two notes about Gregg Simplified

GeneralRich Harrison10

• Textbook’s 60th Anniversary

According to Amazon, June 1st will be the 60th anniversary of the publication of Gregg Shorthand Manual Simplified – second edition.

It’s extraordinary that this book is still in print 60 years later. And it’s often #1 or #2 in Amazon USA’s Business & Money > Skills > Secretarial Aids & Training category.

I ordered a new copy from Amazon a few months ago and I was surprised at the quality of its construction. It is printed on brilliant white, acid-free paper and (after you remove the garish dustjacket) it has nicely decorated covers.

How will you celebrate the anniversary of this publication? Drinking, dancing or both?

• Simplified Brief Form Variations

The Angelfishy website and Wikipedia say there are 181 brief forms in Simplified.

There are 184 brief forms shown in the reference charts in the Functional manual (1st and 2nd editions) and Dictation Simplified (1st and 2nd editions).

On page 89 of the October 1950 edition of Today’s Secretary, there’s a chart giving 187 brief forms. (The extra ones are “yours very truly,” “very truly yours” and “sincerely yours.”)

In the UK version of the Simplified manual 2nd edition there is a chart of 185 brief forms. They’ve added d-m for “Dear Madam.”

The UK version uses r-l for “railway” instead of r-r for “railroad.”


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10 comments Add yours

  1. Once upon a time (less than 10 years ago), when bookstores carried the Gregg Simplified manual, I took a look at a new one, and it was indeed beautifully printed. I bought my copy of the S90 manual brand new at a bookstore too, not a long time ago either — they were still printing it in the late 90s!

  2. Is it true that the in-print copy available on Amazon does not have an answer key?

    I guess I will celebrate the anniversary by ordering a copy of this. What better way to celebrate! It'll be good additional practice. It's appealing that you can still get a brand new shorthand book in 2015 (for how much longer, I wonder?) It'll be my first ever shorthand book that will be brand new rather than used.

    1. The key for the regular manual was always printed separately for all series, except Centennial. The FM manual has a key to most exercises in the back. I have the answer key for the second edition of the regular Simplified manual, but haven't scanned it. (I have scanned the key for the FM Second Edition though.)

  4. I was a little disappointed with the printing of my copy, which I also got a few months ago. I had used a copy from the library before I invested in my FM; and then occasionally used the library book for study on my work commute. I decided to get my own Simplified as a rules reference (useful indexing!) while it is in print.

    When I received my new Simplified manual it looked great, until I later opened it to actually use it. There were some pages throughout stuck together near the spine, so they could be opened but not flat, if you know what I mean. And the odd shorthand character was missing ink, which requires me to infer the missing stroke.

    As a bibliophile I was a little disappointed, but since it's mainly a supplemental rule reference for me, it's not a deal breaker.

    Incidentally, the library copy exhibits both traits, but in seemingly smaller frequency.

    1. I'm a bit surprised about the print quality. My copy is essentially flawless, I think. Binding is good, print quality is consistent and very good . . .

      Could you give some specific locations where the ink is missing? I'd like to compare and see if it's the same in my copy. I wonder if there was one print run that had some problems and possibly your copy and the one you have from the library were printed at the same time.

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