A good way to see what was considered the 'ideal' handwriting during any particular era is to look at period penmanship textbooks/workbooks. There are quite a few of them floating around in different online archives going back to the 17th century, or even earlier in other languages. They also often have practice exercises you can try out yourself if you're so inclined and have a fountain pen handy. (Or you just want to recreate some really fun 17th century doodles.)

Here are some examples from the following years: 1673, 1712, 1755, 1794, 1838, 1866, 1885, 1915, 1929.