I ordered Dictation for Beginners, by Edith Bisbee, through abebooks. I am delighted to find it is a perfectly fitting, supplementary book to use with the 1929 Manual. It follows the lessons, giving examples that include the vocabulary of the Manual, and of Speed Studies. It was published in 1930 by The Gregg Publishing Company.
I am enjoying using the pdf of the Brief Form Drills from Edith Bisbee, and I find this book a charming help. It is easy to hold, easy to read, and easy to make good use of.
Example:
Chapter One. Unit 1.
Circles Joined to Curves.
- Ray will hail Lee.
- Al will not hear Lee.
- I will hear Ray hail Lee.
- Ella cannot go in the alley.
- I will not lay the key in the alley. Harry Hill will lay it there.
[Carlos, thank you for the automatic outline form. 🙂 ]
Oooh, I like the look of this! It really does look beginner-friendly, and logical in its presentation. I don't see a used copy available anywhere, though.
Is this one available as a .pdf anywhere (or, for that matter, the Brief Form Drills)? The author's name does sound familiar, though nothing came up for me when I searched all the usual used book stores.
I'll have to console myself with a book that arrived in the mail today: Teacher's Edition of Gregg Shorthand Basic Principles – Centennial Edition (ISBN # 0-07-073684-7). I've never seen this one pop up before now. It's full color, like the student text, but with a spiral binding. I like that the Centennial texts show the shorthand on lined paper… that's helpful for learning positioning.
Hi, Teri. 🙂
There is one for sale through Amazon for $10 plus shipping, which is similar to what I paid.
https://www.amazon.com//gp/offer-listing/B0008574TW/sr=/qid=/?condition=used&tag=bookfinder-test-a-20
Otherwise, perhaps, interlibrary loan?
Brief Form Drills.
Thanks! I don't know why the dictation one didn't come up for me in Amazon last night. I checked by both title and author. Thank you! (And for the link to the .pdf!) Great resources!
By the way, I agree with you about the anniversary books… they are so well-coordinated between each other, and I always loved their compact size. I wish more supplementary materials were created for the later editions of Gregg, similar to what was done for anniversary.
I hope this serves as a a small motivator for you to learn Anniversary during the summer. 🙂 Since you already know Gregg, it should not be that hard. Then you'll be able to read anything written in Gregg, regardless of the series!
I may do that eventually, but I don't think this is the summer for it. It'll be a hectic summer for me this year. It is tempting, though., and I may just start carrying the Anniversary book around with me. It'd be fun to get past 60 wpm in dictation! And to also read the literature that is available, like A Christmas Carol. I have been buying the Anniversary books whenever I find them as a good bargain, so you could say I'm gearing up for that eventuality.
Hmmm, I wonder if that Dictation for Beginners book was listed after you looked.
I, too, think the compact, easy-to-read format was especially nice in that era. I have books from other publishers from the late 1800's and early 1900's. They all have much to offer, in a small, lightweight form, that is legible and easy to assimilate. I like the way subjects were presented in those days.
About finding books: the used section at addall.com and also bookfinder.com compile lists of many different sellers. I sometimes find things there, which do not show up when going directly to abebooks, or amazon, or alibris, etc.
Thank you for telling me about addall.com and bookfinder.com. I had never heard of those before. I'm always on the hunt for Gregg shorthand books! Thank you again!