Spencerian Handwriting

[KathyBradford]

In the 1820’s, Platt Rogers Spencer of Geneva, Ohio, began developing a new system of handwriting to replace the "Round hand" or "Copperplate" method. "s" that looked like "f" was replaced. Hailed as a faster and more legible method, it was strongly marketed to schools by Spencer and his 5 sons. In 1848, Spencer began selling copy slips, and in 1855, copy books. During the War with its endless forms filled out by hand, its popularity continued to grow. Spencerian Penmanship was registered with the Library of Congress in 1864, the year Spencer died.

Platt Spencer wrote of the importance of penmanship: “Writing is almost as important as speaking, as a medium for communicating thought. For this reason it is said that “Writing is a secondary power of speech, and they who cannot write are in part dumb.” Scrawls that cannot be read may be compared to talking that cannot be understood; and writing difficult to decipher, to stammering speech. Theory directs, and Art performs; therefore inform the mind and train the hand. If you would attain high excellence in Penmanship, you must master the principles, and faithfully practice them.”

“There are seven *principles* to the Spencerian style of writing. The 1st is a straight line, 2nd is a right curve, 3rd is a left curve, 4th is an extended loop, 5th is a direct oval or capital O, 6th is a reversed oval, and the 7th is a capital stem. Each letter is made up of one or more principles. Once these are practiced and mastered, the writing flows smoothly and neatly. With these simple 7 principles or lines, you can write any letter or add letters together smoothly and with a very nice overall look to them. Each letter is made up of either one or more of the 7 lines, so by practicing the copywork daily, you are training the hand and the mind to work together to make these same lines over and over and over and put them together to make letters.

The copywork is done in the copybooks provided, on specially lined paper that is similar to a graph. On the graph lines provided, the *principles* are practiced, leading eventually to the full letters. Each stroke of the pen needs to reach to the top line, but making sure that it is evenly spaced in the boxes. You can see immediately if you have strayed.”

http://hopechestlegacy.com/spencerian_handwriting_course.htm

If you’d like to try your hand at period penmanship for a different kind of immersion experience, see the resources below.

Original copybook recently sold on e-bay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2578425270&category=2196

Photos and examples of original Spencerian work

http://community.webshots.com/album/7559940vnQacRpQCt

Page from an 1853 Michigan school book

http://www.sullivanpress.com/Spencerian.htm

Spencerian Script Museum contact information
Ashtabula County Genealogical Society 440.466.4521
Geneva Library - Sherman St. Geneva, OH 44041-9101
E-mail to acgs@ashtabulagen.org
Visit our web site at http://www.ashtabulagen.org
Geneva was the home of the Spencerian Handwriting School.

Mott Media Reproduction Spencerian Handwriting Course - Available now
In 1985, Mott Media reproduced and republished the original Theory and 5 copy books. The front covers resemble the originals, but the backs have ISBN and UPC codes. Completing the course will allow anyone to develop beautiful Spencerian penmanship.

http://www.mottmedia.com/spencer.html

Another, less expensive source
Kit of 5 Copybooks and Theory Book $12.49 + shipping

http://www.homeschoolingbooks.com/pages/itemdetail.asp?ItemID=2488

or 5 Copybooks $9.29 + shipping

http://www.homeschoolingbooks.com/pages/itemdetail.asp?ItemID=2487

These books are also available from our very own beloved Meschers. (No slight was meant by not including them earlier. I had only known of homeschooling resources before this came to light.)

http://www.vintagevolumes.com/

Several homeschooling families use Spencerian for their penmanship courses. Consider asking your local homeschooling group for volunteers to write some letters to you in their elegant hand. In return, they would appreciate a chance to examine your gear and learn about 1860's life.

Writing and receiving letters in period handwriting and language add a whole new dimension.

[tomarch]

Re: Spencerian Handwriting

Thank you so much for the links :) I've saw the letterwriting done by a pard of mine in Spencerian, I've been jealous ever since! Thanks again.. :D

[manevin]

Re: Spencerian Handwriting

I write in all capital letters, like an architect. I have done so since the sixth grade, and am now 33 years. I can barely write in cursive for a lack of practice. I tried writing a letter home in cursive and it took me at least an hour to pen it.

This is an outstanding post. I am looking forward to adopting this as my new cursive style. Thank you for the links.

Michael Nevin
69th NYVI

[Hank Trent]

Re: Spencerian Handwriting

and am now 33 years.

The age factor was discussed on another forum, but someone 33 years old in the 1860s would have been too old to have been taught Spencerian penmanship if he learned to write at a normal age. No info has come up yet about whether any adults were switching to Spencerian handwriting after leaving school.

Here's what I posted there:

>In
>1848, Spencer began selling copy slips, and in 1855, copy
>books.

Has anyone looked at ages vs. handwriting styles during the war? Doing some math here... An older student, say 16 years old, who was switched to Spencerian penmanship in his last few years of schooling when the very first copy slips came out in 1848, would only be 29 when the war started. And more typically, younger students learning Spencerian in the 1850s would only be in their late teens or early twenties when the war started.

So would this primarily be the writing style for younger reenactors to learn, while those in their mid twenties and older would be better off concentrating on copperplate or an older style? Or were people switching over to Spencerian in adulthood?

And here's something Linda posted, showing an example of a father and son's handwriting in the 1860s:

Here's a sampling of a father and son. Father was a modest farmer and Justice of the Peace, who was born July 14, 1818, in Ohio. The son was still a student at the time, born November 16, 1846, also in Ohio. Unfortunately, these are just poor Xerox copies (and my mother went over them years ago) though much of the text is still left untouched. I'd love to see if people think there's any sign of Spencerianism here. Certainly not the best of penmenship, either way

http://lindatrent.homestead.com/topeletters.html

Linda Trent

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Pvt Schnapps]

Re: Spencerian Handwriting

Thank you Ms. Bradford for the wonderful links and encouragement.

Regarding the other posts, I wouldn't want to go too far in generalizing about what hand someone would or wouldn't have used during the war. Certainly a skilled clerk could modify their hand according to their employer's requirements as easily (or with as much difficulty) as today they move from one type of word processing software to another.

From the documents I've seen in the National Archives, the formality of clerks' handwriting differed from clerk to clerk and document to document. There seems a certain tendency for a more formal hand (and use of quills) early on, and quite modern, stream-lined work (in steel) later in the war. Here's but one example, from a report of casualties after Chickamauga:

http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~indiana42nd/Chickamauga_Report_Page1.JPG

For what it's worth, even the same person could write in very different hands. A friend of mine lent me the copy book of Charles Glover, a bank clerk during the war and later a prominent citizen in Washington. Within the same book, his exercises were in an almost painfully florid hand, his accounts were in a much cleaner one, and his few diary entries (in pencil) looked like they could have been written by a child today.

Note that the clerk in the cited return uses two different versions of the capital R on the same page -- one that looks like the Spencerian on Sullivan's site, and another that looks like one commonly used today. He also varies the capital C at least once.

I heartily concur with the idea of getting more people to write in a period manner, and I encourage everyone to try, and not to worry too terribly about their penmanship. It was, after all, something of a craft skill, and one that was sometimes in short supply. Those who might be intimidated by formal examples of Spencerian or Copperplate could do far worse than simply starting with the cursive they learned in school.

[KathyBradford]

More Spencerian Handwriting

A little more history

Platt Rogers Spencer led an interesting life. Below is an excerpt of his biography. His father fought in the War for Independence, and his son, Lyman Potter Spencer, served in the Second Regiment, Ohio Volunteer, Heavy Artillery from 1863-1865. From this biography, it would appear that he started to teach writing in 1815 (at the age of 15), long before the War. As a clerk and bookkeeper, he would have seen the value of good penmanship. He became devoted to Temperance and Abolition. He is credited for founding and promoting business colleges in the United States. What is not clear is how universally his system of penmanship was used or within what time frame it became widespread. I’ve inquired of two researchers and will add any responses to this thread.

“His father, Caleb, a farmer and soldier of the Revolution, died in 1806, and in 1810 the family removed to Jefferson, Ashtabula County, Ohio, then a wilderness. The son was passionately fond of writing. Paper being difficult to get, he wrote on birch-bark, sand, ice, snow, the fly-leaves of his mother's Bible, and by permission of a cobbler, upon the leather in his shop. In 1815 he taught his first writing-class. From 1816 till 1821 he was a clerk and book-keeper, and from 1821 till 1824 he studied law, Latin, English literature, and penmanship, taught in a common school, and wrote up merchants' books. In 1824 he contemplated entering college with a view to preparing for the ministry, but, being a victim of inherited alcoholism aggravated by the prevalent drinking customs, he fell and his plans were changed. He then taught in New York and Ohio. In 1832 he became a total abstainer, and was, as he believed, the first public advocate in this country of that principle, for which he labored during the remainder of his life. Soon after his reformation he was elected to public office, and was county treasurer twelve years. He was instrumental in collecting the early history of Ashtabula County, and was deeply interested in American history. He early engaged actively in the anti-slavery movement and was an advocate of universal liberty. Through his work and influence as a teacher, by his system of penmanship, through his pupils, and by his public addresses and encouragement, he was instrumental in founding the business colleges of the United States and in promoting their growth and development.”
Excerpt from http://famousamericans.net/plattrogersspencer/


The papers of Lyman Potter Spencer, son of Platt Rogers Spencer are on file at the Library of Congress
Lyman Potter Spencer
Soldier, Second Regiment, Ohio volunteer, heavy
Artillery 1863-1865

http://www.loc.gov/rr/mss/text/spencer.html

Want to try your hand?

Six charts for Penmanship Lessons

http://www.theelegantpen.com/PenmanshipLessons.htm

Letter construction

http://www.2020site.org/writing/letters.html

Posture and position

http://www.2020site.org/writing/penmanship.html

Spencerian Penmanship as artwork

http://historywired.si.edu/object.cfm?ID=539

Ink
Younger students practiced letters in their names with dry quills before using ink. Ink was made from the galls from oak trees. This tedious task involved the crushing of the galls and then boiling, filtering and mixing with ferrous sulfate. Some cake inks were made by mixing lampblack (soot) with gum and water and then shaping into cakes to dry.

http://www.johnstown.k12.oh.us/cornell/penmanship.html

Off topic, but a modern-day place to see an example. This does NOT mean it's okay to have coke in your haversack!
According to the Coca-Cola Company soon after John S Pemberton invented Coca-Cola® in 1886 his friend and bookkeeper, F.M. Robinson chose the name. He wrote the words in the now familiar flowing ”Spencerian” script and Coca-Cola® was registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office in 1893.
[coca-cola.com]

A suggestion
At living histories, soldiers in our unit have had great success initiating conversations with visitors using letters. Mail call provides a great scenario starter. They contain all kinds of information about life at home, relatives' service, and inquiries about the soldier himself. One pleads illiteracy and asks visitors to read his letters to him. Other soldiers read their letters aloud and solicit advice, sympathy, and conversation from visitors. Letters may contain drawings, likenesses, stamps, etc. Many visitors who are too timid to ask questions beyond, "Aren't you hot?" have been connected with history in a memorable way.

[manevin]

Re: Spencerian Handwriting

I had not considered that in the field I might be too old to have learned in the Spencerian style.

Even though I might be too old, it certainly beats my 1980's looking cursive.

Which other styles could be adopted for use in the field?

On the other hand, I am going to adopt this as my contemporary, everyday, style.

Michael Nevin
69th NYVI

[KathyBradford]

Re: Spencerian Handwriting

Dear Michael,

I had not considered that in the field I might be too old to have learned in the Spencerian style.
69th NYVI

Your association with the 69th NYVI may be exactly the reason why Spencerian may be your handwriting of choice. Mr. Spencer began teaching in common school in New York in 1821, at least 6 years before your "birth", depending on the year of the War in which you find yourself aged 33. From there, he moved to teach school in Ohio, spreading his penmanship system wherever he went. Students from either state may have been taught his system before he started selling it (similar to a pilot program for new products). I'm still looking for more evidence of "when and where".

[rdr5mo]

Re: Spencerian Handwriting

I ordered and recieved this week the material from the Mott Media web site. I am looking forward to the lessons. Having been a draftsman (pre Auto Cad) and engineer for 23 years, I have all but forgotten how to write in cursive. I am sure my comrades will be delighted when they don"t recieve an order written out like a technical drawing The lesson books were $ 17.99 with shipping and I recieved them in three days.

Derrick Robinson
Learning to Re-Write Mess

[manevin]

Re: Spencerian Handwriting

Kathy,

Thank you for the information on Mr. Spencer. As I argued before it certainly beats my all caps, architect style. My wife homeschools and was impressed with the copywork, as we have adopted the classical approach. I'm excited to learn Latin with my children.

Sic Semper Tyrannus,

Michael Nevin
69th NYVI