Notorious PhD has a lovely series on A Day at the Archives happening (one, two).
Here’s what my documents often look like (these are some of the nicer types available—I don’t think I have non-identifying pictures of the tricky ones). Extra credit if you comment on what the man is complaining about.
Prone to Laughter 
26 March 2010 at 12:13 am
That’s not even difficult–it looks like he’s winding up to complain he’s not getting paid enough. (Not sure if he’s the governor he’s writing about–it’s likely but unclear without knowing who wrote the letter.)
That’s very regular, very legible, very LARGE English or Anglo-American handwriting from the mid- to late 18th C. by a well-educated man, which is a walk in the park compared to the bits and bobs of 17th C inventories and court records I’ve seen. (Or the letters or dispatches from the frontier, or war journals kept by not very well educated people that I’ve seen.)
You got anything DIFFICULT to read???
26 March 2010 at 1:03 am
Yeah, even I can read it.
26 March 2010 at 1:57 am
Early 19th C, yep. He is the governor—I cut the identifying matter. My sources don’t get that tough—I even get to read print a fair bit!
26 March 2010 at 6:07 pm
[…] Part III, after a little fun break with a pal from back home. Dance at Prone to Laughter posted a response with a little mystery document from her collection–click on the photo to enlarge, and don’t read the comments until after you’ve […]
26 March 2010 at 11:55 pm
I knew there was a reason I specialized in the period after the invention of the typewriter.