In reality the introduction of the English round hand was a cooperative effort, a matter of common agreement between masters of the time and this simple script answered the needs of an age where swift and accurate written records had become crucial to many enterprises. Other penmen who assisted in shaping the script included Charles Snell (The Penman's
Treasury Open'd, 1694) and George Shelly (Natural Writing 1709). The writing maser and engraver George Bickham (1684-1758) helped popularize the hand through 'The Universal Penman,' published in parts between 1733 and 1741; the work contained his own engravings of the work of twenty-five contemporary English writing masters in 210 plates.