THE HISTORY OF SHORTHAND

And
THE EVOLUTION OF SHORTHAND MACHINES

Presented to

Intersteno Congress 2013

Intersteno Parliamentary and Other Reporters’ Section

July 15, 2013

Ghent, Belgium

Presenter:

Dominick M. Tursi
Official Court Reporter
United States District Court
And
Director, The Gallery of Shorthand
GalleryofShorthand.org

1180 Federal Plaza

Central Islip, New York USA 11722
631/712-6108
DomTursi@email.com
 Introduction

This presentation is the story of how each generation of mankind

knows what preceded it; how knowledge has been shared across
civilizations and among societies. It is about the Preservation of
Thought.

The preservation of thought began 5000 years ago; of spoken

thought, 2000 years ago.

Civilizations have scrutinized, modified, and improved upon recorded

thought in order to improve.

And so this is the story of one of mankind’s oldest professions – ours

– embracing all methods of speech capture, impartially, accurately,
and reliably preserved by the dedicated Guardian of the Record.

This presentation starts at a contemporary ending point, at The

Gallery Of Shorthand, a shorthand “museum” dedicated to telling the
world about our professional legacy and highlighting the contributions
of shorthand artisans.

Following the lead of early shorthand historians, The Gallery uses Ten
Epochs – or pivotal historical segments – to trace our ancestry. After
explaining these, I shall detail the ninth epoch, the Evolution of
Machine Shorthand.
 HISTORY OF SHORTHAND
Evolution of A Timeless Profession

Few professions are as old and time-honored as shorthand reporting,

for it is the act of writing which has provided to all civilizations the
knowledge of earlier thoughts and utterances.

EPOCH I
ANCIENT SUMERIAN SCRIBES
3500 BC
The earliest form of written expression began in 3500
BC, in Southeastern Mesopotamia (now Iraq), by one
of the earliest civilizations. By 3100 BC the
Sumerians developed cuneiform script into a useable
system of 2000 word-symbols, later adapted to other
languages. Ancient Sumerian Scribes were entrusted
to preserve all important thought, using a stylus to carve wedge-
shaped characters into clay tablets later hardened by the sun.

EPOCH I
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN SCRIBES
3200 BC
The Egyptians devised two scripts, Hieratic (3200 BC)
and Demotic (650 BC), as alternatives to their complex
hieroglyphic form of writing. Although based on
hieroglyphs, these two scripts employed more simplified
symbols.

Ancient Egyptian scribes, as those in Sumer, were

considered among the literary elite, and many became government
officials. Typically, scribes wrote business and property transactions,
kept records of taxes and laws, copied documents, and wrote
instructions for government officials.

Similar to cuneiform, most Egyptian writings were carved in mud or

clay tablets and then hardened by sunshine. Those considered
important to retain were rewritten on papyrus and the original tablets
reused.

EPOCH II
CHINESE SHORTHAND
206 BC
 CAOSHU and XIGSHU
Chine Grass Script (caoshu) and Running Script (xigshu) first
appeared during the Han Dynasty (220-206 BC) of Imperial China.
With these characters, strokes could be joined and several characters
written with one continuous flow.

During Imperial China’s extended history (221 BC-1912 AD), clerks

came to use abbreviated, cursive forms of characters to record court
proceedings and criminal confessions. These “shorthand” records
were then used to create more formal transcripts.

One cornerstone of court proceedings was that all confessions had to

be acknowledged by the accused’s signature, personal seal, or
thumbprint. Preparing these proceedings required fast writing.

EPOCH III
ROMAN SHORTHAND SCRIBES
63 BC
The power of preserving the spoken word did not escape
Ancient Rome, for oratory was an important part of Roman
culture. Minutes of the proceedings of the Senate were
written from memory and occasionally published, although
unofficially. Ancient Roman Scribes did not capture
extemporaneous thoughts, for no system yet had been
devised that was capable of doing so – until 63 BC. That is when
Cicero, great orator of Rome, invented the first system of short
writing – erroneously attributed by many historians to Cicero’s slave
Marcus Tillius Tiro, for whom it is named: Tironian Notes (Notae
Tironianae).

Tironian Notes used letters to represent common words, and left out
letters that could be spared, particularly vowels, in order to save time.
Sometimes initials or other parts of several words were joined. Speed
was achieved by rarely removing the hand from the wax tablet.

Responding to Senate colleagues, Cicero and Tiro taught others and

placed them in different parts of the Senate to write speeches of
others – leading to birth of the first corps of shorthand!

EPOCH IV
ABOLITION OF SHORTHAND - 500 AD
RENEWED INTEREST 1180 AD
 Shorthand was considered cryptography during
the Middle Ages and its use forbidden. The
Middle Ages, or Dark Ages, were days of
superstition, ignorance, and bigotry. Shorthand
was seen as cryptography (secret writing), “diabolical,” even black
magic and witchcraft, and its practitioners often were persecuted.
Emperor Justinian forbade its use after 534 AD.

Although shorthand was generally forbidden, the shorthand skills of

monks were both permitted and encouraged. Little would be known
of the life and times of the medieval world without them.

Renewed interest in shorthand began when Thomas Becket,

Archbishop of Canterbury, encouraged renewed research into Tironian
Shorthand, prompted by an interest in preserving pulpit preachings.

John of Tilbury, monk, scribe, and notary, responded to Becket’s call,

and published an abbreviated word system that began a transition to
later short systems of writing. Additional efforts would lay dormant
for another 300 years.

EPOCH V
REVIVAL OF SHORTHAND
1588
Early English-Language Shorthand Systems
The Vital 250 Years

Four hundred years after Thomas Becket sparked

an interest in Tironian Notes, eagerness to
preserve sermons created renewed desire for fast
systems of writing.

Timothe Bright’s 1588 invention of the first

useable English-language method triggered a
flurry of writing systems. Inventors and teachers
increased rapidly, each building on the work of predecessors.

Samuel Taylor was perhaps the greatest of the early masters. Two
hundred years after Timothe Bright, Taylor invented a system which
became the most extensively used for the ensuing 60 years.

EPOCH VI
FIRST PRACTICAL ENGLISH SYSTEMS
 1837 – Phonography (Pitman)
1888 – Light-Line Phonography (Gregg)

In the evolution of shorthand, Great Britain is

rightly the birthplace of the first practical systems.
Two inventors stand above all others as the most
pivotal in shaping the profession of shorthand
reporting – Sir Isaac Pitman and Dr. John Robert
Gregg. The shorthand system created by each
was based on phonetics, and the functionality of each led to enormous
followings. Each endured for decades and demonstrated the ability of
users to achieve unparalleled records of speed and accuracy.

Recognition of shorthand’s place in Parliament and the courts, formal

acknowledgement of the verbatim record, and desire to preserve
religious preaching set the stage for widespread acceptance.
Increased need for stenographers in the business world resulting from
the Industrial Revolution led to large-scale proliferation.

ISAAC PITMAN
1837 SOUND-HAND/PHONOGRAPHY
One hundred years after Samuel Taylor, a student of that system set
out to design a more functional system, conducive to legibility and
rapid writing. In 1837, at age 24, Isaac Pitman’s system was
published as Stenographic Sound-Hand. He renamed it Phonography,
or Writing by Sound in 1840 after several modifications. It became
widely known simply as Pitman Shorthand. In 1852 Brother Benn
brought the Pitman shorthand system to America. By 1889, about 97
percent of all US stenographers wrote Pitman and it was adapted to
more than 30 other languages, at least 10 in India.

JOHN ROBERT GREGG

1888 LIGHT-LINE PHONOGRAPHY
Fifty years after Pitman shorthand was announced, in 1888 John
Robert Gregg published his system as Light-Line Phonography. This
21-year-old initially insisted that its application was “for business
correspondence instead of for the highly specialized work of the
shorthand reporter.”

Gregg brought his system to America in 1893, and renamed it simply

Gregg Shorthand. Gregg declared that this more mature version was
“rapid enough to reproduce verbatim the fastest oratory.” The 1910
Minor Cup shorthand victory of Gregg speed writer Frederick Gurtler
gave early credence to this claim.

A system also rooted in phonetics, Gregg Shorthand was easier to

write than Phonography because the characters were based on
elements of ordinary longhand, versus Pitman’s curious shaded
geometric characters. Gregg became the predominant shorthand
system in America.

EPOCH VII
PROLIFERATION OF SHORTHAND IN EUROPE
Germany, Italy, and France were at the forefront
of shorthand development, lagging only behind
England. 16th Century Europeans saw shorthand
as a way of spreading the word of God by
preserving sermons. In 18th Century England, it
was sparked by increased popular demand to read
the actual debates of Parliamentary sessions, fueled by slanted
summary newspaper accounts. The worldwide Industrial Revolution
created enormous need for stenographers in order to ease the
burgeoning paperwork.

Europe had about 3,000 shorthand systems by 1883, including

hundreds in the English language. The majority could be taught to
the masses, permitting widespread proliferation.

EPOCH VIII
PROLIFERATION OF SHORTHAND IN AMERICA
Pitman’s system appeared in America in 1852. Gregg’s in 1893.
Before then the only known US shorthand system was A Shorthand
Book, authored by John Radcliff in 1650. In America, the growth of
shorthand consisted mainly of authors perfecting existing systems and
users meeting demands of the business, government, and legal
communities for their skills. As the Industrial Revolution swept
America, the business world needed clerical help to cope with the
overwhelming paperwork. The newly invented typewriter also needed
operators. Shorthand writers who had the ability to type were
therefore in great demand.

EPOCH IX
MECHANIZED SHORTHAND
Early Attempts
Sketchy details exist about early attempts to invent shorthand
machines and keyboards, and uncertainty surrounds whether only
prototypes were constructed. Here is what The Gallery has found.

1827 – Gonod (Clermont-Ferrand, France)

Designed a working model to produce signs on paper by which words
might be represented with “fidelity, precision, with the speed of
speech, and with perfect regularity in the writing.”

1829 - Baron Karl de Drais de Sauerbrun (Germany)

Invented a shorthand machine that punched holes in a paper strip.

1830 – Celestino Galli (Italy)

Develoed the “Potenografo,” a device which printed on a paper
strip.

Machines were also designed by Italy’s Luigi Lamonica (1867) and

Isidore Maggi (1871).

EPOCH X
SHORTHAND IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Using sophisticated shorthand machines, specially designed computer
software, and state-of-the-art wireless and internet technology,
skilled reporters instantly produce text from speech and
simultaneously transmit it anywhere in the world.

REALTIME REPORTING
In the US, the application of this is commonly observed in legal
settings, such as trials and depositions, where reporters immediately
provide text of proceedings locally and to remote sites.

CLOSED CAPTIONING
“Subtitles” of live broadcasts seen on a TV monitor are the work of a
shorthand reporter.

CART – Communications Access Realtime Translation

To contrast this technology with captioning, CART is one reporter
instantly converting speech to text and displaying it on a screen for
one viewer or many.
 EVOLUTION OF SHORTHAND MACHINES
(Expanding Epoch IX)

1863 Michela Shorthand Machine ITALY

Inventor: Antonio Michela Zucco
The world’s first successful chorded shorthand
machine, his first prototype was built in 1851. It
has been used continuously in the Italian Senate
since 1880.

1875 The Stenographic Machine – FRANCE

Little is known of this recently-unearthed machine. Its 12 black keys
printed dashes, and its 12 white keys printed dots. “Supplementary
signs” could be added to any stroke using a key stroked with the wrist.

1879 Bartholomew Stenograph – USA

Inventor: Miles M. Bartholomew
First practical English-language shorthand machine, its
chorded keyboard used dot/dash codes to form one letter
at a time. Top writing speed was about 150 wpm.

1886 Anderson Shorthand Typewriter

Inventor: George Kerr Anderson
First word-at-a-stroke shorthand machine, this is the
first chorded keyboard that printed letters, not codes,
and was designed to write a sound in each stroke.

1897 The Stenotyper – ENGLAND

Earliest English-language device outside of America, this 3-pound
machine, made in Germany, produced chorded codes of dots and
dashes. It could be used in English, French, German, Latin, and
Hebrew, with a top speed of 170 wpm.

1904 Stenophile Bivort – FRANCE

Charles Bivort invented this device for secretarial use.
Little is known of its longevity.

1907 Kehoe Stenographic Machine

Inventor: William J. Kehoe
Last of the mainstream coded machines, this improvement on the
Bartholomew machine claimed ability to write at 150 wpm.
1908 Grandjean – FRANCE
Madame Marc Grandjean invented this ruggedly-built French-language
device. In continuous use since 1910, mass production began in 1923.
The 1994 TempoSupra, 2003 Nova, and 2008 Reva are computerized.

1911 Chambonnaud Silbetype – FRANCE

Professor M.Chambonnaud invented this revolutionary device with the
goal that its output could be read by anyone, not only the user. It was
used in seven languages.

1911 Ireland Stenotype

Inventor: Ward Stone Ireland
This device forever defined the mainstream keyboard and
remains the English-language industry standard. It used
a two-row, tripartite key arrangement of initial
consonants, final consonants, and middle vowels to
create greatest output with the fewest strokes.

1916 The Shortwriter

Inventor: Alrah B. Edwards
Used a two-color ribbon, alternating colors to represent letters missing
from the keyboard.

1917 National Shorthand Machine

Inventor: Ward Stone Ireland
Ward Stone Ireland patented and produced this machine independent of
The Stenotype Company. It used a different arrangement of consonants
and added subordinate keys.

1917 Master Model Three The Stenotype Company

This improvement on Ireland’s mechanism added a numeral-shift bar, a
continuous-fold paper supply housed within the body cavity, and a
pullout paper-capture tray.

1921 Dictatype
Inventor: Paul F. Bourquin
Although used for many years as a 23-key device, this machine was
officially introduced in the late 1920s as an 18-key device.

1927 Master Model Four

The Stenotype Company produced this shorthand
“workhorse of the 1930s.” Although its mechanics at
times faltered, its use in the world-famous Hauptman
(Lindberg-bady kidnapping) trial catapulted machine shorthand into
mainstream reporting.

1930 Smith Stenotype

Designers: Howard B. Smith and Walter
Heironimus
This was a unique redesign of Ireland’s machine. To
enable immediate readback, it split the keyboard, placing
the paper-capture tray between the hands.

1939 Palantype – ENGLAND

Named for French teacher Mademoiselle Palanque,
the Palantype was patented by an English woman
named Fairbanks based on design of the Grandjean.
Production began after World War II.

1939 Master Model Five – Textolite Molded Shell

ML Larsonneur was engaged to create this award-
winning design in a last-recourse attempt to
compete with Stenograph’s successful
competing entry. Rapid temperature changes
caused breakage of the housing, and the shell was
soon replaced with a metal case.

1939 The Reporter

Inventor: Thomas Bilyeu
Mr. Bilyeu believed that more keys meant fewer
combinations to learn, thus a shorter learning curve.
Consonants occupied three rows, and all five vowel
keys were used.

1939 Stenograph – Stenographic Machines, Inc.

Stenograph’s inaugural machine was the product of Milton H. Wright,
and son Robert. Used a light-weight magnesium shell and dependable
clutch mechanism, plus silent operation, endless-loop self-inking ribbon.

1940 Master Model Five – Metal Shell

The metal housing cured the Textolite problem, but this heavy,
unreliable device did not compete well. It was used until about 1945.

1943 Brevitype
Inventor: Wendell V. Kirkpatrick
This attractive, 3-pound device, printed standard English
letters and claimed to combine “the best features of
the three fastest writing methods – typing, machine
shorthand, and written shorthand.”

1946 LaSalle Stenotype

LaSalle engaged Stenograph to manufacture this very popular aluminum
black-and-grey machine, bundled with correspondence course
educational materials.

1957 Simla – GERMANY

Invented by Dusseldorf Parliamentiary Stenographer
Heinrich Hermann Bruckschen, the Simla used a
tripartite keyboard.

1963 Stenograph – Stenographic Machines, Inc.

This machine had shell made of Cycolac plastic. This
became the machine of the sixties.

1963 Princess-Steno – GERMANY

This chorded machine used 18 lower-case English typefaces to write
syllables. Resting on the user’s lap, it featured a light touch and was
noiseless.

1963 Stenograph Data-Writing Machine

Stenographic Machines, Inc.
This revolutionary device – actually, more of a system than a machine –
paved the way for all future computerized shorthand technology.
Engineered by Bob Wright, it placed organ-type switches in the steno
machine to sense key strokes, and used a cable to transmit them to a
tape recorder. Sucessors:
1970 DataWriter - Used a black box to capture digital
notes on a cartridge. 1974 DataWriter - Replaced the
1970 cartridge with a cassette. 1983 DataWriter –
Revamped, integrated design. Data was written to
cassette located in a side compartment.

Stenoprint – The Hedman Company

The first model featured angled vowel keys with a
supplemental “cardinal” key, extending out between
existing keys, used to indicate long-vowel sounds. The
cardinal key was soon removed and the vowel keys
straightened.
1971 Stenograph Curved Design
Stenographic Machines, Inc.
Used well into the 1990s, this device remained popular even after
computerized machines entered the marketplace.

1977 BaronData StenoConverter – BaronData Systems

BaronData entered the computer transcription arena with this very
successful, albeit weighty, device. An elongated case mounted next to
the writing machine contained electronics which
digitally processed steno and wrote it to a
removable cassette.
Succcessors:
Models: II, III, IV, V, X, TX, Transcriptor
These very popular computerized machines claimed
built-in error correction, and high-capacity removable magnetic cassette.

1979 Lectro-Graph – Michael A. Smith, Ben C. Fulkerson

The first shorthand machine to electrically advance the platen.

1980 Steno-Lectric - Stenographic Machines, Inc.

Stenograph’s first electric platen-advance writer, this was an altered
1971 model.

1982 XScribe StenoRam – XScribe Corporation

XScribe captured digital notes on this device, placed
beneath a Stenograph Steno-Lectric machine fitted
with XScribe’s contact plate. A built-in modem
allowed it to transmit data to a computer. Successor
machines: FirstCAT, FirstCAT Plus, StenoRAM I, II, III, III-Plus, Ultra,
Vision.

1987 SmartWriter - Stenograph, LLC

The first Stenograph machine to capture notes on a floppy disk, it
remained a preferred writer for many reporters through the 1990s.

1988 Digitext-ST (“Steno Translator”) – Jerry Lefler

This paperless realtime shorthand machine
translated steno instantly and set the stage for
the translating shorthand machines of the
1990s. Successors: AccuWriter 1989, Impact
Writer 1994, Fon’iks Writer 1998
1991 Keyboard Input Machines
The 1991 ProModel, from Stenograph, launched
this launched this genre of machines, paperless and
without onboard display screen, which thus rely on
an external computer for readback. Others: 1994
Gemini, 1998 Tréal, 2004 Digitouch, 2007
Lightspeed.

1992 Stentura - Stenograph, LLC

This machine featured onboard translation and an integrated screen.
Wireless capabilities were also available. The 2005 version offered
AudioSync™, a simultaneous audio track of the proceedings
synchronized with steno notes.

1994 Yawei Stenotype – CHINA

On May 19, 1994, Tang Yawei produced China’s first
shorthand machine.

1998 CASwin – KOREA

This paperless keyboard device, without integrated readback screen, is
designed to be used while connected to a computer.

2003 élan Group – Stenograph, LLC

This line includes the élan Mira (paperless) and élan Fusion (with paper).

2009 Diamante - Stenograph, LLC

This shorthand machine features keystroke
improvement and sleeker features. Its graceful look
continues the award- winning design of its sister
machine, the CybraPro.