Sample writing from ''The Palmer Method of Business Writing''
The Palmer Method of
penmanship
Penmanship is the technique of writing with the hand using a writing instrument. Today, this is most commonly done with a pen, or pencil, but throughout history has included many different writing implement, implements. The various generic a ...
instruction was developed and promoted by
Austin Palmer in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was intended to simplify the earlier "
Spencerian method
Spencerian script is a handwriting script style based on Copperplate script that was used in the United States from approximately 1850 to 1925, and was considered the American ''de facto'' standard writing style for business correspondence prior ...
", which had been the main handwriting learning method since the 1840s.
[.] The Palmer Method soon became the most popular handwriting system in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
Under the method, students were taught to adopt a uniform system of
cursive writing
Cursive (also known as joined-up writing) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functionality and m ...
with rhythmic elliptical motions.
History
Alphabet and numerals from ''The Palmer Method of Business Writing''
The method developed around 1888 and was introduced in the book ''Palmer's Guide to Business Writing'' (1894). Palmer's method involved "muscle motion" in which the more proximal muscles of the arm were used for movement, rather than allowing the fingers to move in writing. In spite of opposition from the major publishers, this textbook enjoyed great success: in 1912, one million copies were sold throughout the United States. The method won awards, including the Gold Medal at the
Panama Pacific Exposition in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, in 1915, and the Gold Medal at the
Sesquicentennial Exposition
The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its purpose was to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversar ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, in 1926.
Proponents of the Palmer Method emphasized its plainness and speed, that it was much faster than the laborious
Spencerian Method
Spencerian script is a handwriting script style based on Copperplate script that was used in the United States from approximately 1850 to 1925, and was considered the American ''de facto'' standard writing style for business correspondence prior ...
, and that it allowed the writer to compete effectively with the
typewriter
A typewriter is a Machine, mechanical or electromechanical machine for typing characters. Typically, a typewriter has an array of Button (control), keys, and each one causes a different single character to be produced on paper by striking an i ...
.
[.] To educators, the method's advocates emphasized regimentation, and that the method would thus be useful in schools to increase discipline and character, and could even reform delinquents.
[.]
The Palmer Method began to fall out of popularity in the 1950s and was eventually supplanted by the
Zaner-Bloser Method, which sought to teach children
print writing (also called "manuscript printing") before teaching them
cursive
Cursive (also known as joined-up writing) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functionality and m ...
, in order to provide them with a means of written expression as soon as possible, and thus develop writing skills.
[.] The
D'Nealian Method, introduced in 1978, sought to address problems raised by the Zaner-Bloser Method, aimed at making the transition from print writing to cursive easier for learners. The Palmer company stopped publishing in the 1980s.
Legacy
In radar engineering, a
Palmer Scan is a scanning technique that produces a scanning beam by moving the main antenna and its feed in a circular motion. The name was derived from the looping circles practiced by students of the Palmer Method.
References
Bibliography
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Further reading
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* "The object of this website is to teach rapid, easily-executed, business writing. It has not been written to exploit any one’s skill as a pen artist. It aims to be of use to those who are ambitious to become good, practical business writers. The lessons it contains are not experimental, but have been the means of guiding millions of boys and girls, young men and women to a good business style of writing."
See also
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D'Nealian, a style of writing and teaching cursive and manuscript adapted from the Palmer Method
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Zaner-Bloser script, another streamlined form of Spencerian script
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Library hand
Library hand is a rounded style of hand (handwriting), handwriting once taught in library schools. The intention was to ensure uniformity and legibility in the handwritten cards of library catalogs. Beginning in September 1885, Melvil Dewey and T ...
another 19th-century script developed by
Melvil Dewey
Melville Louis Kossuth "Melvil" Dewey (December 10, 1851 – December 26, 1931) was an American librarian and educator who invented the Dewey Decimal system of library classification. He was a founder of the Lake Placid Club, a chief librarian a ...
and
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...
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Round hand
Round hand (also roundhand) is a type of handwriting and calligraphy originating in England in the 1660s primarily by the writing masters John Ayres and William Banson. Characterised by an open flowing hand (style) and subtle contrast of thick a ...
, a style of handwriting and calligraphy originating in England in the 1660s
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Regional handwriting variation
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Teaching script
A teaching script is a sample script that serves as a visual orientation for learning to penmanship, write by hand. In the sense of a guideline or a prototype, it supports the demanding process of developing handwriting skills and abilities in a ...
*
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...
External links
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{{European calligraphy
Penmanship
1894 introductions
Latin-script calligraphy
Western calligraphy
Writing systems introduced in 1894
1894 in the United States
Handwriting script