Editing Palmer Method (section)

==History==
[[file:Palmer Method alphabet.jpg|thumb|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).<ref>Palmer, A. N. (1894) ''Palmer's Guide to Business Writing''. Cedar Rapids, IA, Western Penmanship Publishing Co. [Web.] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://lccn.loc.gov/11026563 .</ref> 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]], in 1915, and the Gold Medal at the [[Sesquicentennial Exposition]] in [[Philadelphia]], in 1926.<ref name=zanerian>{{cite web|last =Vitolo|first =Joseph M.|title=AN Palmer (1860–1927) |url=http://www.zanerian.com/Palmer.html| website = The Penmen Archives |access-date=24 January 2015}}</ref>

Proponents of the Palmer Method emphasized its plainness and speed, that it was much faster than the laborious [[Spencerian Script|Spencerian Method]], and that it allowed the writer to compete effectively with the [[typewriter]].<ref name="trubek">{{Citation | last = Trubek | first = Anne | date = 2009-12-17 | title = Handwriting Is History | publisher = Pacific Standard | access-date = 17 December 2009 | url = http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture-society/handwriting-is-history-6540/ | archive-date = 2010-02-04 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100204210820/http://www.miller-mccune.com/culture-society/handwriting-is-history-6540/ | url-status = dead }}.</ref> 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.<ref name="cbsnews">{{Citation |last = Smith|first = Tracy|date = 23 January 2011|title = Is penmanship being written off?|newspaper = CBS News|access-date = 10 Nov 2015|url = https://www.cbsnews.com/news/is-penmanship-being-written-off/}}.</ref>

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]], in order to provide them with a means of written expression as soon as possible, and thus develop writing skills.<ref name="alston">{{Citation |last1 = Alston|first1 = Jean|last2 = Taylor|first2 = Jane|year = 1987|title = Handwriting: Theory, Research and Practice|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Jpg9AAAAIAAJ |publisher = Nichols Publishing |place = New York|isbn = 9780709951070}}.</ref> 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.<ref name="usc">{{cite web|last1 = Makala|first1 = Jeffrey|title = Born to Please, Art of Handwriting Instruction, Spencerian and Palmer methods|url = http://library.sc.edu/spcoll/hist/handwriting/page3.html|website = University Libraries' Rare Books and Special Collections|publisher = University of South Carolina |access-date = 24 January 2015}}</ref>