Calligrapher and penmanship teacher. He designed the first copybooks for school use in 1848.
As a young man, he developed the style of cursive writing which, from 1850 through the 1920s, was considered the de facto writing style for business correspondence in America before the introduction of the typewriter.
His father, Caleb, died in 1806 while Platt was still a small boy, and his mother moved the family to Jefferson, Ohio, in 1810, where he was raised. He became intensely interested in handwriting, using birch tree bark, sand, and even the fly-leafs of his mother's bible for practice. Sheet paper was extremely scarce then in what was a wilderness area.
By 1815, he was teaching a writing class and working as a clerk and bookkeeper. Because he did not have a college degree, he relied upon teaching in the common schools and eventually founded the Spencer Seminary in Jericho, New York. He had considered entering the ministry, but because of his alcoholism, he never finished ministerial studies. He overcame his addiction and went on to become a fervent abstainer and temperance advocate for the remainder of his life. He became County Treasurer of Ashtabula County, Ohio, for twelve years and advocated for the Anti-Slavery movement.
He continued as a teacher and in the promotion of penmanship for keeping business records. He was closely involved in the founding of Bryant and Stratton Business Colleges in over 50 cities and gave lectures in New York City and other eastern United States areas. He opened colleges in Geneva and Cleveland, Ohio, and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
His publications on penmanship styles were written between 1848 and 1886, and he collaborated with Victor Rice to publish Spencerian or Semi-Angular Penmanship and the New Spencerian Compendium in 1886. His papers are held in the Newberry Library in Chicago.
Calligrapher and penmanship teacher. He designed the first copybooks for school use in 1848.
As a young man, he developed the style of cursive writing which, from 1850 through the 1920s, was considered the de facto writing style for business correspondence in America before the introduction of the typewriter.
His father, Caleb, died in 1806 while Platt was still a small boy, and his mother moved the family to Jefferson, Ohio, in 1810, where he was raised. He became intensely interested in handwriting, using birch tree bark, sand, and even the fly-leafs of his mother's bible for practice. Sheet paper was extremely scarce then in what was a wilderness area.
By 1815, he was teaching a writing class and working as a clerk and bookkeeper. Because he did not have a college degree, he relied upon teaching in the common schools and eventually founded the Spencer Seminary in Jericho, New York. He had considered entering the ministry, but because of his alcoholism, he never finished ministerial studies. He overcame his addiction and went on to become a fervent abstainer and temperance advocate for the remainder of his life. He became County Treasurer of Ashtabula County, Ohio, for twelve years and advocated for the Anti-Slavery movement.
He continued as a teacher and in the promotion of penmanship for keeping business records. He was closely involved in the founding of Bryant and Stratton Business Colleges in over 50 cities and gave lectures in New York City and other eastern United States areas. He opened colleges in Geneva and Cleveland, Ohio, and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
His publications on penmanship styles were written between 1848 and 1886, and he collaborated with Victor Rice to publish Spencerian or Semi-Angular Penmanship and the New Spencerian Compendium in 1886. His papers are held in the Newberry Library in Chicago.
Bio by: Harold L Spencer Jr.
Family Members
Advertisement
