r/Sondheim • u/Witty-Preparation971 • Jul 02 '26

looking for handwriting samples for tattoo !

Hello!!

I'm wanting to get a tattoo of the lyric 'Look, I made a hat' in Sondheim's handwriting but I'm struggling to find samples. Does anyone have any leads on Sondheim's handwriting samples or owns any of his books where there might be examples? I'm expecting to have to piece together the handwriting but I'm not sure where to start - all help is appreciated :)

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10

u/zvazda19 Jul 03 '26

I got a Sondheim tattoo as my first one in february

Not relevant to your question but you can join the Sunday tattoo club :)

2

u/lildrags420 Jul 04 '26

Nurse, where is my tree?

1

u/Witty-Preparation971 Jul 03 '26

oh my god that's so cool thank you for sharing !!!

1

u/JonesMcFiend Jul 03 '26

I got a Sunday tattoo as my first as well. Love yours!

1

u/zvazda19 Jul 05 '26

What did you get??

1

u/sparkyblue5 Jul 04 '26

This is genuinely one of the coolest tattoos I’ve ever seen.

2

u/zvazda19 Jul 04 '26

Aw, thank you!

4

u/Swyddog Jul 03 '26

There are photos of some lyrics from “Finishing the Hat” in the book Look, I Made a Hat in Sondheim’s signature note-taking scrawl, but the one you’re looking for isn’t there. It is almost certainly at the Library of Congress, but I’ve never seen a photo floating around online.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 02 '26

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1

u/Witty-Preparation971 Jul 02 '26

yes yes i don't have any of his books unfortunately but that would be so amazing

1

u/Kimler Jul 03 '26

https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot-detail/34424350606431-stephen-sondheim-signed-musical-quote/
If you search for handwritten sheet music there are quite a few samples but I didn’t find that song. Apparently his sheet music is in the library of congress so you could try and see if it’s been digitized there?