This "beautiful demonstration" of his penmanship was a most intricate piece of what was known as fine knotting, or knotwork. It was said to be "written in all the known hands of Great Britain," and was valued at £100. It was bequeathed to Harvard College unless it was bought by the Revolutionary patriot, John Hancock, who had been one of Master Holbrook's pupils and, as we know from the fine bold signature of his own name to the Declaration of Independence, was a very creditable scholar.
Exhibition "Piece" of Anne Reynolds
This work had occupied every moment of what Abiah Holbrook called his "spare time" for seven years. As he had, in the year 1745, two hundred and twenty scholars at one time in one school, his spare time must have been very short. He and other writing-masters of the Holbrook family left behind a still nobler demonstration than this knotwork in the handwriting of their scholars—Boston ministers, merchants, statesmen, and patriots—whose elegant penmanship really formed a distinct style, and was known as "Boston Style of Writing."
The "hands of Great Britain" were many in number; among them Saxon, Old Mss., Chancery, Gothic, Running Court, Exchequer, Pipe Office, Engrossing, Running Secretary, Round Text, and the "Lettre Frisee," which was minutely and regularly zigzagged.
A well-known Boston writing-master was familiarly known as Johnny Tileston. He was born in 1738 and taught till 1823, when he was pensioned off. He was a rough-mannered old fellow; his chief address to the scholars being the term, "You gnurly wretch." His ideal was his own teacher, Master Proctor, and when late in life he saw a scholar wipe his pen on a bit of cloth, he approached the desk, lifted the rag and said, "What's this? Master Proctor had no such thing." Tileston himself always wiped his pens with his little finger and in turn dried his finger on his own white hairs under his wig. An old spelling-book has these lines for a "writing-copy ":—
"X things a penman should have near at hand—
Paper, pomice, pen, ink, knife, horn, rule, plummet, wax, sand."
It will be noted that a penwiper is not upon the list.