Letter h

Very few Secretary Hand letters descend below the line, and the most common of these are easily learned, e.g. the s, x, and z. One descending letter in Secretary Hand, which does not descend in modern handwriting, is the h. The Secretary Hand form often looks like a butcher's hook. It is worth remembering this, so that when you run across a letter which looks like a butcher's hook you have coached yourself to spot the Secretary Hand h. Here are some examples:

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Number 1 shows a classic Secretary Hand h.

Number 2 shows the word hundreth, but note how the h at the end of the word is much less well-formed, partly because it is part of a th ligatured letter.

Number 3 shows another ligature in the word schilling, where, again, the h is not so well formed.

Try writing Secretary Hand h yourself, starting with the curl at the top and ending with the hook at the bottom.

To become accustomed to reading the Secretary Hand h, practice writing it, e.g.

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Try writing the whole thing in Secretary Hand, if you know the other Secretary Hand letters.