Question On Tombow Pens For Copperplate

[Cassotto]

In Spain, everyone who went to school in the 60s, 70s and 80s learnt to write with books published by a company called Rubio (who also sold books to learn to add, subtract, etc.). Some time ago I saw they also sold one book to teach Copperplate script, and I decided to buy it and keep it for when I had some free time (which is not often). I also bought a notebook with horizontal and inclined lines for practice, and a couple of Tombow pens of the type that have both a fine bullet tip and a flexible brush tip (ABT N15): one was sold with the book as a pack, and I bought a second one just in case I ran out of ink.

 

So Easter looked like the right time to start practising, and I started yesterday.

 

The book looks great. It has lots of space for practice, first by tracing letters and then by drawing your own, it starts with lines, circles, etc., so by the time you start writing letters you've already had lots of practice, and everything's explained clearly. But I have been very disappointed about the pens. No matter how little I press, the lines are incredibly thick. Even holding the pen completely perpendicular to the paper (which I suppose is not the right thing to do, certainly not according to the book), the letters must be huge to make they look sort of proportioned. Please look here:

 

 

It's not that I'm already trying to do letters without doing all the strokes before, but even the strokes looked so different from what I expected that I tried some real writing, to see what it looked like. Of course, it looks awful, but please bear in mind that this was my first attempt ever, after having practised strokes for about 10 minutes, and that I did it looking at the word in the book cover instead of looking at the paper all the time, since I haven't practiced any letter and I cannot draw them from memory. I know there's a long way to go before I can even start practising letters!

 

Anyway, there's no way I can practise the letters the size they are in the book with these pens. I have already assumed I will have to buy some new equipment, though that will have to wait until the confinement here ends. But I'd like to know, is there any way I can practise with the Tombow pens without spending tons of paper? If these pens were sold with this specific book, then they must be useful somehow, but I cannot see how. The book itself says that pens, though not a great option, are a cheap way to begin until we see whether we want to invest more.

 

I suppose I'll end up buying some nibs and ink to practise, Is it beter to use a normal pen holder and an oblique nib, or an oblique pen holder and a normal nib? Is there any specific nib model for Copperplate which is readily available in Europe? I read lots of people recommending old vintage nibs, but I'd rather stick to something of which I can easily find supplies as I use them. I have one old oblique nib somewhere, but since I've only got fountain pen ink, I don't think I can start practising until I buy whatever I need. If I'm wrong here, please let me know!

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

[txomsy]

Don't you have a cheap Jinhao? It's sad you waited till Friday. You could have everything set up in one day.

 

Still, you can order a box of 10 Zebra G nibs from Amazon.es and get them delivered by Monday (just checked).

 

Then you may either, a ) fit one of those into a Jinhao 450 or 750 or a similar cheap pen taking a #6 nib, or b ) also order a nib holder (maybe with a few nibs) and use the ZebraG on the holder.

 

The Jinhao (or Baoer or whatever) will have a hard time coping up with the ink demands of the nib in due time. But now, since you are starting and you want to go slowly, you will likely not notice the ink starvation. Later on, when you grow confident you will, but for a start it should be OK.

 

A holder does require also getting used to dipping the pen. You'd also need two containers (one for ink and one for water), and a cloth for cleaning nibs. to get started, I think I would prefer a pen to a holder.

 

As for the pen, like a straight holder and a straight nib, will not give you the "shapes" you want exactly, but again, for a start you can get very satisfying results with them.

 

As for bent nibs or bent holders, I think it is up to you, but you will likely find straight nibs more easily, hence, an oblique holder may be better.

 

As for nibs, you shouldn't have any trouble finding any in Europe. Even in Spain, there are many online sellers at reasonable prices (I think last time I looked up nibs, a good number of online Spanish shops showed up). Even Amazon and Aliexpress do carry them. A ZebraG (or a NIkko G) is a good starter nib. Later on you can move on to more "demanding" nibs, and when you do, you'll notice that most of them are UK or French made. So, you should have no trouble in EU.

 

Finally, as for writing. You can do proper Copperplate with a straight nib or a fountain pen, it is only a bit more demanding, but certainly feasible. However, FPs win hands down on convenience. From my experience, while writing slanted with an FP is demanding, I personally find that writing vertical renders itself naturally to flexible writing with an FP or straight holder.

 

That said, since you are Spanish, if you give a try to Spanish writing (with an italic nib) starting with Chancelleresca, de Lucas bast ard, and maybe Casanova's bast ard (just try a couple sheets each, even with a normal nib or a ballpoint pen), you will discover a couple of interesting things: slant is not so important, as it isn't shape, but mostly, the letters share a "spirit" or "soul" whether you are writing the Spanish, French Ronde, Flemish or Copperplate. As one moves from one style to another one discovers that -at the bottom- they are all one and the same.

 

When I took on Calligraphy myself, I tried as many hands as I could. At one point I concluded that there wasn't that much of a difference among post-italic scripts. And recently, perusing www.pennavolans.com I confirmed a long suspected idea: that Copperplate (or Copperplate-like scripst) could be written as well with an italic nib and was indeed taught with italic nibs by many masters for long.

 

 

From my most personal and biased point of view, once you get the idea of the letters right (and judging by Rubio's copybooks, I'd say you should already have it), the main difficulty lies in mastering the flexible pen itself.

By the way, while looking up that, I found they sell them online and have some interesting looking copybooks. Maybe you could provide a review later on to let us know about your experience.

Edited April 10, 2020 by txomsy

[Cassotto]

Wow! Thanks a lot for such a detailed message! It does really help!

 

Well, I waited until Thursday because that's when my Easter holidays really begun. Having bought the book and Tombow pens together, I though I'd be able to practise a lot these days. I suppose I could order everything I need on Amazon today and have it here on Monday or Tuesday, but I'm sorry for those people who must still work these days, as I think most of them would rather be safe at home, and I'd feel bad about the delivery guy. That's why I think I won't try to buy anything until people are allowed to go outside normally. Besides, the post office doesn't deliver Amazon, eBay or Aliexpress parcels, probably because most of what people buy there is not essential.

 

I've got several cheap pens I don't use, but I don't know the nib size they use: a Jinhao 500, a couple of Jinhao 991, a Parker Jotter and a brandless pen I hate. How can I figure out whether they are #6 or something else?

 

Thanks for the tip on the Zebra G nibs. I've already added them to my Amazon wishlist, to make sure I keep track of them. I've already got a straight holder, so maybe I could try my only oblique nib (though old, it seems to be unused), and I'll get an oblique holder later on. I suppose that the straight holder + the oblique nib + some fountain pen ink would allow me to do something until I can get better equipment. Maybe leaving the ink bottle open so some water evaporates, if it's too liquid.

 

Do you think one of those FP with flexible nibs would be OK to learn, or at least to practise, Copperplate? I'm talking about the Noodler's Ahab, Konrad or Creaper models, or the Fountain Pen Revolution pens with flex nibs which I've heard of, but that I can't find anywhere. I have some FPs with an italic nib, but I don't feel confident enough to start with those, even if you believe it can be done!

 

I've had a look at some other scripts you've mentioned, but I'm really afraid to start many things at the same time, as I feel I might end up not mastering any of them. Well, I won't probably master any even if I only take up one at a time!

 

That Rubio copybook you've linked is like the ones I used, though we stopped before reaching that level. I got as far as this, though I'm amazed to see they are advertised as books for 8-year-old kids (I used to do that when I was 4-5 years old). After learning that rounded version, you were left free to adapt it as much as you wanted. Most people just went as far apart from it as they could, but lazy me sticked to that script until today, though in a less cared, more hurried version. And yes, of course, I hadn't thought of that, but I'll make sure to review the book on Copperplate, or maybe others if I ever decide to buy them.

[txomsy]

I fear this is going to take longer than expected. Anyway, ans this is exclusively from my subjective point of view, Copperplate, or any other script, writing is composed of two main aspects: the first is mastering the letter shape and 'ductus' (the way you write the letter), and the second is mastering the tools.

 

So, you can start with a pencil and paper practicing the letter forms. Personally, i am not too fond of 'ductus'. What I've found from reading many books is that there are many ways to do it, and specially regarding Copperplate, you have two main approaches: the calligraphic one aims to "draw" the most beautiful letters possible, making writing into an art, and the practical approach which aims to get them nice yet practically fast. In some copperplate books the authors do in fact teach two ways, a "proper" way and a daily one.

 

The same happens with the letter forms. There is "traditional" Copperplate, Roundhand, Engrosser's script, and many variations taught over the ages. Yet, there is a single, common spirit to all of them.

 

Finally there is a cognitive issue. Our brain being a neural network can learn faster when it combines different tasks. Which is probably why we do not learn first Grammar, then History, then Maths... but all at the same time. When you practice a few related yet different hands, your brain picks the "common" trends, the "spirit" of writing. So, counterintuitively, it may indeed help combining a couple of styles. It demands some discipline not to mix them, but I find it gives more freedom and a deeper understanding.

 

As for books... I think that if you do not want to go to Amazon now, www.pennavolans.com is your site: you'll find lots of copybooks there. Yet, ponder this as well: the delivery person may depend on deliveries to earn a living, you are also helping them when you order online. Just keep the distance.

 

In a flat you may ask the delivery person to wait for you at the building's entry, so s/he does not need to enter. In a house they can ring the bell, leave it at your door and wait to see you pick it Yet, I fully understand and appreciate your concerns and can but commend you for them. I find this really despicable.

 

Then, later on, if you want to delve in depth on this, the "canonical" book is "Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy", by Eleanor Winters. That is deemed to be the best resource for canonical, formal Copperplate. I find it a bit too "heavy", it is great for people with a strong interest and self-discipline, though. However, if I were to recommend a book to get started I would recommend a different one.

 

"Italic and Copperplate Calligraphy", by Eleanor Winters is livelier, lighter and more attractive from my point of view, it makes a better job of getting you interested and unleashing your imagination, it also considers both, the "calligraphic" and the "practical" cursive approaches, and you get both Italic and Copperplate. That, I would deem a good starter book and bang for the buck.

 

But if you really want to get down to the point, if you are a person of action, and would rather get hands down, as it looks, and really only want to learn Copperplate, I would advice a different kind of book. Shorter, with less explanations, with just the basics and the indications to get you on your own. Some nice ones are:

 

"Copperplate Calligraphy" by Dick Jackson. Short, with enough info to get you started, and several examples and suggestions.

 

"Calligraphy in the Copperplate Style" by Kaufman, H and Homelsky, G. This one is even shorter and even more practical yet. Just the bare minimum. The fast, Q&D, practical approach.

 

"The technique of Copperplate Calligraphy" by Gordon Turner. This is a wonder. It's itself handwritten, so the book itself provides for a nice sample, it is short, with nice, large depictions of the strokes, and neat suggestions.

 

But, for now, you may just start practicing the letter forms with a pencil or a pen. This will get you started on the most important part (from my POV): uniform, level writing, and will allow you to get used to the slant and hand movements.

[Cassotto]

txomsy, I do understand everyone speaks from his or her own point of view and experience, but I find yours to be very interesting and sensible ones. I hadn't thought of practising the shape of the letters, which is something I can certainly do now with what I have. Learning to apply the right pressure will come later on.

 

I cannot say I have given lots of thought to which of the approaches you mention I'd like to learn. I think I tend more towards the practical one, though I think I see myself learning with the calligraphic approach first, and then turning to a less careful, quickest handwriting, maybe because that's how I first learnt to write (I don't know the name of that script we were taught as children). I was taught the proper way to do it beautiful and nice, and then, time and the need for speed modified it into something that is clearly recognizable as the script we all knew. It's not suitable for something that requires a perfect script, but I think I could manage an almost perfect version without much effort, if needed. I had no idea the "daily" style was taught. I always thought that it was, as I've just explained, a deformation of the "proper" one according to each person's taste and needs.

 

I'm not so much a hands-down sort of person as it seems. My urgency here comes from the fact that the Easter holidays, together with the litte bit of extra free time owing to teleworking because of the coronavirus alert, make it possible for me to have time to practise daily, something I wouldn't be able to do, in normal conditions, until the summer holidays. But I love those books with explanations about something, and I like to take the "serious" approach (for example, using the Rubio book I've already got, I wouldn't dream of skipping the strokes pages and going directly to the letters pages!).

 

Of all the books you've suggested, "Italic and Copperplate Calligraphy" sounds like the most appealing to me. Italic is another script I definitely want to learn at some point (and I do have fountain pens with 1.5 italic nibs!). You've even persuaded me about the deliver person needing to work. The main problem here is that, as I said, the post office won't deliver Amazon packages, and Amazon usually send their stuff through the post, not private delivery companies. I can try and find some private seller who is selling this book, though I'm afraid that won't work, either, as people aren't going outside anyway (I bought a couple of books and an ink bottle just before the official confinement started on 13th March, and they haven't been sent yet). I don't know about other countries, but almost everything here has come to a halt! And having it sent from abroad might take lots of time, too. I'll see what I can do, and if everything else fails, I'll draw the shape of the letters with a normal fountain pen.

 

Thanks a lot, once again!

[Grayspoole]

I was glad to see a new discussion of calligraphy appear, since the forum has been rather quiet lately. I am also finding calligraphy practice to be relaxing and restorative.

 

Cassano, while the materials you are working with look like excellent starting points, I don’t think you will find the Tombow markers satisfying in the long run. A felt tip marker can be used to “draw” calligraphic letters at a large scale but you won’t be able to develop the rhythms and movements to write naturally.

 

There are significant differences between pointed and broad nib styles of calligraphy. Pointed nibs create line variation by flexing. In writing copperplate or engrosser’s scripts, you must vary your pressure and speed to go from thin to thick. An invaluable resource for these styles is in the IAMPETH site (International Association of Master Penmen, Engrossers, and Teachers of Handwriting). Go to Resources for printable guidesheets and much more. The Zebra G nibs suggested by Txomsy work well for pointed pen styles. You can use them in a dip pen holder or adapt them for use in a fountain pen such as a Noodler Ahab. The Osprey Pen Company has a customized Zebra nib section/converter.

 

Broad nib styles include italic, gothic, and many others. Broad nibs are typically inflexible. The angle of the pen nib creates line variation—not pressure. Lloyd Reynolds was a beloved teacher of calligraphy at Reed College for many years. His TV classes on italic are available on Youtube and are a great resource.

 

[Grayspoole]

Removing duplicate post, but I will add that Ebay is a great source for nibs and pen holders, used and new. Perhaps you will be able to get supplies through the post from Ebay? You can also find calligraphy tools on Etsy. I just purchased a great dip pen holder from an Etsy artisan.

 

Other vendors are Scribblers in the UK that might be able to ship to you,

Edited April 11, 2020 by Grayspoole

[D B Holtz]

Regarding the FPs with flexible nibs, I have used both the Noodler's Creaper and the FPR flex nibs, and I would discourage you from those. They are fine for what they are, but they require a relatively heavy hand to make them flex, which I then had to overcome when I started using the dip pens.

 

As for which nib to start with, I've used the Zebra G, the Nikko G, the Leonardt EF Principal (after finally developing a light enough touch), and lately the Brause Blue Pumpkin. They are all good. I recommend that you try a variety of them and decide which works best _for you_.

 

HTH,

DB

[txomsy]

I fully appreciate, and admire, your approach. Me, I'm more of a "grasp the idea", experiment and get it over. I lack that constancy or self discipline (unless I make a conscious effort).

 

That's likely a side line. On learning I mean. There are those who can work their hard way through anything, and then those who need to see some results -even if poor- to get the strength to go on. To each their own.

[Cassotto]

Cassano, while the materials you are working with look like excellent starting points, I don’t think you will find the Tombow markers satisfying in the long run. A felt tip marker can be used to “draw” calligraphic letters at a large scale but you won’t be able to develop the rhythms and movements to write naturally.

 

Grayspoole, thanks a lot for your advice. In fact, I'm not too fond of the idea of doing calligraphy with markers. As I said, they came as a pack with the book, so they seemed OK to start with, though I'm sure the long run doesn't need to be too long before one realises they are not the thing. I do appreciate that they are a convenient method to practise anywhere, but for that, I think I'd prefer fountain pens. I think that being able to carry one in your pocket and draw some letters whenever you have a few minutes must be rewarding, while it also provides you with practice time that may not be easy to find otherwise.

 

Thanks a lot for your great explanation about the differences between the pointed and broad types of nibs. In fact (and you can call me inconsequent ), I think I'll start practising italic script first, instead of copperplate, as I do have fountain pens with italic nibs that will allow me to start doing so immediately. I'll come back with my output to look for advice as soon as I have something worth showing or, at least, not to embarrassing.

 

 

 

Regarding the FPs with flexible nibs, I have used both the Noodler's Creaper and the FPR flex nibs, and I would discourage you from those. They are fine for what they are, but they require a relatively heavy hand to make them flex, which I then had to overcome when I started using the dip pens.

 

Of, this is very interesting. I hadn't thought these pens could have this disadvantage. This reminds me of the time when I used to destroy computer keyboards in a few weeks after handling them as if they were typewriters. It looked as if I wanted to make my fingers go through to the other side of the keyboard, and it took me some time to get used to being more gentle. Would it be possible to replace the Noodler's and FPR nibs with better ones, like a Zebra G? Txomsy suggested doing so with a Jinhao or a similarly cheap pen, but then, he said the pen wouldn't be able to cope up with the ink demands with time. Why is this so? Would I have the same problem with any fountain pen?

 

 

I fully appreciate, and admire, your approach. Me, I'm more of a "grasp the idea", experiment and get it over. I lack that constancy or self discipline (unless I make a conscious effort).

 

That's likely a side line. On learning I mean. There are those who can work their hard way through anything, and then those who need to see some results -even if poor- to get the strength to go on. To each their own.

Well, I cannot say I have lots of self-discipline. There's a trait of mine which I have had since school and that people used to consider an advantage, though now I see it differently. I'm very good at learning things without effort (provided I have a good teacher, who can be replaced with a good book, since I'm not so good at self-learning), and that means I can get moderately good results very quickly. But when it comes to improving those first results, and getting from "moderately good" to "good" or "very good", that requires making an effort... And I'm not good at that. I went effortlessly through school, so I didn't learn the habit to work hard to get results. Now that I'm an adult, I find that the moment something requires hard work, I'm no longer interested in it. I still like to take the slow and meticulous approach, but only to the point where it stops being easy. This has turned me into a good-for-nothing person, and a very unambitious one. Nothing to be proud of, I'm afraid.

[txomsy]

As for nibs...

 

You can put a ZebraG on an Ahab.

 

It is true the stock "flex" nibs from FPR and Noodler's are rather hard. But...

 

If you apply the Ease My Flex mod to one of them, it may become very accommodating and a lot easier to write with using flex. I had got several long ago when I started this same route, so I tried it in one.. and now have four or six modified (both #5 and #6). I just went to a Chinese bazaar, got a set of "ball-shaped" points for EUR 1.5, used them on a Black&Decker (don't have a Dremmel) and voilà!

 

If you do not want to, you may try FPR super-flex nibs. I haven't tried one of those, but if they behave like the ones I made, they should be really nice. Not as nice as a dip-pen nib, but fair enough. The ones I made require twice the force to flex than a ZebraG, but that is already very good, and the main difference is that the point is not as thin (and neither as scratchy) and the nib is corrosion and friction resistant, while a dip-pen nib (like the ZebraG) usually corrodes in 1-2 months and its point tends to erode with friction during use.

 

And yes, there is a difference in ink flow among pens. The reason is that while writing with no pressure, you lay an F or EF line (and require little ink) but when you flex you go to a B, BB or BBB line and demand more ink. Most feeds are tuned to one or the other and modern feeds, made of plastic usually have little allowance. An ebonite feed (like those in the Ahab) will have greater allowance... Hence it may make sense to get a pen for flex from Noodler's or FPR.

 

Here, there is also a difference between Noodler's and FPR pens. Noodler's are made for tinkering and reported to be inconsistent, you may need to tweak the feed on an Ahab to get its flow increased. FPR sells directly pens with and without flex nibs, but usually when they fit a flex or ultraflex nib, they can also fit an ebonite feed that has been tuned to cope with the ink flow. So, less tinkering, and they also have a greater choice of pens.

 

Still, from my experience, when you start, almost any pen that can take a #6 nib can cope with the slow practice. That first practice is really rewarding and can encourage further developments, like getting a Noodler's or FPR nib and doing the Ease-My-Flex mod, which will result in additional satisfaction and may later lead you to a pen show to search for a vintage flex... and on and on.

 

And finally, remember that for a long time, people have been writing cursive (I mean styles that look like Copperplate) with italic nibs as well. So if you have a stub or italic, you can also try to write cursive with it. Indeed, many masters of the XIX-XX Centuries from France, Italy or Spain taught a style for italic pens that looks strikingly similar to cursive. E.g. some styles ink this link taken from pennavolans.com.

[Mimi Richman]

As a beginner in calligraphy, I prefer to choose brushes for writing letters. MISULOVE is a great lettering calligraphy set. You will be getting one extra-fine, one fine, one medium, and three brush tips. These markers are refillable, making them the ideal choice for beginners at calligraphy. Another nice feature of these markers is that you can use any brand ink to refill them.

[txomsy]

While that may be a nice set for so-called Modern Calligraphy, I wouldn't rate it as a beginner set. It requires a very light and steady hand to get acceptable results. It is unforgiving and the technique is very unlike most normal FPs. It will hardly lead to fast cursive (maybe somewhat lower calligraphic) writing as an FP does.

 

If I (but that is just me) were to advice a beginner, I'd recommend following the historic path, start with italic and a stub, which will give nice effects with a most forgiving tool, then Copperplate with a semi-flex/"ultra-flex"/EMF nib, to get used to the strokes, then move to a Zebra-G or similar in an FP and then to a flexible nib dip-pen, and only afterwards to using a brush pen.

 

Unless you learned to write using brush pens (or are already used to them), that is, in which case it may be easier to start with them.

 

[Anne-Sophie]

On 4/10/2020 at 1:51 PM, txomsy said:

I fear this is going to take longer than expected. Anyway, ans this is exclusively from my subjective point of view, Copperplate, or any other script, writing is composed of two main aspects: the first is mastering the letter shape and 'ductus' (the way you write the letter), and the second is mastering the tools.

 

So, you can start with a pencil and paper practicing the letter forms. Personally, i am not too fond of 'ductus'. What I've found from reading many books is that there are many ways to do it, and specially regarding Copperplate, you have two main approaches: the calligraphic one aims to "draw" the most beautiful letters possible, making writing into an art, and the practical approach which aims to get them nice yet practically fast. In some copperplate books the authors do in fact teach two ways, a "proper" way and a daily one.

 

The same happens with the letter forms. There is "traditional" Copperplate, Roundhand, Engrosser's script, and many variations taught over the ages. Yet, there is a single, common spirit to all of them.

 

Finally there is a cognitive issue. Our brain being a neural network can learn faster when it combines different tasks. Which is probably why we do not learn first Grammar, then History, then Maths... but all at the same time. When you practice a few related yet different hands, your brain picks the "common" trends, the "spirit" of writing. So, counterintuitively, it may indeed help combining a couple of styles. It demands some discipline not to mix them, but I find it gives more freedom and a deeper understanding.

 

As for books... I think that if you do not want to go to Amazon now, www.pennavolans.com is your site: you'll find lots of copybooks there. Yet, ponder this as well: the delivery person may depend on deliveries to earn a living, you are also helping them when you order online. Just keep the distance.

 

In a flat you may ask the delivery person to wait for you at the building's entry, so s/he does not need to enter. In a house they can ring the bell, leave it at your door and wait to see you pick it Yet, I fully understand and appreciate your concerns and can but commend you for them. I find this really despicable.

 

Then, later on, if you want to delve in depth on this, the "canonical" book is "Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy", by Eleanor Winters. That is deemed to be the best resource for canonical, formal Copperplate. I find it a bit too "heavy", it is great for people with a strong interest and self-discipline, though. However, if I were to recommend a book to get started I would recommend a different one.

 

"Italic and Copperplate Calligraphy", by Eleanor Winters is livelier, lighter and more attractive from my point of view, it makes a better job of getting you interested and unleashing your imagination, it also considers both, the "calligraphic" and the "practical" cursive approaches, and you get both Italic and Copperplate. That, I would deem a good starter book and bang for the buck.

 

But if you really want to get down to the point, if you are a person of action, and would rather get hands down, as it looks, and really only want to learn Copperplate, I would advice a different kind of book. Shorter, with less explanations, with just the basics and the indications to get you on your own. Some nice ones are:

 

"Copperplate Calligraphy" by Dick Jackson. Short, with enough info to get you started, and several examples and suggestions.

 

"Calligraphy in the Copperplate Style" by Kaufman, H and Homelsky, G. This one is even shorter and even more practical yet. Just the bare minimum. The fast, Q&D, practical approach.

 

"The technique of Copperplate Calligraphy" by Gordon Turner. This is a wonder. It's itself handwritten, so the book itself provides for a nice sample, it is short, with nice, large depictions of the strokes, and neat suggestions.

 

But, for now, you may just start practicing the letter forms with a pencil or a pen. This will get you started on the most important part (from my POV): uniform, level writing, and will allow you to get used to the slant and hand movements.

 

I bought Turner's book, first.

Besides giving me nice examples of the hand, the majority of the book is about setting up your supplies, like building your own oblique nib holder.

But it is thin and very inexpensive.

 

I bought both Dick Jackson  "Copperplate Calligraphy" and "Mastering Copperplate Calligraphy", by Eleanor Winters.

 

I use all 3 books as re-training wheels for some of my most challenging letter forms. My everyday handwriting is French Cursive, which I consider a round nib Copperplate.

 

My most valuable tool is tracing paper, I trace the letter forms I want to re-learn, which trains my muscles, I usually, see an improvement, the next day, when journaling.

 

Some letters, need more than one day, some need a week and others have always been challenging.

 

The three books txomsy and I mentioned are very reasonably priced, I ordered them from my local, independent bookstore. 

 

That was a couple of years ago, since then, they have been a great source of learning and enjoyment.