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The merest examination of Bentham's handwriting can appear quite intimidating, even for those familiar with eighteenth and nineteenth century handwriting. But don't worry! To assist transcribers, below are a selection of examples of Bentham's handwriting. They include a number of common words, and are designed to show as wide a range of letters and stylistic issues as possible. Clicking on the image will open a larger version.
Note the shape of the 'p' (which can also be seen in 'possess', 'pain', and 'pleasure' below) and the flourish over the 'd'.
For words ending 'ed', Bentham often dropped the 'e' and ended the word in the above manner; this contraction can also be seen below in 'happen'd'. Such words should be encoded using the 'sic' tags.
Bentham occasionally did not cross the letter 't', which can also be seen in 'utility' and 'manifested' below.
Note the shape of the 'B', and the flow of Bentham's handwriting.
Note the shape of the final 'e'. This can also be seen in 'importance' below.
Note how Bentham writes double 's', which appears as an 'f' in this style. This can also be seen in 'possess' and 'necessity' below.
Note that the 'i' is not dotted, which can make the identification of words tricky.
Note the shape of the 's'.
