'Henry Louis Gehrig' Autograph

[bjcunningham]

Gehrig joined the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity (NY Delta Chapter) at Columbia University as a young engineering student. His mother had been a house mom there for a number of years and his dad was an occasional handyman for the chapter. We see a lot of bad autographs on this board, so I wanted to show the one from when he signed the 'Bond of Phi Delta Theta' shortly after his initiation. (The Bond is certainly the most secretive book in the fraternity; only available to initiated members. Each chapter is given a handwritten copy.) The original book is housed at Phi Delta Theta's General Headquarters in Oxford, OH. This picture is of the roll call at the end of the book that is on display there. It is a photocopy, if I remember correctly.

[RichardSimon]

That is one neat piece. Thanks for posting that.

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

That is one neat piece. Thanks for posting that.

I agree. One neat piece.

[sycks22]

It always amazes me how well people wrote back in the day before all the short hand and computers. It's crazy to think people actually wrote letters to people and mailed them.

[David Atkatz]

It has nothing to do with shorthand and computers. It has all to do with schools no longer requiring that kids learn to write.

This, BTW, was how Gehrig wrote when he was fourteen years old:

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

It has nothing to do with shorthand and computers. It has all to do with schools no longer requiring that kids learn to write.

I showed what I thought was a well-written Cobb letter to a young friend of mine, and he could not read it - told me that he was not required in school to learn to read or write that sort of writing. He's around 27 and literally a genius.

[GKreindler]

Jeez David, I can't even write that nicely now. Over the years, seeing many of his letters and random notes on cuts and what-not, I think it's fair to say that all of his penmanship was absolutely gorgeous.

On a related note, if you guys haven't seen this, I HIGHLY recommend it:

http://espn.go.com/mlb/flash/gehrigletters

Talk about one hell of a writer. And at the same time, reading about his attitude towards his 'bug' and see it change for the worse over the months is frankly the most depressing thing I've ever laid eyes on. We had a family friend succumb to the same terrible disease many years ago, and man, I can't even articulate how heartbreaking the whole ordeal was to watch unfold.

I sincerely hope that this disease is cured at some point in my lifetime...

Graig

[GKreindler]

And apparently, the Gehrig video isn't working for me, so perhaps it's down? Or maybe my computer's not reading it right?

Either way, you can read the letters if you can't see the video. Sad.

Graig

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

It has nothing to do with shorthand and computers. It has all to do with schools no longer requiring that kids learn to write.

This, BTW, was how Gehrig wrote when he was fourteen years old:

David,
That's a spectacular Gehrig piece!
Do you own it in your personal collection?
Thanks!

[CW]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

It has nothing to do with shorthand and computers. It has all to do with schools no longer requiring that kids learn to write.

This, BTW, was how Gehrig wrote when he was fourteen years old:

First off, that's a beautiful piece!

Secondly, computers, keyboards, and smartphones are a major factor in the death of cursive writing. Coincidentally, my older sister wrote an article about it for a local magazine. Not trying to start a debate on this, as I could probably care less, but the effect of computers on our youth's handwriting skills (or lack thereof) is quite obvious.

[David Atkatz]

Do you have kids, Chuck? Anyone with younger children will tell you that kids are no longer taught "cursive" (what used to be called "script") in school.

It's kinda difficult for my son's iPad to erode a skill he never had.

[CW]

And why exactly are kids no longer taught handwriting skills?

Because they can do all their "writing" on a computer and keyboard.

To say, "It has nothing to do with shorthand and computers," is simply false.

Your son's iPad did not erode a skill he never had, it eroded the need for teachers to teach handwriting skills.

[David Atkatz]

Fair enough.

[packs]

Cursive still has its magical powers. A document is not official for some unknown reason unless your letters are squiggly and connected. Print just will not do.

[thecatspajamas]

Originally Posted by packs

Cursive still has its magical powers. A document is not official for some unknown reason unless your letters are squiggly and connected. Print just will not do.

Reminds me of when I was signing mortgage papers for my home which required me to sign my full name, which I don't believe I had done since about the third grade. In looking at my signatures, the lack of practice since was evident in that it did appear that a third-grader had scrawled my first name next to my usual signature.

In the same vein though, I have a very neat block lettering style to my usual handwriting that I owe largely to my freshman Drafting class that I took while studying engineering. Something about having to "draw" letters really stuck with me, and has served me well in the years since. At the time, I was frustrated that the class didn't involve more CAD work, but I think the lettering practice has served me far better in the years since.