Engrosser’s Script: Understanding This Classic Calligraphy Style
What is Engrosser’s Script?
Engrosser’s Script (ES) is a roundhand script that is executed with a pointed metal nib inserted in an oblique pen holder.
Although it resembles cursive script with connected letters, its execution is closer to drawing than handwriting due to its slow and precise nature.
It was popularized in the United States around the late 1800s to early 1900s. Its parent script, English Roundhand (ERH), predates it by over 200 years. As such, this script is also known as American Roundhand.
Left: From The Universal Penman, English Roundhand engraved by George Bickham.
Right: From The Zanerian Manual, Engraver’s Script penned by Willis A. Baird.
Engrosser’s Script inherits the following key characteristics from English Roundhand:
It is a shaded script with thick downstrokes and thin hairlines.
The letters are connected and the script has a cursive look.
The letters have rounded turns and are based on the oval shape (hence the term ‘roundhand’).
By E. A. Lupfer, from The Educator.
Another name this script has been called in the past is Engraver’s Script. The American penmen who developed this script took inspiration from how metal engravers worked on copper plates where they lifted the engraving tool on curves. ES has been described as 'engraving on paper' due to the frequent pen lifts after nearly every stroke, a technique that enhances precision. This frequent pen-lifting gives the script a modular nature, allowing letters to be broken down into simple strokes and reconstructed from granular parts.
Since metal nibs and oblique pen holders were invented in the early 1800s, they became the primary tools for Engrosser’s Script. As opposed to the quill pen which was the tool for its predecessor English Roundhand, the pointed metal nib provides more contrast between the thin and thick strokes. The oblique pen holder also makes it easier to maintain the script's slant.
Engrosser’s Script (ES) and English Roundhand (ERH) are different in these three aspects:
Tool - ERH was historically executed with a narrowly-cut, broad-edged quill pen and ES was developed with a pointed metal nib and an oblique pen holder.
Execution - ERH has a handwriting style with continuous flow while ES is more like engraving on paper with its frequent pen lifts.
Look - More details below.
Let’s take a couple of sample words and compare them to better familiarize ourselves with how these two scripts differ visually.
Top: “Honourable” in English Roundhand, engraved by George Bickham.
Bottom: “honorable” in Engrosser’s Script, penned by Willis A. Baird.
Setting aside the obvious differences—such as spelling, capitalization, slant, and loops—focus on the top and bottom turns of these two words. Quill pens can create some thickness on upstrokes, making the shades in English Roundhand appear to carry through the baseline. In contrast, in Engrosser’s Script, the shades stop at or just before the baseline. This is because you lift at the turns or connections and you use a pointed metal nib, which does not allow any shades on upstrokes.
Notice the roundness of the turns and how much the stroke travels on the baseline between the two scripts. English Roundhand letters tend to have a rounder shape than Engrosser’s Script. For Engrosser’s Script, the stroke pretty much goes up right away after touching the baseline, resulting in a slightly more angular turn, but it still retains an overall roundness if you look at the outer shape.
The connections in English Roundhand are typically tight. The hairlines branch or connect close to the slant of the preceding or succeeding shades, resulting in smaller negative spaces above and below these connections. For Engrosser’s Script, the word looks more stretched out and allows more air in between letters because the hairlines are expressed more openly and slightly away from the slant.
The last observation I’d like to point out between the two is how the interior oval looks. In English Roundhand, the elliptical shape is typically preserved inside of closed oval letters. In Engrosser’s Script, the inside oval usually looks cut off on the left side, because of the way this oval is drawn. We draw the oval shade in a way that keeps its right side on a straighter edge, resulting in a modified interior—an oval that is not symmetrical or elliptical anymore.
Another way to interpret the last two points above is that for English Roundhand, the slant of the oval (look at the skeletal shape) and the slant of the shades (i.e. the slant of the script) fall very close to each other in terms of their degree of angle (both are close to 50° in “Honourable”). For Engrosser’s Script, the slant of the key oval (about 40° in “honorable”) is more forward-leaning than the slant of the shade (closer to 50°). This causes the hairlines to veer away from the slant and the interior shape of the oval to look different than the skeletal shape.
Here’s another illustration of how the same word “Company” compares between the two scripts.
Top: “Company” in English Roundhand, engraved by George Bickham.
Bottom: “Company” in Engrosser’s Script, penned by Willis A. Baird.
I hope these visuals help your eye discern the main differences between English Roundhand and Engrosser’s Script.
A question you might still have at this point is—What is Copperplate Script?
The term 'Copperplate' originates from the Intaglio printing method, and 'Copperplate Script' serves as an umbrella term encompassing various roundhand styles, typically featuring shaded strokes. I say ‘typically’ because Copperplate can also be written in monoline or without shading. English Roundhand and Engrosser’s Script both belong under the Copperplate umbrella and can acceptably be called Copperplate.
When you look at Copperplate Scripts today, you can somewhat identify which style their Copperplate is more influenced by—the English or the American Roundhand. A lot, however, would be in between, and most would not employ the frequent pen-lifting technique as this makes writing much slower. Engrosser’s Script places a lot of importance on precision, deliberation, and consistency to make this script very legible and very formal, as its main use in the past was on formal documents like certificates and resolutions. In the modern day, we have other uses for this script and it’s usually less formal, hence Copperplate foregoes breaking down the strokes into the same granular level as Engrosser’s Script does, making it faster to write.
Ultimately, the choice depends on the desired look and preferred execution style.
Copperplate sample closer to English Roundhand style.
Copperplate style that is closer to American than English Roundhand look.
Now that we’ve taken a close look at English Roundhand and Engrosser’s Script, you might be curious about how these two styles compare against other popular pointed pen scripts.
Here are some images to help you make a quick comparison. Have a look at shade placement, shade thickness, the interior shapes, and the top and bottom turns.
Engrosser’s Script is a unique and highly deliberate style within the Copperplate family. While it shares its root with English Roundhand, its execution sets it apart–built on precision, modular strokes, and frequent pen lifts that make it feel more like engraving on paper rather than writing. Compared to other pointed pen scripts, Engrosser’s Script takes a slower, more structured approach, prioritizing consistency and control over speed.
If you’re interested in learning Engrosser’s Script, studying historical penmen’s work and practicing foundational strokes will help train your eye and your hand. Whether you lean towards the precision of ES or prefer a looser Copperplate style, knowing these differences gives you the freedom to refine your technique and develop your own calligraphic voice.
At the end of the day, Engrosser’s Script is more than just a way to write–it’s an art built on patience, discipline, and a deep appreciation for form. However you choose to approach it, what matters most is enjoying the process, finding inspiration in the beauty of the script itself, and making it your own.