The art of calligraphy as we know it today actually finds its origins in cave paintings. Back in the days when communication was a series of grunts, the written word was a mere pictorial representation of significant events in a caveman’s life. As humans developed, the art of drawing pictures became quite highly developed and reached great heights under the direction of the Egyptians. About 3500 BC, the Egyptians created the highly stylized hieroglyphics for which they are so well known. These symbols were incised inside tombs or painted with brushes across papyrus paper. A few thousand years later, around 1000 BC, the Phoenicians went a step further and developed what is believed to be one of the first alphabets and writing systems. Luckily the Phoenicians were sea faring types and they readily passed along their new talents to every seaport through which they passed. They most likely influenced the Greeks who later developed their own form of writing which by 850 BC the Romans had adapted to suit the Latin language.

To further complicate matters for artistic scribes, by the 19th century the steel pen and fountain pen replaced the flat-edged pen. The rounded tip of these new pens made the special curves of calligraphy more difficult to achieve. The art itself might have seen its extinction if it weren’t for the British poet and artist William Morris. In the mid-19th century William Morris spearheaded a calligraphic revival, reintroducing the flat edged pen and elevating the act of writing to the art form of its past.

Calligraphy is a popular art form whose boundaries are not restricted to Europe and the United States. Around 1500 BC the Chinese developed a complicated writing technique using more than 1500 characters. Today the Chinese consider calligraphy to be one of their most respected art forms. Master Chinese calligraphers may appear to be spontaneously stroking a brush over the paper, but many meditate extensively before designing. The Arabs are also noted for their history of calligraphy. Their cursive is written from right to left and formed by eighteen distinct shapes, the various combinations of which produce twenty-eight letters.