Shorthand - repeat call

[Penndennis]

Just in case there are any fresh eyes out there.

I have a small leather bound notebook dating from about 1780-1810.  It was written by my great great ever so great grandmother.  Much of it consists of fairly competent poetry or plain text, but there are a number of pages of shorthand which have defied deciphering.  It predates Pitman of course.

The layout looks like poetry, and there is a pattern to the symbols at the end of each line which reinforces that interpretation.   

[Penndennis]

That went quicker than I expected.  I have tried Mensa, various books on the history of shorthand, an expert in the US on Pitman, the British Library and a cryptologists society.  All without success.

 Anyone got any bright ideas, or a talent with code breaking?

[JonathanC]

Are the pages which are written in full in English?

[RichardK]

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rf0VAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=A+history+of+shorthand&cd=1#v=onepage&q&f=false

Google books has 'A History of Shorthand' written by Isaac Pitman but gives examples of earlier forms of shorthand that were in use earlier - Tiffin 1750, Lyle 1762 and Holdsworth 1768 for instance - lots of similarities with the characters here, although can't say for certain whether it's any of them!

[Penndennis]

Yes it is written in English.  Largely moral in tone.

I saw some similarities with Byrom as well.  With a bit of imagination one can spot about 23-25 different symbols.  However, if the verse endings are represented by similar symbols then it is probable that the symbols are phonetic.  Tricky isn't it?

[Annie65115]

How old was your ancestor when she wrote this?

When I was a teenager, my friend and I developed a code using symbols which covered the alphabet and became v proficient in writing in it. I could still write in it now, i think. I wonder if this was your ancestor's private code?

[Penndennis]

It looks as if she started writing the poetry shortly before she got married, and the last plain text is by her husband following her death.  At the time it was common for all sorts of people to learn and use one of the contemporary shorthand styles for a wide range of reasons.  Dickens learnt it as a court reporter for example.

My instinct is that this was a taught system rather than an invented one.  The look of the pages is as if they were part of an exercise rather than deliberately coded.  I have tried unsuccessfully to match the existing poems with the shorthand to no avail.

[Peonie]

Have you looked at Thomas Gurney? Google Books has a detailed book about his shorthand.

http://www.rootschat.com/links/08gd/

Good luck, Peonie

[stenog]

Anyone still watching this thread? I've had some success with the shorthand. It's a variant of system called `Mason', which went through countless editions, variations and so-called improvements both under Mason's name and perhaps more famously (if you're into such things!) under Gurney's name. The variant we are looking at seems to be a lightly customised version of what's known as `Gurney's Mason', or `Brachygraphy'. Late 18th to early 19th century.

I have begun a transcription. Yes, it's verse, and rather disappointingly seems to be devotional rather than romantic

Snippet from page 1 column 2: "Eternal truth attends the word"

Although more intriguing  is the beginning of the very last stanza (under the numeral 5): "Away <?> falls delusive toys"

Sean.