El Pendolista Universal. Obra Original: Que Contiene el Arte de Excribir, Segun Se Enseña en Inglaterra y en los Estados Unidos...
Nueva York: Por Don Jorge W. Halsey, y Hermanos, 1838. ix,14pp., plus thirty-five engraved plates. Oblong quarto. Original half calf and patterned cloth, spine and front board gilt. Hinges cracking, with some separation at head of front joint; foot of spine chipped. Light wear and soiling to boards. Moderate toning and foxing to plates, lighter to text leaves. Good plus. Item #3301
An eccentric, but completely absorbing U.S. Spanish-language imprint, which aspires to teach an American style of penmanship to a Spanish-speaking audience. The author, George Washington Halsey, spent three years in Cuba in the 1830s teaching handwriting and drawing. This book grew out of that experience and his belief that the American style of writing was superior to other styles current in the 1830s. Following the introduction, fourteen leaves of printed text provide instruction and directions for various exercises. Thirty-five engraved plates depict examples of cursive, calligraphy, and various type-influenced handwriting styles. The first of these plates is a reproduction of a handwritten introduction by George Halsey, datelined Havana, 1838, and several are also dedicated to decorative drawings and calligraphic designs.
About Halsey, not much else is known; however, both George and his brother, John, had three passions: handwriting, photography, and Spanish-speaking countries. George introduced the daguerreotype to Cuba in 1841 and took the first photograph on the island. John taught handwriting in Mexico and imported the first daguerreotype equipment to that country about the same time. This book on handwriting, though not well represented in bibliographies on the subject, went through three editions. In addition to this 1838 New York edition, there was an 1840 Portuguese translation, and an edition in Spain in 1867. The brothers published several other books on the art of writing in both Spanish and Portuguese. Of the present work, we locate only four copies, at AAS, Columbia, the Newberry, and the Biblioteca de Catalunya. Rare.
Price: $4,250.00