Not long ago, I saw my father’s family Bible for the first time. As I carefully turned the pages, I noticed the fineness of the paper and the layout of its material content; what struck me most, though, was the historical significance of the handwritten notes inside the front and back covers.
Dad’s mother had recorded the family’s personal details, noting the birth dates of her children, the death of their father and other significant dates. She’d even attached small newspaper clippings of other important events. There was an article, with a photograph of dad’s family surrounded by their only remaining possessions, taken after a bushfire had ravaged their property during the early 1940s. She had added notations to that, as well.
Handwriting is uniquely human. It’s a symbolic representation of ideas and feelings, left for others to interpret. The skill has been passed down through the ages – evolving from early pictographs, drawn on rocks and walls, to the abstract symbols that became, for us, the English alphabet we use today.
Handwriting involves linguistic, cognitive, perceptual and motor components, all of which must be coordinated into an integrated action. And even though we might not distinguish handwriting from other forms of writing – in terms of using legible, correctly formed letters to communicate thoughts and ideas – handwriting is special.
Today, we are navigating the challenges brought on by lockdown, isolation and rapid change. Schools, school systems and workplaces have urged us to live a digital life. They haven’t been advocating handwriting… but perhaps we should.
In 1455, Johannes Gutenberg, a German blacksmith and goldsmith, invented the world’s first printing press. He could now add printer and publisher to his resume. His first printed book was the Holy Bible.
Before Gutenberg’s invention, the only way to duplicate the Bible, or any other document, was to copy it by hand. Symbols on slabs of rocks, a stylus on beeswax, ink and dye on animal hides and papyrus were early methods of scribing the Bible – the ageless gospel of hope.
Gutenberg may well have invented the means by which the Bible – the literary archive of the nation of Israel – would be shared across the globe. However, his invention was most certainly no substitute for the craftmanship of the handwritten word.
For more than 500 years we have embraced all that the printing press has to offer. But, in so many areas of our lives, we have also remained faithful to the pen. In fact, many would argue that pen and paper offer a genuine opportunity to record the intersection of thought and emotion with timely accuracy.
As we embark on a rapidly changing way of life, digital technology, like the world’s first printing press, will bring many advantages. But let’s not forget, that with every stroke of the pen, we are still able to express that which is ours alone – our unique signature. Each uniquely formed letter is as individual as the writer’s DNA and fingerprints.
In difficult days, or prosperous times, let’s never forget who we are, where we came from, or our shared family histories – particularly those personal notations in the living treasure that is the family Bible.
Here’s my email if you’d like to reach out.
cheryl@cheryllacey.com
Copyright © 2020 Cheryl Lacey All rights reserved.
Parent, educationist and agitating advocate for change in Australian education.
By raising the bar we can challenge and overcome any global challenges facing Australia and Australians.
