Kurrentschrift

This instructional booklet is aimed at researchers and enthusiasts who wish to engage with handwritten documents from the 18th and 19th centuries. Mastery of the old German script opens the door to the vast collections found in numerous archives. This booklet covers the standard script. Each handwriting style is unique and has its peculiarities that the reader must become accustomed to. Additionally, there are numerous abbreviations. The lack of a uniform orthography has led to different spellings of words. However, recognizing and identifying the letters that deviate most from our script can be helpful, and often the words make sense in context. The way letters are written allows them to be grouped together. Some fundamental elements are the same, and with a slight variation, a different letter emerges. The course is structured in a progressive manner. In the sample words, only letters that are already known are used. The first part of the manuscript addresses lowercase letters, while the second part focuses on uppercase letters.