Practice has always made perfect in handwriting, and for many generations those learning to shape letters have been set to copying out text -- over and over and over. In 1845, Eliza Caroline K. Piatt, of New York, not only practiced her penmanship, but her signature, in a 32-page booklet of ruled paper. Because nearly every piece is dated, it's possible to see not only what text she was given to copy each time, but how often she sat down to practice and who she felt like being that day.
The mechanics appear to have been fairly simple. Eliza seems to have had four pages to fill each week. Usually she worked on Monday and on Friday, filling two pages each day. For the most part, she filled the right-hand pages (odd pages) before going on to fill the left-hand (even pages). All the writing appears to be in the same hand, indicating that Eliza was copying from a separate sheet or book.
Most of what she copied was poetry -- uplifting treatises on God and heaven. They were copied at least twice; the second copy of one poem ("My Mother") was made two weeks after the first. Eliza also copied aphorisms -- perhaps from an abcedary, since they appear in the booklet in alphabetical order: "Afflictions are often blessings in disguise"; "By its fruit the tree is known"; "Cautiously abstain from defamation"; "Disarm enmity by acts of kindness"; "Elevate your affections above this earth". The aphorisms weren't, however, copied in alphabetical order (see below). These phrases were copied enough times (14 times each) to fill the page, and the phrase was copied enough times on each line to reach from margin to margin, even if there was room for only part of the phrase (ex., "By its fruit the tree is known. By its fruit the"). Two phrases appear by themselves, squeezed in at the bottom of a page.
Eliza's schedule of writing (page numbers in parentheses)
April 14 (Mon) signature (1), Ruth & Naomi (3, 5, 7)
April 18 (Fri) Niagara River (9, 11)
April 21 (Mon) To a Lady... (13, 15)
April 25 (Fri) God, All & in All (17)
April 28 (Mon) Night (19, 21)
May "Disarm enmity..." (16)
May 2 (Fri) Universal Prayer (23, 27), "Afflictions are often..." (2)
May 5 (Mon) God's Knowledge (25, 29)
May 9 (Fri) Midnight (30, 31)
May 12 (Mon) The Burial Place (8, 10)
May 19 (Mon) My Mother (12)
May 20 (Tues) "Cautiously abstain..." (6)
May 23 (Fri) "By its fruit.." (4)
May 26 (Mon) Illusions of Earth (20, 22, 24)
May 30 (Fri) "Elevate your affections..." (18)
June 2 (Mon) God's Omnipresence (26, 28), My Mother (14)
[undated] "Elevate your affections...", "To perform a duty..." (32)
Eliza's handwriting is a delicate copperplate, with decorative capitals and flourishes at the end of many of the lines. She excelled at decorating the titles of her pieces. Most have flourishes; some are in "square text," an unreadably decorative script that is almost Gothic. Sometimes she used both styles on copies of the same poem, here "God's Omnipresence":
While Eliza practiced her penmanship, she also practiced her signature. The first page is, in fact, filled by her signature. She then signed each each piece as she copied it, in a variety of ways, some with flourishes:
April 14 Eliza C. Piatt (signature), 1
April 14 E. C. Piatt (Ruth & Naomi), 3, 5, 7
April 18 E. C. Piatt (Niagara River), 9
April 21 Eliza C. Piatt (To a Lady...), 13
April 21 E. C. Piatt (To a Lady...), 15
April 25 E. C. Piatt (God, All & in All), 17
April 28 Eliza C. K. Piatt (Night), 19
April 28 Eliza C. Piatt (Night), 21
May 2 E. C. Piatt ("Afflictions are often..."), 2
May 2 Caroline P.... (Universal Prayer), 23, 27
May 5 E. C. P.... (God's Knowledge), 25
May 5 Eliza C. Piatt (God's Knowledge), 29
May 9 E. C. K. Piatt (Midnight), 30-31
May 12 Eliza (The Burial Place), 8
May 12 E. C. P. (The Burial Place), 10
May 19 Eliza C. Piatt (My Mother), 12
May 20 E. C. K. Piatt ("Cautiously abstain..."), 6
May 23 C. P.... ("By its fruit..."), 4
May 26 E. C. K. P. (Illusions of Earth), 20
May 26 Eliza Caroline --- (Illusions of Earth), 22
May 26 Caroline Piatt (Illusions of Earth), 24
May 30 Caroline I./J. Piatt ("Elevate your affections..."), 18
June 2 Caroline Piatt (God's Omnipresence), 26
June 2 E. C. P. (My Mother), 14; (God's Omnipresence), 28
[undated] C. Piatt ("Elevate your affections...", "To perform a duty..."), 32
Eliza's copybook gives us a look at educational practices, and at the messages adults felt important for the young to learn. God and heaven are the basis of many of the pieces; "elevate your affections above this earth" is the thrust of many. Some of what she wrote is from the Bible; several poems are from prominent poets such as Alexander Pope and Thomas Moore; the rest are currently unidentified. (I'll add identifications as I find them.) They have the flavor, though, of most religious and moral poetry of the time.
What Eliza thought of her efforts is unknowable. She certainly seems to have enjoyed decorating the titles and her signature. She may have left a clue to what she felt in the phrase she squeezed in at the end of the last page, in a space almost too small to contain it: "To perform a duty well, we should feel able, for the perfomance thereof." It seems an appropriate end-phrase for a example of work both elegant and useful. In the last half-inch on the page, she signed it, "C. Piatt."
