diff --git a/Lib/fontTools/designspaceLib/__init__.py b/Lib/fontTools/designspaceLib/__init__.py
index 24c2247ff..7c0feafd8 100644
--- a/Lib/fontTools/designspaceLib/__init__.py
+++ b/Lib/fontTools/designspaceLib/__init__.py
@@ -1053,6 +1053,8 @@ class DesignSpaceDocument(LogMixin, AsDictMixin):
         return f.getvalue()
 
     def read(self, path):
+        if hasattr(path, "__fspath__"):  # support os.PathLike objects
+            path = path.__fspath__()
         self.path = path
         self.filename = os.path.basename(path)
         reader = self.readerClass(path, self)
@@ -1061,6 +1063,8 @@ class DesignSpaceDocument(LogMixin, AsDictMixin):
             self.findDefault()
 
     def write(self, path):
+        if hasattr(path, "__fspath__"):  # support os.PathLike objects
+            path = path.__fspath__()
         self.path = path
         self.filename = os.path.basename(path)
         self.updatePaths()
diff --git a/Lib/fontTools/misc/macRes.py b/Lib/fontTools/misc/macRes.py
index 20bfa7177..db832ec54 100644
--- a/Lib/fontTools/misc/macRes.py
+++ b/Lib/fontTools/misc/macRes.py
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ class ResourceReader(MutableMapping):
 
 	@staticmethod
 	def openResourceFork(path):
+		if hasattr(path, "__fspath__"):  # support os.PathLike objects
+			path = path.__fspath__()
 		with open(path + '/..namedfork/rsrc', 'rb') as resfork:
 			data = resfork.read()
 		infile = BytesIO(data)
diff --git a/Lib/fontTools/t1Lib/__init__.py b/Lib/fontTools/t1Lib/__init__.py
index 00485e463..db5189a59 100644
--- a/Lib/fontTools/t1Lib/__init__.py
+++ b/Lib/fontTools/t1Lib/__init__.py
@@ -108,11 +108,12 @@ class T1Font(object):
 
 def read(path, onlyHeader=False):
 	"""reads any Type 1 font file, returns raw data"""
-	normpath = path.lower()
+	_, ext = os.path.splitext(path)
+	ext = ext.lower()
 	creator, typ = getMacCreatorAndType(path)
 	if typ == 'LWFN':
 		return readLWFN(path, onlyHeader), 'LWFN'
-	if normpath[-4:] == '.pfb':
+	if ext == '.pfb':
 		return readPFB(path, onlyHeader), 'PFB'
 	else:
 		return readOther(path), 'OTHER'
diff --git a/Tests/designspaceLib/designspace_test.py b/Tests/designspaceLib/designspace_test.py
index 5669093ca..24d9d30b9 100644
--- a/Tests/designspaceLib/designspace_test.py
+++ b/Tests/designspaceLib/designspace_test.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ from __future__ import (print_function, division, absolute_import,
                         unicode_literals)
 
 import os
+import sys
 import pytest
 import warnings
 
@@ -785,3 +786,19 @@ def test_documentLib(tmpdir):
     assert dummyKey in new.lib
     assert new.lib[dummyKey] == dummyData
 
+@pytest.mark.skipif(sys.version_info[:2] < (3, 6), reason="pathlib is only tested on 3.6 and up")
+def test_read_with_path_object():
+    import pathlib
+    source = (pathlib.Path(__file__) / "../data/test.designspace").resolve()
+    assert source.exists()
+    doc = DesignSpaceDocument()
+    doc.read(source)
+
+@pytest.mark.skipif(sys.version_info[:2] < (3, 6), reason="pathlib is only tested on 3.6 and up")
+def test_with_with_path_object(tmpdir):
+    import pathlib
+    tmpdir = str(tmpdir)
+    dest = pathlib.Path(tmpdir) / "test.designspace"
+    doc = DesignSpaceDocument()
+    doc.write(dest)
+    assert dest.exists()
diff --git a/Tests/t1Lib/t1Lib_test.py b/Tests/t1Lib/t1Lib_test.py
index f5e934de3..385dad0d9 100644
--- a/Tests/t1Lib/t1Lib_test.py
+++ b/Tests/t1Lib/t1Lib_test.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ from __future__ import print_function, division, absolute_import
 from fontTools.misc.py23 import *
 import unittest
 import os
+import sys
 from fontTools import t1Lib
 from fontTools.pens.basePen import NullPen
 import random
@@ -50,6 +51,11 @@ class ReadWriteTest(unittest.TestCase):
 		data = self.write(font, 'OTHER', dohex=True)
 		self.assertEqual(font.getData(), data)
 
+	@unittest.skipIf(sys.version_info[:2] < (3, 6), "pathlib is only tested on 3.6 and up")
+	def test_read_with_path(self):
+		import pathlib
+		font = t1Lib.T1Font(pathlib.Path(PFB))
+
 	@staticmethod
 	def write(font, outtype, dohex=False):
 		temp = os.path.join(DATADIR, 'temp.' + outtype.lower())