Lesson 1: General Rules, Lessons in Graphic Shorthand (Gabelsberger), Lippmann

compiling by Corry Shores
[Search Blog Here. Index-tags are found on the bottom of the left column.]

[Central Entry Directory]
[Gabelsberger Shorthand, Entry Directory]

[Other entries in the Lippmann series]

C. R. Lippmann

Lessons in Graphic Shorthand

(Gabelsberger)

Prepared for the American Public

Lesson 1:

General Rules

1) Study one lesson a day. Review before proceeding

2) For the first three lessons, practice on a sheet of paper with ruled lines on it. Afterwards, we only use the bottom-center-line, which we just call the line. The line above it is the top-center-line, the line above that is the top-line, and the line below the bottom-center-line is the bottom-line.

3) A character is a large letter when reaches from the line to the top or bottom line. Characters reaching from the line to the top-center-line are medium letters. And letters written just on the line, but not reaching another line, are small letters. For example, shorthand t is a large letter, b is a medium letter, and l is a small letter.

4) First trace the words. Afterwards you may try writing them independently. Aim first for accuracy and grace rather than speed.

5) “Outlines are shaded naturally, just as in longhand writing. No up-stroke is shaded, and care must be taken not to shade the down-strokes too heavily.”

6) We only write sounds. So we only write what we hear, and never additional letters. We write “through” as “thru.” “Write” becomes rit. In our lessons, signs are italicized, but “sounds will be placed in quotation marks.”

7) Practice pronouncing words correctly while graphing them.

8) Never use additional flourishes in your writing, because all markings have meaning in shorthand.

9) We must practice reading what we write.

10) After mastering a lesson, read the shorthand image-plate on its own. If you come across a word which is not clear, then look up its rules and refresh your memory. Also write the plate forms on your own and compare them with the originals. Whenever there is a discrepancy between the two, go back and lookup the rules again.

11) “Remember that the key to success is perseverance, which, applied to shorthand, means faithful, relentless PRACTICE.”

(page 5)

Lippmann, C.R. Lessons in Graphic Shorthand (Gabelsberger) Prepared for the American Public. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippencott Company, 1899.

Available online at:

http://www.archive.org/details/lessonsingraphic00lipp