Distinctive Handwriting

My sister visited over Thanksgiving, and when she looked at my matchbox Miss Emily’s Desk, she asked why I didn’t use Dickinson’s handwriting. The obvious answer is that no one has made a font of her hand. But that got me thinking that I have on my list to see what it takes to make a font of my own handwriting. Turns out it’s pretty simple to make a so-so font (kerning and baseline problems being the first glaring issue) for free at PaintFont.com. I also took a look at Dickinson’s handwriting, which is very unique.

(From the Emily Dickinson Archive)

And found this by Emily Babcock, “A page of a booklet of communications from the Prophetess Anna and a native spirit named Carifick P.” (1843) on this blog. He says “Here, each letter appears to be related to the Latin alphabet but written in the shape of a flower.”