How to square handwriting variation?

[rikforto]

I opened my hard copy of the VMS back up to see how much I was relying on the magnification to make my judgement, and the curve in that first letter that I think might have meaning is awfully small, I'll grant, but it is visible and distinct to the naked eye. As I flipped through, I think the more immediate problem for me is that it just doesn't seem to be common. Now, there are lots of rare and one-off examples in the manuscript, but without a group to form a basis for comparison I have some doubts. And while I'm not totally ready to give up my reading there, I might have to admit that I can argue that the commas that look like y versus the "open" ones are more compelling evidence of meaningful variation.