2 Replies Latest reply on Apr 24, 2020 11:27 PM by Sharon McKinley

Cursive example: Q and 2

Julianne Mangin Apr 22, 2020 6:28 PM

For people working on 19th century collections, such as Letters to Lincoln, it might be useful to know that back then, the capital Q was written like the numeral 2. This comes up a lot in Letters to Lincoln because the Army had a Quarter Master Department. It also comes up when headquarters is spelled as two words Head Quarters. The first line of this document shows what a capital Q looks like: https://www.loc.gov/resource/mal.1569300/

It really looks like a "2" doesn't it?

Re: Cursive example: Q and 2

Aragorn Ann Thacker Apr 23, 2020 10:23 AM (in response to Julianne Mangin)

Great tip. I was taught that method of making a cursive Q when I was in elementary schools in the mid-1970s. Even as a child I thought that it would only lead to confusion and quit using that method as soon as teachers stopped requiring graded handwriting assignments.
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- Re: Cursive example: Q and 2
  
  Sharon McKinley Apr 24, 2020 11:27 PM (in response to Aragorn Ann Thacker)
  
  You mean you still had handwriting assignments in the 70s?? Wow! I never learned that Q at all in the 50s...
  Sharon M
  
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