Renaissance William Shakespeare Type Handwriting Fonts at the Walden Font Co.

Through the centuries the common ancestor of Western letters - the Roman alphabet - evolved into numberless variations. "Divers Handes" traces this history from medieval times to the early 19th century.

Divers Handes features:

9 unique, historically accurate script fonts
User Manual containing:
- Special character charts
- History of each font
- Samples

Don't take our word for it

Here is a selection of customer projects:

Uncial WF in a Tattoo

A Tattoo with William Shakespeare WF

Walden Font at the Movies: Divers Handes features prominently

The most novel use for our fonts yet!

La Gente d'Orfeo

Anaphantasia

Home
American Poster Fonts of World War II Vols. 1 & 2
American Poster Fonts of World War II Volume 1
American Poster Fonts of World War II Volume 2
Civil War Press
Divers Handes
Gutenberg Press
Kurrent Kupferstich
Magick
Minuteman Printshop
Old State House
Wild West Press

The successor to the Uncial script is marked by a return to slightly straighter shafts. In the four centuries to come, this tendency becomes stronger, until a rigid, vertically oriented style is achieved: The Gothic Textura. The 10th Century Bookhand can be seen in some of the most precious illuminated manuscripts, but it was also employed in the everyday copying of school text books.

10th Century Bookhand WF Punctuation: yes Uppercase: yes Lowercase: yes Numerals: yes

Parallel to the development of book hands, the chancellories and scriptoria of France developed a handwriting that was easy to write and well adapted to the needs of a growing world trade.
The best features of several handwriting styles were combined, the resulting mix was known as Bastarda. Together with the printed Gothic Textura, it formed the basis of the later German Fraktur typefaces.

Bastarda WF Punctuation: yes Uppercase: yes Lowercase: yes Numerals: yes

Advances made in printing technology gave the evolution of handwriting a completely new direction. Skilled engravers carefully etched letters into copper printing plates, creating scripts of hitherto unseen clarity and fineness of line. These calligraphic gems were first reproduced by the printing press, and then imitated by calligraphers and writers. The evolution from handwritten letter to printed sheet had come full circle.

Copperplate 1672 WF Punctuation: yes Uppercase: yes Lowercase: yes Numerals: yes

The standard handwriting developed in the late 18th century, English Hand survives today in many variations as

English Hand WF Punctuation: yes Uppercase: yes Lowercase: yes Numerals: yes

Old German Script always differed from the Latin scripts used by the rest of Western Europe. This particular rendition is an early 18th century German hand as it would have appeared in official documents and formal letters. With some practice, you will be able to figure out the different characters and may come to read the German handwriting quite fluently.

German Latin WF Punctuation: yes Uppercase: yes Lowercase: yes Numerals: yes

James II is a stately hand - suitable for

James the Second WF Punctuation: yes Uppercase: yes Lowercase: yes Numerals: yes

Spanish bureaucracy held on to the Bastarda longer than most other nations. It was used for elaborately ornamented appointments as well as for everyday orders of the King and Queen. This version of Bastarda is based on a later specimen - somewhat cleaned up and made more legible than the truly cryptic original, this font works well on prints that command a more prestigious appearance.

Spanish Court Hand WF Punctuation: yes Uppercase: yes Lowercase: yes Numerals: yes

Around the year 800 A.D. ancient Roman handwriting styles still dominated Western European writing. Around that time, parchment made from animal skins replaced traditional papyrus, and this new, smoother surface allowed for less rigid letterforms. Soon the lines of the letter shafts softenend and became rounded, resulting in the beautiful Uncial script.

Uncial WF Punctuation: yes Uppercase: yes Lowercase: yes Numerals: yes

Inspired by the hand of the great bard, our

William Shakespeare WF Punctuation: yes Uppercase: yes Lowercase: yes Numerals: yes