Guide
Reading old cursive: letterforms, abbreviations and dates
A reference for English-language family letters from roughly the 1700s to the early 1900s. Keep it open beside a letter when a shape, a shortened name or a date term stops you.
Letterforms that cause most misreadings
| Form | What to look for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Long s (ſ) | Looks like an f without the full crossbar; used at the start or middle of a word, never at the end. | “ſuch”, “Baſſet” → such, Basset |
| Double s | Often written long s + short s, so it can look like “fs”. | “Miſs” → Miss |
| Capital I and J | Frequently identical; decide from the word. | “Jas.” vs “I am” |
| Capital L and S | Both can start with the same large loop. | Check against known names |
| Capital T and F | Differ only by a small stroke on F. | “Father”, “Tuesday” |
| u and v, n and u | Rounded and pointed tops look alike in fast writing. | Count the strokes |
| Final e | May be a short flick or omitted in a flourish. | “lov” → love |
Shortened names and words
Writers saved ink and paper by shortening common first names and stock phrases, usually keeping the first letters and the last, often raised above the line.
- Wm.
- William
- Jas.
- James
- Jno.
- John
- Chas.
- Charles
- Thos.
- Thomas
- Geo.
- George
- Saml.
- Samuel
- yr / yrs
- your / yours
- recd
- received
- do.
- ditto, the same as above
- &c
- et cetera
- inst.
- this month (instant)
- ult.
- last month (ultimo)
- prox.
- next month (proximo)
The sample letter closes “Your affectionate brother / Wm. H. Calloway”. “Wm.” is William; “H.” is a middle initial that the letter itself never expands — so a careful modern version writes “William H. Calloway” and leaves the H alone rather than inventing a name.
Faithful: Wm. H. Calloway
Modern: William H. Calloway
Dates and numbers
- Inst., ult., prox. — this month, last month, next month, relative to the letter’s own date.
- Ordinals such as 14th or 3d (third) are often written with raised letters.
- Ones and sevens can look alike; check against other numbers in the same hand.
- Old-style years in very early documents may differ from the modern calendar; check before recording a date between January and March before 1752 in British records.
Use with care
These are tendencies, not rules: writers, regions and decades differ. Treat a confusing shape as a question to settle from the rest of the letter. AI readings make the same kinds of mistakes people do with look-alike letters, so names are always worth a second look.
New to old letters? Start with how to read an old handwritten letter.
Questions
- When did people stop using the long s?
- It largely disappeared from printing around 1800 and from most everyday handwriting over the following decades, though older writers kept it longer. Its presence is a rough clue to a letter’s age, not proof.
- Why are some letters raised above the line?
- Superscript letters mark an abbreviation: the writer kept the first letters and the last one, raised. “Wm” with a raised m is William; “recd” with a raised d is received.
- What does “the 3rd inst.” mean?
- “Inst.” (instant) means this month, so a letter dated in March that mentions “the 3rd inst.” means 3 March. “Ult.” is last month and “prox.” is next month.
- Does this apply to German or French letters?
- No — German letters were often written in Kurrent or Sütterlin, entirely different scripts. See translating old family letters.