Learn to read historic handwriting
Provides you with hundreds of exercises drawn from original manuscripts
Provides you with hundreds of exercises drawn from original manuscripts
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Example transcriptions are provided by scholars and experts in the field of palaeography. Explore the fascinating world of ancient writing.
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Protocol of a meeting of the Gesamtakademie der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften [in Vienna] on 4/4/1848. The actuary Adolf Schmidl must have been responsible for the contents of the protocol. The writer was the chancellor Vincenz Lippka. The original is located in the archives of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. It is written in cursive letters with occasional words (namely proper names) in Latin script as an award font.
This is an "Easy Learning" document. It is a computer transcription of the "Poema 20" in Wiegel script. "Poema 20" is a poem by the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda and appeared in 1924 in his poetry collection "Veinte poemas de amor y una canción desesperada".
This is a manuscript of the New Testament. It was probably copied in Sicily during the 12th or the 13th century. The manuscript is located in the Marciana Library in Venice. The Greek script is minuscule. For further information, see: https://humarec.org
This is a Letter from Dr James Anderson to the Governor in Council, Madras, presenting his plan to propagate the Cochineal insect at the East India Company Nopalry Garden, plus a letter of instruction from Anderson to Dr Andrew Berry, nominating him to run the Nopalry. The letters contain details of the budget for the Garden, and instructions for digging and planting. The letters are written in a small, consistent rounded italic cursive, and the author uses heavy strokes on descending lines.
These documents consist of personal papers written by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) and his secretaries. Original copies of these documents are held at University College London. This is a sample of easier handwriting which is suitable for beginners. Volunteers working on the Transcribe Bentham crowdsourcing initiative (http://blogs.ucl.ac.uk/transcribe-bentham/) may like to use these documents to practice deciphering Bentham’s handwriting.
Copies of letters sent to the Government of Bengal by botanists, including Robert Kyd and Dr William Roxburgh, reporting on the cultivation of Mawah and Teak trees, the discovery of a new species of Indigo (Nerium tinctorium), and attempts to propagate the Cochineal insect in the Calcutta Nopalry garden. The letters are written in a large, consistent italic cursive. The writer often embellishes capital letters with flourishes, and uses ampersands (&). Contracted words are often indicated with superscript final letters.
This is an "Easy Learning" document. It is a computer transcription of "Pride and Prejudice" in 18th Century Kurrent script. Pride and Prejudice is a romantic novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story charts the emotional development of the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, who learns the error of making hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between the superficial and the essential.
Extracts from a Parliamentary Diary written by Walter Yonge, of Colyton, County Devon (Member of Parliament for Honiton in the Long Parliament) for the years 1627-1642, British Library reference Add MS 35331. The diary is written by Yonge in a consistent Secretary Hand, typical for the mid-17th century.
Copies of letters sent to the Government of Bengal by botanists, including Robert Kyd and Dr William Roxburgh, reporting on the cultivation of Mawah and Teak trees, the discovery of a new species of Indigo (Nerium tinctorium), and attempts to propagate the Cochineal insect in the Calcutta Nopalry garden. The letters are written in a large, consistent italic cursive. The writer often embellishes capital letters with flourishes, and uses ampersands (&). Contracted words are often indicated with superscript final letters.
This is an "Easy Learning" document. It is a computer transcription of "Pride and Prejudice" in 18th Century Kurrent script. Pride and Prejudice is a romantic novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story charts the emotional development of the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, who learns the error of making hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between the superficial and the essential.
This is an "Easy Learning" document. It is a computer transcription of "The Secret Adversary" in Cöntgen Kanzley script. "The Secret Adversary" is the second published detective fiction novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in January 1922 in the United Kingdom.
This is an "Easy Learning" document. It is a computer transcription of the "Erlkönig" in Wiegel script. "Erlkönig" is a ballad written by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1782. This version has been translated and written by Edgar Alfred Bowringin 1853.