I've had a number of British earlyish 19th century penmanship practice notebooks in the shop but this is the first American one, of a Jacob A. Paul I believe, of Ghent, NY, dated 1838. And it is quite different from the British in construction--with a simple un-dyed pulp paper cover, hand-stitched binding, and then pages of various colors inside--pink, green, yellow, some quite brilliant in tone. And no fraktur type headers here--just page after page after page of writing phrases over and over and over, I believe following the lead of an instructor who wrote the phrase first at the top of each page. What I especially like is the content of the phrases themselves: "farmers usualy [sic] strive to get a living honestly"; "eloquence is the companion of peace"; "discord of the ranks is the pest of the city"; "money, learning, wit and grace will fit a man for any place"; "kings should be good not men of blood." And then, many times, at the end of the line, just "New York".

10 1/2" x 8 1/8". 22 pages filled front and back. Wonderful blue thread stitching a few inches in on the front and back cover, it seems attaching a second layer of paper over the spine. Some tearing/folding/staining along the left edge of the front cover, water stain to part of the back cover and a few inside pages, and a little foxing here and there, but most of the interior pages are in good shape, and when difficult to read in places it is primarily because of Jacob's penmanship!