The Gregg Group was founded 22 May 2004, prompted by the lack of online shorthand resources. As the primary use for shorthand — business and legal recording — has waned in recent decades, we generally acclaim the skill as a hobby or personal tool. The purpose of the group is to promote the use of Gregg systems of shorthand by providing advice to beginners, support for students, and an association of users of this efficient, attractive, and enjoyable method of writing.
From the author of Anne of Green Gables, Lucy Maud Montgomery, here is one of her Christmas short stories. I transcribed it in Centennial Gregg for the blog.
Attachment: uncle-richards-new-year-dinner.pdf
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Nice New Year's story! I don't think I've ever read a story about New Year's before… and I never knew Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote one– I always loved her Anne of Green Gables series! Thanks for posting!
You're welcome! This one was written in 1910, but she also wrote other Christmas stories as well.
I admire your ability to switch between and demonstrate the different Gregg versions!
For the most part, Centennial really isn't distinguishable from Diamond Jubilee. A few different brief forms, and a few different principles.
But on the page, it looks almost identical.
I think if Gregg had stuck with and just modernized Diamond Jubilee, instead of creating Series 90 and Centennial, they might have been better off. It wouldn't have saved shorthand teaching in the schools, but it would have avoided lots of confusion and expense, and might have extended things for a few more years.
What puzzles me is of all the editions they chose to keep in print, why Simplified? They had 3 more editions after that one, but then backtracked. Not bashing Simplified at all. It's just odd.
That's a great question.
I don't think Simplified ever went completely away, and as the demand for shorthand materials faded that may have been the book that people were still requesting and buying.
It might also have been a question of production cost. The Simplified manual is smaller than the DJS manual, and has less use of color and graphics.
But it really is a bit of a mystery.
I'd like to suggest a few hypotheses.
First, there were probably quite a few Simplified writers–perhaps more than of the later systems–who had learned shorthand in public schools, where they used school-owned textbooks. Some of them might have wanted to buy their own manual as a reference book.
Second, the Simplified book (second edition, which was the one kept in print) was small, lightweight, and relatively cheap compared to the later ones, and its graphics and layout were cheerful; these things might have made it more attractive on the shelf than the later books, which looked more like standard textbooks.
And finally, there's the title. Suppose you want to learn a bit of shorthand, but perhaps find it intimidating because it looks so odd. You don't know anything about Gregg shorthand–especially not that it was periodically revised. What book would you want to buy? Would you prefer "Gregg Shorthand Series 90" or "Gregg Shorthand Simplified"? My guess is that the title helped sell the book.
Thank you!