Scarce Copy of Williams & Packard's Original Gems of Penmanship, 1867, with Inked Calligraphy Dedication and Fantastic Alphabets life magazine drawing which represented emperors and empresses

which represented emperors and empresses and members of the court

as one thinks they just really liked to draw branches--as well as stars

with the lovely butterfly perfectly balancing the composition

with the main frame a sort of mellowed oxblood and the decorative frame a very mellow gold

Photos give a very good sense of content

Scarce Copy of Williams & Packard's Original Gems of Penmanship, 1867, with Inked Calligraphy Dedication and Fantastic Alphabets life magazine drawing which represented emperors and empressesThis is a scarce one, and a significant one, having given rise to a whole lot of the fancy Spencerian calligraphy drawings one finds out there, and a whole lot of elaborate lettering too, with dozens of alphabets included in it. It is an 1867 copy of Williams & Packard's Original Gems of Penmanship, printed by Major & Knapp, 440 Broadway, NYC this copy presented to a Sarah Thresher as an award for "the best Specimen & Business Penmanship, May 31,