Artof Hand Lettering

Maybe it's the writer in me but I notice that the art of writing letters to people is slowly dying. People used to regularly correspond through physical mails. Using a pen that you need to dip into an ink, with their unique hand stroke, people would write their thoughts down onto that parchment carefully. A mistake is a permanent mark that may only be erased if the page will be written all over again. That is why people were careful with their words because those things cannot be retracted instantly.

I have always found those kinds of letter fascinating. The internet has been generous in providing the modern readers a way to get a glimpse on how people would talk with each other then. The language fascinates me. It is always so intimate even when it is formal. They seem to be more sincere and honest. I read one of the Abraham Lincoln's letter to his best friend, Joshua Speed, after the latter's wedding. Lincoln told his friend, "You know my desire to befriend you is everlasting - that I will never cease, while I know how to do anything." To think this correspondence is between two men. They were so equipped with the courage to think and say what they really feel.

The introduction of the typewriter slowly eliminated the need for the ink and the effort of using the hands to write. Quickly, people turned to typewriter as it was easier to use. The language didn't change so much. It was still more intimate, the medium was the only thing that changed. In fact, people realized an innate art in using typewriters. The clinking sound is like a music that hums their thoughts while they write.

The revolution actually happened with the computer invaded the world. DOS and wordstar didn't stay long because MS Word came in quickly with the all powerful spell check and delete. Writing was not anymore an activity that you sit down to think off. It became a second activity, a minor, something you do while you are doing something else just to fill the gaps of that main activity. You watch TV and during commercials you write. You go through blogs and while the page loads, you write.

People don't plan writing anymore because they know that it only takes a fraction of a second for their message to reach the person they want to communicate with. In fact, a lot of people don't understand why they need to write when they can easily send a text message.