Deciphering Shorthand

There were hundreds of forms of shorthand from 1650-1900, rather than the two or three that were popular in the 20th century. This multiplicity of forms enabled it to be used as a secret code. Consequently, when you come across old shorthand writing in archives, it often contains secrets. So how do you decipher it?

Some of the many shorthand systems are undocumented, but many were sold as books. Shorthand inventors made money both by teaching their systems to individuals and by publishing the fundamentals in book form. The best shorthand manuals teach the systems logically, but this is not always the case because the inventors were also afraid of intellectual theft. Once you learn one system, however, other systems are more intelligible.

The Google Digitization project has made PDFs of many shorthand manuals and they are now availble on the web. Your task is to look at your shorthand sample and compare it to what you see in the manuals. However, since there are hundreds of systems and types of systems, good luck! Despite the problems, it is possible.