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Rating: 
Summary: Brings mathematical precision to penmanship
Review: I was pleasantly surprised with the quality and scientific approach of this classic textbook. The Spencerian authors apparently spared no detail in putting together this very useful course. My son began the program at the age of seven, and he will be completing it this month. By the time he reached the third book of the program, he could write, but was unable to reproduce the samples in the books with the same precision. But do not despair. Over the next two books, his precision and speed have increased to the point that he can write more beautiful script than most adults. My wife was so impressed with our son's progress that we decided to buy another set of practice books for her, so that she could improve her cursive script as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Of Historical Interest
Review: This is a reissue of the 1870's text with the 'long s' removed and the upper case S modified - changes that make it less useful than otherwise for those interested in historic scripts and teaching methods. As a historical document, it's a good value. I was unaware, for example, that one of the recommended writing positions had the student turned 90 degrees to the desk, or that classrooms would open copybooks, open inkwells, and dip pens in synchronization to a signal or countdown from the teacher. These are details that made me glad to have the book. If you are interested in teaching handwriting to a child, then this is a very poor choice. Spencerian became obsolete in the 1890's, and the teaching method in this book is very poor - it's of the "will you analyse the letter p?" "how do you make the letter r?" type. There are really no exercises for the student and few examples of letters even written as words. Particularly the lower case 'c' and 'p' are legibility problems for anyone born after 1902, as they are quite idiosyncratic.
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