Until about a century ago, really, everything we know about what happened in history, we know because someone wrote it down. Handwritten letters, then, have always been essential sources of information and, often, prized collectibles. Nowadays, though, few important events are recorded, primarily, by hand on paper. This is something that alarms historians – and the manufacturers of writing instruments, who some 20 years ago, inaugurated National Handwriting Day to celebrate the handwritten word. One historical figure, President Herbert Hoover, friend of commerce though he was, probably would not have gone along with this awareness outreach: here, he vehemently, explains why…