\/the-handwriting-of-famous-people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Handwriting of Famous People by The Paris Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"July 18, 2018 \u2013 The Romans were among the first to develop a written script, and their penmanship was round and even. In the Middle Ages, the price of parchment soared,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/2018\/07\/18\/the-handwriting-of-famous-people\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Paris Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/parisreview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-07-18T17:00:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-07-18T19:39:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.theparisreview.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/hawking_a_28276_01.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1538\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"The Paris Review\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" 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