| Show BOOK ON ONE CARD New York Penman Puts 16250 Words on Common Postal Miniature Chirography of George L Reynoldo Enables Him to Perform Feats Which Are Little Short of Marvelous Auburn N Y = 1ho latest achievement achieve-ment of one of the champion penmen wns to wilto the matter contained lu ttbqut a hundred pages of u book or say 1C columns of a newspaper on one side of an ordinary United States postal card tho work being done with such skill that every word can be read easily perhaps not by the naked aye but with the add of n microscope This was done by the winner of the latest fine writing contest He wrote a 13word sentence advertising ad-vertising a certain make of fountain pen 1250 times on one side of a standard postal card 314 by jh Inches or a total of 16250 words or 62500 letters The card when first seen appears simply as a gray smudge and It is only after careful scrutiny that H becomes apparent that there is writing upon It and very good writing It proves to be under the mag nlfying glass The feat appears more wonderful when the observer learns that the work was that of a man In his eighty fifth year 1ho new champion Is George L I Reynolds and his skill comes from u long life of training He Is one of the Inventors of the Spencerian sjstcin of penmanship and from boyhood be has studied all kinds of writing lIe was born In New York In April 1825 and as a boy went with his father to Spencer Spen-cer Tlogu county this state Ho became n teacher of penmanship penman-ship and going to Oberlin 0 ho Joined Platt U Spencer the originator of the Spuncorian system anti with Spencer joined the faculty of Oberlin college at tho time that Jnmos A Garfield Gar-field was president of the Institution Of his preparation ho says I used to try and see how small I could write on every occasion and 1 made It a hobby It was about that line that I wrote the One hundred and Nineteenth psalm four pages of the I illblo on a postcard tho whole In a narrow half Inch band across tho card Then 1 wrote what I call my medley In small writing The export displayed n large framed allegorical picture showing historical his-torical events In draw Ing but Instead of ponllnos the picturoH on close observation ob-servation resolved themselves Into n idopedtn of history There woro tens I of thousands of tiny words hardly visible vis-ible to the naked eye all constituting such documents as the Declaration of Independence the constitution tho inaugural in-augural address and other Important Hpeeches of Washington Parts of the Lincoln Douglas debates parts of celebrated addresses by Webster Patrick Pat-rick Henry nnd Clay appeared there and there wore 13 chapters from tho Bible with tho Sermon on the Mount and Lincolns Gettysburg address Ash As-h Reynolds Is nn ardent prohibitionist prohibition-ist there appeared the platform of that party and lastly nn original poem by his wife This work took six months of arduous labor But all the time you have devoted to this work has not protlted you was suggested Well I enjoyed It Immensely as a hobby Spencer and I used to go swimming at Geneva lake near Ober bin In the summer evenings He used to talte n stick and practice writing curves In the sand on the beach where he worked out his famous system sys-tem He took nn elliptical stone two thirds as wide as it was long and used that as a basis He got his curves from stones washed by tho waves from wheat waving In tho fields from spider webs In tho meadows taking everything from nature It was the only natural system ever Invented added tho nged penman reminiscently When asked whether ho had any method of doing his own minute work he said I might say that 1 have gained by experience I have been at It since a boy 75 years ago and I actually find that I can perform better feats as I grow older I expect to make a better record five years from now when I am 90 and will do better 15 years from now for I expect to bo a hundred During the last year the atmosphere has been filled with a wave of line writing demonstrations throughout the country After 12 experts had come forth with challenges and records 1 1 came forth with mine viz The Lords Prayer 20 times repeated In a circle tho size of a fivecent nickel That Is going some since I wrote the Lords Prayer on a sixpenny piece asa as-a boy of ten years but I wrote that with n quill pen No steel pens in those days All these years I have been Improv ing my faculties In my work I use a stationary microscope so adjusted that I can write under it I chemically prepare the surface of my paper so that when rolled down under great pressure of hot rollers the surface Is about as smooth and hard ns glass Then I take a No 170 steel pen and file and grind the point down so sharp that It can scarcely bo seen under my microscope The rest that Is required Is keen sight and artistic skill I see there does come with old age Its advantages In my case It Is clear sight and steady nerve Never In my youngest days were both so good ns now |
