Script reference

Copperplate alphabet: the English round hand of 1700–1900

Copperplate — English round hand — is the script of the great majority of English-language letters, wills, deeds and ledgers from about 1700 through the 1800s, written with a flexible pointed nib that swells on the downstroke. Its small letters are close to modern cursive; its trouble is the flourished capitals and the long s. This page shows the alphabet in an open-licensed copperplate face, names the confusions, and links to a tool that reads a single cropped word.

When

From about 1700 through the 1800s, taught from engraved copybooks — hence the name. Most English-language letters, deeds and wills of the 18th and 19th centuries are in it.

Where it turns up

Letters, wills, deeds, ledgers, ship logs and census returns in Britain, Ireland, North America, Australia and the colonies; clerks' hands in every English-speaking archive.

How to recognise it

A steady rightward slant with thick downstrokes and hairline upstrokes, from a flexible pointed nib. Capitals are large and flourished; the long s survives in double-s words (ſs) into the early 1800s.

Letters that fool readers

A flourished capital is the usual problem: I against J, S against L, T against F. In the small letters, the long s read as f, closed e against l, and the connected strokes of m, n, u and w that need counting.

Alphabet

Letterforms rendered live from Pinyon Script, SIL Open Font License — a type designer's interpretation of the hand, not a scan of any manuscript.

The letters that cause trouble

• II — A tall flourished stroke, often with a loop at the foot; easily read as J or T. In a signature it is the most common capital after the initial.
• JJ — Descends below the line where I does not; the descender is the tell.
• SS — A flourished S can look like an L or a G. Follow the stroke: S starts top right and ends bottom left.
• LL — Sits on the line with a loop at the foot that runs into the next letter.
• TT — A flourished crossbar over a looped stem; F is the same with a second, lower bar.
• FF — T with an extra bar at the middle — the bar is sometimes no more than a dot.
• ee — Small and closed, it can read as l in a tight hand; the l is a full ascender.
• ss — The round s. In words with ss before about 1810, the first s is long (ſ) and the pair reads like fs: "Congreſs", "Miſs".
• ff — Crossed at x-height, with a loop above and a loop below. The long s has the loop above but no crossbar.
• rr — A small shoulder at x-height; in many hands no more than a bump that reads as part of the next letter.
• m n u wm n u w — Rows of identical strokes. Count the humps and the valleys; a name like "Wimmer" is six strokes in a row.
• dd — A bowl with a short ascender that often curls back left, unlike the tall straight l.

Words to practise on

• Whereas — the word that opens a deed — a flourished W, then small letters close to modern cursive
• Witneſs — witness with the long s before the round one, the usual spelling before about 1810
• Executors — the E and x are where a copperplate capital and a rare letter meet

Questions

Is copperplate the same as round hand?

Yes: English round hand is the hand, copperplate is the name it acquired from the engraved copybooks it was taught from. Writing manuals of the 1700s say round hand; later writers say copperplate.

What is the long s in copperplate?

The old long s (ſ) survived in copperplate chiefly in double-s words, where the first s is long and the second round: "Miſs", "Congreſs", "Witneſs". It disappears from most hands between 1800 and 1820, which makes it a rough date for an undated letter.

How do I read a flourished capital?

Cover the flourish and look at the stem. Then use the word: a capital at the start of a surname is usually decided by the letters that follow it, and a capital in a deed is one of a short list (Whereas, Witnesseth, Know, This, Indenture).

Why does the ink look brown?

Iron-gall ink, the standard ink of the period, is black when written and oxidises to brown over a century or two. Faded brown copperplate on cream paper is the typical look of an 18th-century letter, and heavy strokes can eat through the page.

Can Cursive Lens read copperplate?

Copperplate is the hand it was built around. Set the era hint to 1800–1870 or 1870–1920 and the document type, and the reader is told what to expect. The page editor keeps the crop of each line above the text so a flourished capital can be checked against the ink.