Scarce Copy of Williams & Packard's Original Gems of Penmanship, 1867, with Inked Calligraphy Dedication and Fantastic Alphabets antique german watercolor second half 19th c

second half 19th c

the shot glasses nesting tight and snug

Mexican I believe

looking rather like an eye or a little face

is holding very tight

Scarce Copy of Williams & Packard's Original Gems of Penmanship, 1867, with Inked Calligraphy Dedication and Fantastic Alphabets antique german watercolor second half 19th cThis is a scarce one, and a significant one, having given rise to a whole lot of the fancy Spencerian calligraphy drawings one finds out there, and a whole lot of elaborate lettering too, with dozens of alphabets included in it. It is an 1867 copy of Williams & Packard's Original Gems of Penmanship, printed by Major & Knapp, 440 Broadway, NYC this copy presented to a Sarah Thresher as an award for "the best Specimen & Business Penmanship, May 31,