Shorthand - can you help decipher?

[yelkcub]

Can anyone help with this page of SHORTHAND found in a notebook dated 1876? I realise it is no easy task, as I'm told that the lack of lines makes decipherment difficult. Also, the xerox copy I have (from a relative in Australia) is indistinct and makes it impossible to distinguish thick from thin strokes, which apparently affects the meaning. However, if someone is able to attempt the translation - even if only of a word or phrase here and there - I would be grateful.

[Greensleeves]

Hi Yelkcub
I don't suppose you have any idea of the context of this, do you?  As it is phonetic, it is really hard to know where to start, unless there is a clue as to the subject.  I don't seem to be able to get a hook on it at all. It looks like Pitman, but there are some peculiarities, so I am wondering if it is one of the various eclectic styles which developed.  Problem is that shorthand writers tend to develop their own style and shortcuts which makes it difficult for others to read. Also, as you say, the lack of lines makes it even harder. 

Interestingly, the use of so many vowels would imply that either it was written by a learner, or it was not written at speed but more to ensure that it could be read in the future.  When an experienced shorthand writer is writing at speed, vowels (the little dots and dashes) are seldom used unless the writer feels the need to clarify a word for later ease of transcription.

Regards,
Greensleeves

[yelkcub]

Hello Greensleeves
... and many thanks for your reply. I only know that the notebook containing this page belonged to a great great uncle who was a successful businessman (and consular agent fro France and Switzerland) in Adelaide. His business affairs included shipping and property. It may be a non-standard form of shorthand, which he may have learned either recently (making him a learner, as you suggest), or earlier in the century when, following his studies at the Sorbonne, he spent time at a commercial college in Hamburg. There are, as you will have seen, one or two phrases in longhand in the document (one reads 'Mrs Robinson') - he had a sister back in London who had married a Robinson - so I presume the shorthand is in English. The rest of the notebook's contents are perfectly legible longhand. On the page next to the one you see is a rather charming pencil drawing of two koalas up the proverbial gum tree.
Thanks again for your interest - it's much appreciated
Best wishes from Cornwall
Ian

[Greensleeves]

Alas Ian, but I can make neither head nor tail of it. It is so frustrating because it looks like Pitman shorthand, but it is not (or none that I know of, anyway!).    I think it might be Lindsley or Pernin, neither of which gained a considerable amount of popularity, though I could be wrong.  So sorry I could not be of help,
Regards,
Greensleeves

[yelkcub]

Hello Greensleeves -
... sincere thanks for having done your best to decipher this notebook extract. The system of shorthand may even be one my ancestor picked up in his days at commercial college in Hamburg - who knows? It may well have to remain a mystery - but that's genealogy I suppose.
With best wishes from rainy Cornwall
Ian

[Greensleeves]

Hi Yelkcub
Such a pity because it would seem that, whatever he wrote, it was not intended for anyone else to read..... so I am assuming it would have been something interesting.  You never know, someone else on RC might be able to decipher it - there is such a wealth of experience on here.

Sorry to hear you have rain in Cornwall - I'm not quite sure what it is doing here in Mid Wales at the moment as it is dark;  but as it is dog-walking time, I feel I am about to find out!
Regards,
Greensleeves

[c-side]

Interestingly, the use of so many vowels would imply that either it was written by a learner, or it was not written at speed but more to ensure that it could be read in the future.  When an experienced shorthand writer is writing at speed, vowels (the little dots and dashes) are seldom used unless the writer feels the need to clarify a word for later ease of transcription.

Maybe he used the vowels because there were no lines on the paper and so no way to indicate them by position.

So annoyingly like Pitman but not quite!  I have a friend who is a retired shorthand teacher - I'll ask her if she can shed any light.

Christine

[Greensleeves]

If you look in Wik**dia under 'shorthand' there is an interesting little section showing examples of various shorthand types.  Apart from Gregg, they all look uncannily like Pitman.  Hope your contact will be able to throw a bit of light on the subject, Christine, because it's been driving me bonkers!
Regards
Greensleeves

[yelkcub]

Thank you - I really appreciate your continued interest, and hope that there is someone out there in this multi-talented community of ours who might be able to crack the code.
The content is potentially valuable to me, as it might hold clues to the origins of a family that has proved to be really difficult to trace. In the 19th century, from 1861 onwards, there was a good deal of litigation about a trust fund. The fact that James Page (in whose notebook the shorthand is found) is 1872 mentioned (in longhand) Mrs Robinson could be significant, as both James and Mrs Robinson, James's sister in England, were claimants to the trust.
We continue to hope ... and thanks again for your efforts
Ian