Charles Paxton Zaner

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Charles Paxton Zaner (February 15, 1864 - December 1, 1918) was an American calligrapher, pen artist, and teacher of penmanship.

He was perhaps one of the most influential persons in the history of handwriting. Zaner was born near Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, on February 15, 1864. He attended G. W. Michael's Pen Art Hall course in penmanship in Oberlin, Ohio in 1882. By 1888, Zaner had been a teacher of penmanship at two Ohio colleges, and after the second had closed, he decided to open his own college where he could teach the art. Zaner's school was originally known as Zanerian Art college and was a joint venture with Lloyd Kelchner. In 1891, Zaner sold Elmer W. Bloser a share of the school, Kelchner left before the end of the year, resulting with Zaner and Bloser becoming equal partners. This company eventually became what is now the Zaner-Bloser Company. Zaner died on the evening of December 1, 1918, when the car in which he was riding was struck by an oncoming train.

The P22 type foundry sells a typeface designed by Paul D. Hunt, P22 Zaner, based on Zaner's ornamental penmanship.[1]

[edit] References

• Speaking Solutions: Penmanship's Storied Past and the Technological Roots of Its Revival, By Karl Barksdale
• Biography by Michael Sull
• The New Zanerian Alphabets, Charles Paxton Zaner, 1900 Scanned reproduction of 1900 book by Zaner.
• An Elegant Hand: The Golden Age of American Penmanship and Calligraphy, including illustrations of Zaner's calligraphy.

[edit] External links

• History of the Zaner-Bloser Company
• P22 Zaner