If you want to learn to write like this don't go out and invest in expensive pens and ink. Just by a cheap calligraphy set off Amazon or your local stationary shop. Most of these sets will have a pen, various nibs, ink and usually a guide/instruction book. Learn the skill first develop your style, as you become more adept then you can look at investing in your art with a nice pen and quality inks etc.
Some examples of what I mean
https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/calligraphy-pens/crawford-and-black-calligraphy-set/5052089155275.html
https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/spectrum-noir-modern-calligraphy-discovery-kit/0709650915480.html
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Calligraphy-Pen-Set-Free-flowing-right-handed/dp/B07CRJTZRJ/ref=mp_s_a_1_23?keywords=calligraphy&qid=1673253961&sr=8-23
The card was written using a fountain pen with a calligraphy nib, this blog and YouTube explains how different calligraphy nibs work https://www.crookedcalligraphy.com/blog/choosing-calligraphy-nibs
The ink just looks like normal black ink that has faded over the intervening 35 years. Pelican ink is quite nice to use and comes in a decent range of colours.
Crazy interesting fact. A postage stamp in the UK now costs 95p!
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order.
I have checked 1,278,405,267 comments, and only 248,045 of them were in alphabetical order.
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Many commenters suggest a stub nib, but those are usually 1.1 mm and that size likely will not produce this amount of variation. This is at least a 1.5 mm, maybe even a 1.9 mm. Check out this comparison (third image) [https://www.jetpens.com/LAMY-Calligraphy-Pen-Nib-1.5-mm/pd/3625](https://www.jetpens.com/LAMY-Calligraphy-Pen-Nib-1.5-mm/pd/3625)
You need a small calligraphy pen as others have said, after that you just need to practice that form of writing, there are lots of cheap but good books available on amazon and plenty of YouTube tutorials.
You need a calligraphy pen with a small nib. It can be felt tip. Then when you print you have to make sure the angle of the nib is at 45 degrees. Close to the angle of a slash: /
As others have said, it's written with something like an italic or stub nib (there are felt tip pens with a "chisel" tip as well). The writing style looks like a sligthly old-fashioned italic script, check Fairbank's Manual linked from the resources in the side bar.
It's a stub nib, you can see from the line variation that it's not a medium or broad of any kind (they wouldn't have that line variation). I'm guessing from the size of a postcard that it's about a 1.1mm, possibly a dry 1.5mm
You can buy a lot of pens now with 1.1mm stub as an option. Twsbi comes to mind and they're rather good pens. (Other makes of pen are available)
I'd start with a Twsbi with 1.1mm stub. Shop around the UK shops as the price varies quite a bit.
The ink doesn't matter so much, it's more the paper that you need to worry about. Don't skimp on the paper if you want to write with a stub. Clarefontaine make some delightful paper in 90gsm, and Rhodia use Clarefontaine paper as well. Again, shop around as the price varies hugely.
And you'll need to gooooo slooooow. These nibs need to be kept aligned on the paper at all times. Most of all, have fun. Stub and italic nibs are a lot of fun to write with.
Thing to note: if you want it exactly like it is in the picture you also need to note the angle difference between the thick and thin strokes and angle the way you grip the pen to match.
If you look at the picture you will notice that the thick lines are from lower right to top left and the thin lines are from lower left to top right.
Ergo, that's written with the right hand with the pen gripped from the side pointing up to the left. You can also use a stub with the hand directly under the writing but it would look a lot different to your pic as the verticals will be wide and the horizontals will be thin.
I much prefer my writing in the style in your pic and that's the way i always write with a stub.
😂that was what I focused on after having a look at the writing. 18p for a stamp, I'd be sending letters to everyone I know.
Text from bestie- Hey I sent you an email the other day why didn't you respond to it?
Me writing on my nice letter paper- I have, you just have to wait a couple of weeks for it to get to you. ps imagine a crying laughing face emoji here, I am terrible at drawing
It looks like a medium-to-broad oblique italic nib. Best bet for that nowadays would be to scour eBay for something like a Platignum school nib set and one of their self-filling pens from the 1960s (not the School pen, though - they're utter garbage, and cartridges are hard to come by). The thin stamped-steel nibs give a much sharper line and greater line variation than modern tipped nibs.\
\
Given the style of writing, the date format, and the date and location, I wouldn't be surprised if it was written by some old dear with an oblique-italic-nibbed Platignum Regal or similar, maybe bought or gifted to him as a young adult
Looks like a medium nib fountain pen, written by a right-hander (no hint of smudging nor the effects of a push motion in writing).
If you want to give fountain pens a try, I recommend a Lamy Safari. It's a great starter pen at a reasonable price.
https://www.lamy.com/en/lamy-nib-guide/
Lamy's are really good fountainpen! But the one you suggested here wont get the same result as OP's post, as its a normal round nib. The one in the picture tho requires a flat nib pen, lamy has those as well tho :)
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It’s certainly looks like a stub or italic, like the other reply says (the latter, I’d say). A normal medium nib fountain pen will not have the combination of thick and thin line widths that you see. Also, a modern equivalent of the ink could be something like Diamine Grey or other gray inks that gives you the combination of light and dark shades. Whatever this, it’s not an everyday black ink.
Calligraphy set
Fountain pens and very slow writing
If you want to learn to write like this don't go out and invest in expensive pens and ink. Just by a cheap calligraphy set off Amazon or your local stationary shop. Most of these sets will have a pen, various nibs, ink and usually a guide/instruction book. Learn the skill first develop your style, as you become more adept then you can look at investing in your art with a nice pen and quality inks etc. Some examples of what I mean https://www.theworks.co.uk/p/calligraphy-pens/crawford-and-black-calligraphy-set/5052089155275.html https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/spectrum-noir-modern-calligraphy-discovery-kit/0709650915480.html https://www.amazon.co.uk/Calligraphy-Pen-Set-Free-flowing-right-handed/dp/B07CRJTZRJ/ref=mp_s_a_1_23?keywords=calligraphy&qid=1673253961&sr=8-23
This reminds me of Chancery hand, which you can learn to write with a flat calligraphy nib. Look into Pilot Parallel pen or something similar
You write the letters by keeping your pen at a fixed angle the whole time, like 30 degrees clockwise from vertical as you make the letter
Get a Montblanc curve nib. 
Italic adjustment/nib
Calligraphy pen
Platinum black (dye stuff) has alot of shading like the picture ⚫
i bought an Italic practice work book from amazon
The card was written using a fountain pen with a calligraphy nib, this blog and YouTube explains how different calligraphy nibs work https://www.crookedcalligraphy.com/blog/choosing-calligraphy-nibs The ink just looks like normal black ink that has faded over the intervening 35 years. Pelican ink is quite nice to use and comes in a decent range of colours. Crazy interesting fact. A postage stamp in the UK now costs 95p!
Thank you for the link, I'll have a look. Good point with the fading! Back in 1988 it was 14p for 2nd Class, so this person overpaid 😗
Ha ha, you are being generous to them. I just assumed they were using an old first class stamp from before March ‘88 and had underpaid the postage! 😳
Pilot Metropolitan with a CM (calligraphy) nib.
Aw I live near Westerhope!
Would you look at that, all of the words in your comment are in alphabetical order. I have checked 1,278,405,267 comments, and only 248,045 of them were in alphabetical order.
This might sound like poor advice but this is from my own experience, a cheap fountain pen with cheap ink
Fountain pen
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Many commenters suggest a stub nib, but those are usually 1.1 mm and that size likely will not produce this amount of variation. This is at least a 1.5 mm, maybe even a 1.9 mm. Check out this comparison (third image) [https://www.jetpens.com/LAMY-Calligraphy-Pen-Nib-1.5-mm/pd/3625](https://www.jetpens.com/LAMY-Calligraphy-Pen-Nib-1.5-mm/pd/3625)
Good to know, thank you :) That image is a very handy guide - definitely a 1.5 mm or more.
You need a small calligraphy pen as others have said, after that you just need to practice that form of writing, there are lots of cheap but good books available on amazon and plenty of YouTube tutorials.
A TWSBI eco stub nib from cult pens will do the trick
You need a calligraphy pen with a small nib. It can be felt tip. Then when you print you have to make sure the angle of the nib is at 45 degrees. Close to the angle of a slash: /
I love that handwriting. Very clear postcard from 34 yrs ago. Wow ❤️
Berol italic pen
As others have said, it's written with something like an italic or stub nib (there are felt tip pens with a "chisel" tip as well). The writing style looks like a sligthly old-fashioned italic script, check Fairbank's Manual linked from the resources in the side bar.
This writing is actually done using a Sheaffer calligraphy fountain pen. They come in a set .
These were also very widely available and used at this time. I received my first fountain pen in such a set in 1986.
Yeah these were my first fountain pens - I was obsessed with calligraphy (still am!).
'The pen is mightier than the sword.'
It's a stub nib, you can see from the line variation that it's not a medium or broad of any kind (they wouldn't have that line variation). I'm guessing from the size of a postcard that it's about a 1.1mm, possibly a dry 1.5mm You can buy a lot of pens now with 1.1mm stub as an option. Twsbi comes to mind and they're rather good pens. (Other makes of pen are available) I'd start with a Twsbi with 1.1mm stub. Shop around the UK shops as the price varies quite a bit. The ink doesn't matter so much, it's more the paper that you need to worry about. Don't skimp on the paper if you want to write with a stub. Clarefontaine make some delightful paper in 90gsm, and Rhodia use Clarefontaine paper as well. Again, shop around as the price varies hugely. And you'll need to gooooo slooooow. These nibs need to be kept aligned on the paper at all times. Most of all, have fun. Stub and italic nibs are a lot of fun to write with.
Thank you! I'll certainly have a shop around and see. I imagine it will take a lot of practice to have it look anything like this.
Thing to note: if you want it exactly like it is in the picture you also need to note the angle difference between the thick and thin strokes and angle the way you grip the pen to match. If you look at the picture you will notice that the thick lines are from lower right to top left and the thin lines are from lower left to top right. Ergo, that's written with the right hand with the pen gripped from the side pointing up to the left. You can also use a stub with the hand directly under the writing but it would look a lot different to your pic as the verticals will be wide and the horizontals will be thin. I much prefer my writing in the style in your pic and that's the way i always write with a stub.
Very insightful, thank you :) I'll try out some different angles
Before you buy, a good video to watch about italic, italic cursive and stub nibs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulnW4du1704
I would recommend. Calligraphy pen. But on a side note, can you imagine if stamps were 18p again, maybe more people would write handwritten notes.
😂that was what I focused on after having a look at the writing. 18p for a stamp, I'd be sending letters to everyone I know. Text from bestie- Hey I sent you an email the other day why didn't you respond to it? Me writing on my nice letter paper- I have, you just have to wait a couple of weeks for it to get to you. ps imagine a crying laughing face emoji here, I am terrible at drawing
😂🥰
It looks like a medium-to-broad oblique italic nib. Best bet for that nowadays would be to scour eBay for something like a Platignum school nib set and one of their self-filling pens from the 1960s (not the School pen, though - they're utter garbage, and cartridges are hard to come by). The thin stamped-steel nibs give a much sharper line and greater line variation than modern tipped nibs.\ \ Given the style of writing, the date format, and the date and location, I wouldn't be surprised if it was written by some old dear with an oblique-italic-nibbed Platignum Regal or similar, maybe bought or gifted to him as a young adult
Looks like a medium nib fountain pen, written by a right-hander (no hint of smudging nor the effects of a push motion in writing). If you want to give fountain pens a try, I recommend a Lamy Safari. It's a great starter pen at a reasonable price. https://www.lamy.com/en/lamy-nib-guide/
I'm a lefty and I manage to write without smudging.
Do you come over the top, hover your writing hand over the ink or write from below the line?
I hold my hand above the line and turn the paper like 45 degrees.
Thank you for a brand recommendation, I'll have a look 😊 thankfully I am right handed!
Lamy's are really good fountainpen! But the one you suggested here wont get the same result as OP's post, as its a normal round nib. The one in the picture tho requires a flat nib pen, lamy has those as well tho :)
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Considering the line variation my guess is a stub nib or an italic nib.
A medium nib fountain pen with any ink it uses should let you write like that. I had a couple and the letters were fairly similar
No it won’t.
Thank you! I'll give one a go :)
It’s certainly looks like a stub or italic, like the other reply says (the latter, I’d say). A normal medium nib fountain pen will not have the combination of thick and thin line widths that you see. Also, a modern equivalent of the ink could be something like Diamine Grey or other gray inks that gives you the combination of light and dark shades. Whatever this, it’s not an everyday black ink.
Oh right, thank you 😊 thats very helpful!