Finding Online Resources

For those who might be interested, below is of list of my main resources for finding information:

1. Google
2. Hathi Trust Digital Library
3. New York Public Library
4. Harvard Library
5. WorldCat  (collections of over 10,000 libraries worldwide)
6. The Online Books Page

Timothy Bright (Shorthand Part 4)

Summary:
Dr. Timothy Bright (1550 - 1615) was an M.D. who abandoned the medical profession, took holy orders, and later became the rector of Methley and Berwick-in-Elmet in West Yorkshire.

Dr. Timothy Bright published “Characterie: An Arte of Shorte, Swifte and Secrete Writing by Character” in 1588. The only known copy is in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. The book contains about five hundred symbols each representing a word.

The system consisted of an alphabet of 18 geometric letterforms for a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i/j/y, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, x/v/w. The letters k and q were represented by c.

From "History of Shorthand" by I. Pitman

To the end (bottom) of each alphabetic letterform, twelve additional geometric marks could be added. Each letterform was assigned to an arbitrary word starting with the alphabet letter.

From "History of Shorthand" by I. Pitman

Each of the twelve symbols could be laid on its side (left or right) or inverted to obtain more symbols. Therefore, each symbol of the twelve symbols could be drawn in four different positions to represent up to 48 words from each alphabet letter.

While the Bright’s system was original, it was extremely cumbersome to the student’s and practitioner’s memory. Shorthand experts estimate the top writing speed is about 80 words per minute.


Resources:
1. The Dictionary of National Biography (1908, Vol. II, pgs. 1245-47)
2. History of Shorthand by Isaac Pitman (1891)
3. “History of Shorthand” by Mattais Levy. Shorthand and Typing (1896)
4. The Bibliography of Shorthand by by John Westby-Gibson (1887)
5. The Story of British Shorthand by Edward H. Butler (1951)

Tironian Notes / Roman Shorthand (Shorthand Part 3)

Information on Tironian Notes / Roman Shorthand:

Example of Tironian Notes

Overview:
"Shorthand." New International Encyclopedia (Vol. 21, pg. 42)
“Shorthand.” Encyclopedia Britannica (1911, Vol. 24, pgs. 1007)


Information and Writing System:
History of Shorthand by Thomas Anderson. Page 32ff
History of Shorthand by Isaac Pitman. Page 1ff (After Introduction of Pitman System)


More Historical Information:
The National Stenographer, Volume 4, pgs. 267ff

Ancient and Mediaeval Shorthand by Dr. J.W. Zeibig (Translated by N. P. Heffley) (1888)

National Court Reporting Association History (Shorthand Part 2)

I mentioned in my last post that the history of the American Machine Shorthand is closely connected with the history of court reporting.  A very good way to know court reporting history (pen and machine) is to read their magazine.

The National Shorthand Reporters Association (NSRA) was founded in 1899, and in 1991 it changed its name to National Court Reporters Association (NCRA).

A History of the NSRA (1899 to 1991) is available on the NCRA website.

The original magazine of the NSRA was called the Shorthand Writer.

     The Shorthand Writer. Vol. 8 (Oct. 1901 to Sept 1902)
     The Shorthand Writer. Vol. 9 (Oct. 1902 to Sept 1903)
     The Shorthand Writer. Vol. 10 & 11 (Oct. 1903 to Sept 1905)
     The Shorthand Writer. Vol. 12, 13, & 14 (Oct. 1905 to Sept 1908)

In 1913, the magazine was renamed to the Shorthand Reporter

     The National Shorthand Reporter. Vol.1-2 (1913-14).
     The National Shorthand Reporter. Vol.3-4  (1915-16).

In 1991, the magazine was renamed to the Journal of Court Reporting (JCR).  The last two years (or so) of back issues are available online at the JCR Archive webpage.

Some of the annual conferences of the NSRA are also available online:

     1910-1913 Conferences
     1914-1919 Conferences

Shorthand Research Begins (Shorthand Part 1)

I have not worked on the History of the American Machine Shorthand. Work and family related.

While researching Ward Stone Ireland, I could not find out which system of shorthand he used.  I still don't know.  I figured it might have influenced his writing theory for the stenotype.  For example, Mr. Ireland uses "e" for the "he."  This abbreviation appears in both Pitman and Gregg shorthand.

It also got me thinking: the history of the American Machine Shorthand is closely connected with the history of court reporting which used pen shorthand for hundreds of years. Basically, court reporting has adapted to the technology which allows the recording of rapid speech. From the metal stylus and wax tablets of the Roman's, to pen and paper, to better pens (and paper), to the machine, to better machines, to the machine connected to a computer.

I figured I better do some research on the History of Shorthand. The Wikipedia page on shorthand is okay, and lacked the detail I wanted. So I'm creating my own and will update it as I do my research.

Shorthand History and Resources