Early English Shorthand Systems
While shorthand systems date back to antiquity, the first system for English dates to 1588, when Timothy Bright published Characterie, a complicated system probably not especially useful for rapid notetaking. Despite the system’s limitations, the idea of shorthand caught on quickly, and imitators quickly began to publish their own systems.
One of the first workable systems inspired by Bright, John Willis’s Art of Stenographie (1602), served as the basis for dozens of systems created over the course of the next century. Shorthand’s combination of speed, brevity, and secrecy made it a sensation in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Britain. Writers used the systems for a variety of purposes, including to transcribe speeches, trials, and especially sermons. Shorthand was widely used by both men and women—some of the earliest known shorthand writers were women, and some reprintings of Rich’s system boasted that “either Sex or Age may (Old or Young) / With nimbler pen out-post the nimble tongue.”1
Though shorthand systems varied widely, most systems were phonetic. Many systems had distinct symbols representing sounds like “ch” or “sh,” as well as common word beginnings and endings like “con-,” “pre-,” “-ing,” and “-tion.” Many also had iconographic elements with unique symbols for particular words—especially those useful for transcribing sermons. Vowels were often omitted or indicated by the position of surrounding letters. Most systems included additional rules for abbreviation.
Shelton’s Tachygraphy
Thomas Shelton’s Tachygraphy, first published in the mid-1620s, was one of the most popular shorthand systems of its era. It went through various editions over the course of the century and was used by Samuel Pepys to record his diary and by Thomas Jefferson to take notes in cabinet meetings. The system included 24 alphabetic symbols, around 60 “prepositions and terminations” for common word parts, and approximately 300 additional symbols for various common words.
While the system has symbols for vowels, they are only used at the beginning of words or where two vowels come together. In most cases, vowels are indicated based on the position of the other symbols (see the diagram below). For example, a g on top of a b would represent “bag,” while a g below a b would represent “bug.” Shelton later published a second system, which he called Zeiglographia (1650). While this second system had fewer of the ideographic symbols which made Tachygraphy difficult to learn, it never achieved the same level of popularity as his earlier system.
Rich
Another popular system that survived into the next century, often simply referred to as Rich Shorthand, was the one developed by William Cartwright and published by his nephew Jeremiah Rich. First published in 1642, new editions of Rich’s shorthand were still being published in the nineteenth century, including one variant by the clergyman Philip Doddridge. Rich used a similar system for vowel indication as Shelton, except that the letter “e” was represented by a loop instead of by the position of surrounding consonants. Like Shelton, Rich had additional symbols for prepositions, terminations, and common words, many of which were added or removed between editions.
Transcription Examples
The following examples show Shelton and Rich's shorthand systems as used in various documents, accompanied by transliterations and longhand transcriptions. Where vowels are indicated by position or by dots, they are written in parentheses. Characters representing entire words are written in square brackets. Longhand words are written in italics.
Shelton's Tachygraphy
Transliteration | Transcription |
| b-l(e)d b-e g [at] t e-n-d f t l y(e)r i w [in] v-r [good] h(e)l-th | Blessed be God, at the end of the last year I was in very good health, |
| wh(o)t n-y s(e)n-s f m o-l-d p(a)n b-t [up](o)n t(a)k-ing f c(o)l-d. | without any sense of my old pain, but upon taking of cold. |
| I [life] [in] Axe yard h-ing m(i) w-f n s-v(a)nt Jane n | I lived in Axe Yard having my wife, and servant Jane, and |
| n m-r [in] f(a)m(i)l(i) [than] [us] 3. | no more in family than us three. |
Shelton's Tachygraphy
Transliteration | Transcription |
| I [believe] n g t f(a)ther a-l-m(i)t(i) m(a)k(e)r f [heaven] n [Earth] n i-n [Jesus] [Christ] [his] o-n-l(i) s(o)n | I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of Heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ his only son |
| [our] l [which] [was] con-cieve(e)d b-i t [holy] g(o)s-t b(o)r-n f t v-r-g(i)n m(e)r(i) suff(e)r-d un-d(e)r p(o)n-s p(i)l(a)t | our lord which was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, |
| d(i)d n [was] b(u)r(i)d [he] r(o)s a-g(a)n t th(i)r-d d(a) n a-s(e)n-d(e)d i-n-t(o) [heaven] n s(i)t(e)th o-n t | died, and was buried. He rose again the third day and ascended into Heaven and sitteth on the |
| r(i)t h(a)n-d f g t f(a)ther a-l-m(i)t(i) [from] th-n-s [he] s-l [come] [to] j(u)g b(o)th t q(i)k n t | right hand of God the Father almighty. From thence he shall come to judge both the quick and the |
| d(e)d I [believe] i-n t [holy] g(o)s-t t [holy] c(a)th(o)l(i)k [church] t com(u)n(i)n f s(a)n-t t [forgive]-ness | dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness |
| f [sins] t r(e)s(u)r(e)c-tion f t b(o)d(i) n t [life] e-l(a)s-t-ing a-m(e)n | of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen. |
Rich
Transliteration | Transcription |
| b-l z t m w w(a)l-k-th n-t n t coun-l | Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel |
| f t [ungodly], n-r s-t(a)n-d-th n t w f s(i)n-r | of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, |
| n-r s(i)t-th n t s-t f t s-c-r-n-ful | nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. |
| 2. b-t (i)z d-l-t z n t l(a) f t l, a n | 2. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in |
| (i)z l(a) d-th e m-d(i)t(a)t d(a) a n-t. | his law doth he meditate day and night. |
Rich
Transliteration | Transcription |
| t w(i)s x (u)f h-n-l(i) Lark | The wise example of the Heavenly Lark, |
| th(i) f-l(o) Poet Cowley m(a)r-k | Thy Fellow-Poet, Cowley mark, |
| a t c-l(o)d l-e-t th(i) pro-d Musique s(o)n-d | Above the Clouds let thy proud Musique sound, |
| th(i) h(u)m-b-l Nest b(u)l-d o-n t g-r(o)n-d | Thy humble Nest build on the Ground |
1. Jeremiah Rich, The Pen's Dexterity, twentieth edition (Leeds: John Binns, 1792), frontispiece, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/, accessed 12 February 2025).
- Rich Characters: Examples of Ideas and Symbolicall Characters used in the New Testament, in Jeremiah Rich, The Pen's Dexterity, twentieth edition (Leeds: John Binns, 1792), p22, digital image, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/, accessed 12 February 2025). This image is in the public domain.
- Shelton vowel placement: The places of the Vowels, in Thomas Shelton, Tachygraphy (London: Thomas Milbourn, 1693), p4, digital image, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/, accessed 12 February 2025). This image is in the public domain.
- Shelton example 1: First Page of the MS Diary, in The Diary of Samuel Pepys M.A. F.R.S. Supplementary Volume Pepysiana, ed. Henry B. Wheatley F.S.A (London: George Bell and Sons, 1899), p77, digital image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/, accessed 13 February 2025). This image is in the public domain.
- Shelton example 2: Miscellany of Henry Oxinden, Folger Shakespeare Library V.b.110, digital image, Folger Shakespeare Library Digital Collections (https://digitalcollections.folger.edu/, accessed 13 February 2025). This image is in the public domain.
- Rich example 1: Part of the Holy Bible scripsit. Arth. Woolley, Folger Shakespeare Library V.a.529, digital image, Folger Shakespeare Library Digital Collections (https://digitalcollections.folger.edu/, accessed 13 February 2025). This image is in the public domain.
- Rich example 2: Book of Memorandum, Cambridge University Library Macclesfield Collection, MS Add.9597/12/2, p7, digital image, Cambridge Digital Library (https://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/, accessed 13 February 2025). This image is used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License (CC BY-NC 3.0).