This paper analyzes, from the perspective of the social history of writing, three of the most relevant 18th century Spanish treatises on the art of calligraphy. It shows that this century produced rich reflections on the ways handwriting had been taught hitherto in the Spanish empire, and reveals the interest that different sectors had to standardize writing, promoting a closer understanding of both the criteria that sought to regulate the practices of the period and of the techniques and specific gestures that delineated the social access to this aspect of literacy.