1832 William Sublette letter to William Ashley
Original letter handwritten by William Sublette to William Ashley in 1832 while on his way to the 1832 rendezvous in Pierre's Hole, present day Idaho. This historical paper is in the Fur Trade Paper collection housed at the Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale. High resolution scans are available for viewing online. (But you have to be able to read cursive handwriting to read these old documents...)
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January 23 – National Handwriting Day
by Pinedale Online!
January 23, 2016
CNN posted an article about January 23 being National Handwriting Day, as well as the birthday of John Hancock the first signer of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Apparently the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association started this holiday in 1977 to acknowledge the history and influence of penmanship. As digital technology replaces pens, pencils and paper some people are quick to dismiss the need to teach cursive handwriting to school children anymore saying it is unneeded in today’s modern world. The article says research shows that teaching handwriting skills benefit cognitive development and motor skills, and can lead to improved writing skills and reading comprehension.
We’ll throw in another reason why it is important to keep teaching the skill of knowing how to read and write cursive handwriting, and that is so that future generations will continue to be able to read the handwriting in the historic letters and papers from the time before typed print. It is important that future keepers of the history know how to read handwriting to do interpretation and pass on the knowledge to future generations.
Click on this link to read the article on CNN: Why handwriting is still important
Related Links
1800s Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Papers - Housed at the Museum of the Mountain Man in Pinedale, Wyoming (examples of important historic papers written in cursive handwriting)
1832 William Sublette letter to William Ashley - May 12th, 1832. From William Sublette, Independence, MO, on way to 1832 rendezvous. To: William Ashley, St. Louis, MO. From the Fur Trade Papers housed in the collection at the Museum of the Mountain Man, Pinedale, Wyoming. (2010.551.0094)
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