For purposes of handwriting a version of the italic script eventually becomes the norm in most western societies. The reason is partly accidental. Flowing letters are easily engraved, as can be seen in the captions of any engraving. The natural movement of the burin through the metal is in elegant curves, ending in elongated points. A nib, filled with ink, can easily make the same flowing marks on paper.
As writing becomes a necessary accomplishment for the middle classes, a new profession is created - that of the writing master.
The writing master needs examples for his pupils to copy. The engraver provides these, as separate sheets or as plates bound into manuals, and the manuals soon have the effect of standardizing handwriting. The conventional form becomes known as copper-plate - imitating the letters which the engraver has cut in his copper plate.
Many such manuals are published, starting with theEssemplare ('Examples') of Gianfrancesco Cresci, a Vatican writer, in 1560. The most successful collection of copper-plate examples is the Universal Penman of George Bickham, first published in 1733 and still in use as a teaching aid in Britain in the early part of the 20th century.
