(*Portrait and bio taken with permission from Michael Sull’s Spencerian Script and Ornamental Penmanship, Volume I.)
William E. Dennis
(1860-1924)
Among
the ranks of penmen, there were few indeed who earned the respect and
admiration of his peers to a greater degree than William E. Dennis. As a man
beloved by the members of his profession, he rates with E. W. Bloser, C. P.
Zaner and even P. R. Spencer. As a skilled penman in every field of penmanship
and pen art, he ranked above them all. In the eyes of his contemporaries and
those penmen who followed after his death, he was often regarded as the finest
all around penman who ever lived. To this day, his work remains unchallenged
and undoubtedly will remain so.
Born in
Manchester, New Hampshire in 1860, Dennis' interest in penmanship started in
1875 at the age of 15 when he secured a copy of Gaskell's Compendium of
Penmanship. He studied the plates in the text and sent his lessons to Gaskell
for critique. Two years later he enrolled in Gaskell's school and was widely
promoted by the great penman as "Gaskell's boy wonder" It was at that
institution where Dennis made friends with his new classmate A. N. Palmer, a
treasured association that lasted through both men's lifetimes.
While a
young man in his twenties, Dennis tried several lines of work as a clerk, but
found them too boring for his taste. He decorated the ledger books in his
charge with fancy birds and scrolls, but it seems that this did little to
impress his employers, for he was fired from no less than three jobs! His
fortunes changed and his career path became guided when shortly thereafter he
met A. R. Dunton one of the most skilled penmen of the 19th century. Under
Dunton's guidance, Dennis learned much practical use for his pen, as well as
many advanced techniques of penmanship.
During
his career as a penman and engrosser, W. E. Dennis was known as an expert of
the highest caliber in all forms of ornamental penmanship, shaded
"display" scripts, and text lettering. He was considered a genius at
offhand flourishing, and was acclaimed as "America's Dean of
Engrossing." In 1909 he met Mr. Willis Baird, and in 1914 the two men
formed a partnership in Brooklyn, New York. It was also in that same year that
the American Penman published a superb collection of ornamental penmanship by
Dennis entitled "Studies In Pen Art," copies of which were eagerly
sought by penmen of his day and are prized by collectors today
For many
years until his death, William E. Dennis maintained his studio in Brooklyn and
produced work of superlative quality. His death at age 64 on June 6, 1924 was a
shock to the penmanship profession. A slightly built man of 5'6" and 135
pounds, his passing resulted from pneumonia after an illness of only three
days. Numerous Master Penmen eulogized him, but perhaps none better than his
dear friend Samuel E. Bartow: "Dennis was to the penmanship profession
what such painters as Whistler, Sargent and Da Vinci were to the art world. His
book known as 'Studies in Pen Art' forms one of the most enduring monuments to
that Greatest of Great all around penman, W E. Dennis."