Caligraphy considered as affording an exhibition of character : read at the meeting of the Psychological Society of Great Britain, November 26th, 1875 / by George Harris.

  • Harris, George, 1809-1890.
Date:
[1875]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Caligraphy considered as affording an exhibition of character : read at the meeting of the Psychological Society of Great Britain, November 26th, 1875 / by George Harris. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    deviation from which in whatever direction, is caused by some peculiar impetus originating in the mind, and acting on the nerves, and through them on the hand of the indi- vidual. Those handwritings where this influence prevails the least, as in that of law writers and copying clerks, who are ordinarily persons of but little mental cultivation, and not very susceptible minds, follow pretty regularly the original copperplate type. This is also very much the case with children. In the case of either, as the hand becomes freer, and they deviate from the primitive type, the individual peculiarity and characteristic of each handwriting begins to display itself, and goes on increasing until it has acquired a fixed individual character, which it continues to retain through life. Thus, any nervous excitement in the system will produce irregularity in the handwriting, except, as when in the case of the persons of both classes to whom I have alluded, they are restrained from diverting from the model copy; in which case of course the type is not their own, but they are confined to the imitation of that set before them. In the case of ordinary persons, however, who are free to express this peculiarity in their constitution, the character of the handwriting will vary according to the character and feelings of the writer. The taste will moreover exercise considerable influence on the handwriting of each person; while the mental habits and ope- rations must necessarily have an important bias here. The particular occupation of the individual will also affect the formation, but noc the actual character, of his caligraphy. Boldness, steadiness, energy, decision, caution, firmness, openness, and the opposites of these qualities, are especially exhibited by it. Certain men write in an effeminate hand, which gene- rally, if not always, indicates an effeminate mind. On the other hand, when women, as occasionally happens, [112]