mark james
IAP Collection, Curator
Pen Turning Lore, Myths and Fables - I
John Hancock's Signature
John Hancock's Signature
John Hancock, born in 1737 in Massachusetts, inherited a thriving trading business in Boston and would, with Samuel Adams, become a major figure in colonial agitation against British rule. He was also a man of many notable accomplishments:
- He chaired the committee that demanded that British forces leave after The Boston Massacre.
- He served longer as President of The Continental Congress than anyone else.
- He was elected the First Governor of Massachusetts in 1780.
- He was a member of the first pool of candidates for US Presidency.
But John Hancock is also noted for his legendary signature on the Declaration of Independence, but few know the true story of this historical event in US History.
John Hancock was THE FIRST person to sign the Declaration of Independence, and this well known fact is crucial. As most of us are aware, John Hancock's signature is considerably larger than everyone else's with a thick brushstroke that dominates the rest, but the reason for this has been seldom acknowledged.
This is the reason for his trademark signature: John Hancock was also a skilled pen turner and silversmith. Having mastered the dark arts of turning a segmented dip pen topped with a custom silver nib, his achievement was a marked advancement in the progression to todays modern fountain pens.
John Hancock, as the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence, used his own pen with a distinctive nib of his own design, resulting in the large script. But realizing that others also would follow to sign the historic document, and not desiring them to examine his artistry, he slipped his pen into a leather pen vest, and replaced a smaller quill pen in the ink well. As the other delegates followed to sign the document, they commented that it was obvious he used a different pen.
John simply stated:
"While that may be true, I see no disgrace with using the Humble Slimline that was provided…"
So there you have it folks. A revolutionary segmented dip pen with a custom nib, far ahead of its time produced the historic "John Hancock" signature, while a Humble slimline quill pen scratched out the remaining signatures.
So segmenters, let's get those creative juices flowing for the Segmented Pen Contest.
