leo academyBeta
Handbook

Capital R · secretary hand

Bowed R

Unit 3

A large double-bowed R with a descending loop.

When is it a capital?

A capital R is large and usually crossed by a bar or looped; secretary r never rises above x-height.

Model letter

McKerrow (1927), fig. 23, no. 4 · public domain

In practice lines

Examples of this form are on their way

Don’t confuse it with

Create a free Leo accountTaught in unit 3. Create a free account to unlock units 3–5.
Coming soon

Other forms of capital R

crossed Rlooped Ropen R
Model letters: R. B. McKerrow, An Introduction to Bibliography (1927); Jean de Beauchesne & John Baildon, A Booke Containing Divers Sortes of Hands (1570 and 1581); Giovambattista Palatino, Libro nel qual s’insegna a scrivere (1550); and manuscripts in the Folger Shakespeare Library; all public domain. They stand in until Leo’s own model letters are drawn. Secretary letters typeset in Joscelyn by Peter S. Baker (SIL Open Font License).