1854–1900 · Writers

Oscar Wilde signature

Irish writer and wit, 1854–1900

Inspired by Oscar Wilde’s signature

A rendering in a modern handwriting font, made for this page. It is not the real signature; see where to view the original below. Where to see the original ↓Style: Ms Madi, slant 2°

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Ms Madi · 2°

Who Oscar Wilde was

Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854 and died in Paris in 1900. After Trinity College Dublin and Oxford he became famous as a lecturer and wit, then as the author of The Picture of Dorian Gray and comedies such as The Importance of Being Earnest.

In 1895 he was convicted of “gross indecency” and sentenced to two years’ hard labour. The names he used, and signed, changed with that sentence.

The story of the signature

At the height of his fame Wilde signed simply “Oscar Wilde”, and his letters are written in a large, flowing hand with only a few words to a line, so a short note can fill several pages. Letters to close friends were often signed “Oscar”.

In Reading Gaol he was known by his cell number, C.3.3. There, in 1897, he wrote a long letter to Lord Alfred Douglas on sheets of prison paper handed out under the governor’s control. Published in part after his death as De Profundis, the manuscript was given to the British Museum by his friend Robert Ross and is now in the British Library.

After his release Wilde left England for good. He lived in France and Italy under the name Sebastian Melmoth, and his last major poem, The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), was published under his prison number, “C.3.3.”, rather than his own name.

What makes it distinctive

Large and open

Generous letters and wide spacing, so his name takes up more room than most signatures.

Few words per line

His letters run to many pages because each line holds so little, and the signature matches that scale.

First name for friends

Close friends got “Oscar”, the public got “Oscar Wilde”.

Names in exile

C.3.3. in print and Sebastian Melmoth in daily life marked the years after prison.

How to give your signature a similar feel

In the signature generator Type tab, try Ms Madi or Parisienne, which have the rounded, open forms of a generous hand. Keep the Slant low, around 2°.
Turn the Size up. A Wilde-style signature should look unhurried and a little theatrical, not cramped.
Increase letter spacing in your own hand when you draw: leave air between letters rather than joining them tightly.
Make two versions, full name and first name only, and use each where it fits, as Wilde did with “Oscar Wilde” and “Oscar”.

Where to see the original

These links lead to archives, libraries, museums and Wikimedia Commons.

Questions about Oscar Wilde’s signature

What does C.3.3. mean?

It was Wilde’s cell number in Reading Gaol: block C, landing 3, cell 3. The Ballad of Reading Gaol was first published under that name.

Who was Sebastian Melmoth?

The name Wilde lived under in France and Italy after his release in 1897. Melmoth echoes the novel Melmoth the Wanderer by his great-uncle Charles Maturin.

Where is the manuscript of De Profundis?

In the British Library, London. Robert Ross gave it to the British Museum in 1909.