All Pen no Press

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Though the printing press made huge strides for books and other published materials, some textual work, like official documents, were still handwritten. Why is that? Between resources, time, and personal preference, there are many theories as to why people still preferred to handwritten over printed. For us in the present, handwritten documents can be trickier to transcribe than printed documents, but they can also provide a unique perspective into this book’s story. From the pen and ink the scribes used to the doodles at the end of a signature, subtle deliberate and undeliberate marks allow viewers to connect with the people who hand wrote these documents 400 years ago.

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    Just as paper makers left watermarks on their work scholars believe that some scribes left their signatures at the bottom of each page they wrote. Notice how the scribble at the end of these signatures resemble the same scribble left at the bottom of these documents they signed.

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    Originally thought to have a religious meaning, this cross in a circle actually might represent a person certifying this document and their signature. The first image translates to “as such I certify it” before the signature.

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    Strange doodles such as these are scattered throughout these documents. Some appear to be a part of someone's signature while others float alone in empty space. What do you think these doodles might mean? Are they family symbols or symbols of status? Or are they just doodles left on an official document by a bored someone?

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    Holy smokes, did that ink burn the paper it was written on?! It sure did, but how? With unintentional marks like these, we can theorize that the ink used to write was high in some sort of metal. Left in the heat, this metal in the ink can burn the page it was written on.

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