Pitman vs Gregg, the battle for world dominance as seen from the trenches

I asked a friend (I think she’s about 50) who once learned Pitman:

Why did you choose Pitman over one of the newer systems? Were you even aware of them?

When you say “why did you choose,” do you mean when I was in England? When I learned shorthand, I actually took a crash course at the Pitman College in London. It’s so long ago now that I don’t even remember really if I knew there WAS an alternative to Pitman…if there was, it must have been impressed upon me that Pitman was the “best.” There was also Speedwriting, I remember that… Can’t remember WHEN I became aware of that, though. Argh. The older I get, the more the memories leak out..:-)

My guess would be that it’s very much like the VHS vs Beta thing. Even though Beta was (and still is) the superior format, the companies that got behind VHS managed to make it seem the best choice for the viewers, and so Beta was eventually relegated to industry use. Probably because of aggressive marketing by its supporters, the prevalent view in England was what I was also probably told, “Pitman is the best.” So of course snob value, along with the tendency of the British to be very slow to change their minds, won out.

I also remember hearing something about Pitman being used by the allied forces in England in WWII…. I can see the slogans now… “Pitman, the Official Shorthand of WWII!” 🙂

—-

So, she didn’t see any of the

Hmmm, the American military actually printed (or at least rebound) Gregg manuals, including a self-guided one.

Cheers!

(by cricketbeautiful-1
for everyone)


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2 comments Add yours
  1. I've wondered if one is really "superior" to the other. I opted for Gregg because I figured I would find more support for learning it, as I could find almost nothing online for Pitman. I already had a few books for learning Gregg. I didn't learn to write with dip pens with varying line thicknesses. The varying line thicknesses in handwriting as a natural part of forming the letters would be an added, and difficult, challenge to master. The form and slant of Gregg is similar to the way I learned to write cursive as a child. Writing with a extra-fine-nibbed fountain pen is natural to me. One of those things learned as a child. Ultra-flex nibs are great fun, but difficult to master. A few minutes with a Gillotte 303 dip nib would prove that. Pitman attracts me, but, I chose Anniversary Gregg, and will adapt things from Light-line and Simplified, as needed.

    I hope someone who knows both Pitman and Gregg very well will post on this. It's a fascinating topic.

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