Record Never Forgets: the History of Court Reporting and Shorthand

Shorthand, as a means of written communication, has been with us for centuries. Such diverse men as Julius Caesar, George Bernard Shaw, and Charles Dickens all used shorthand. The plays of William Shakespeare, the words of St. Augustine, the lectures of Martin Luther, and the Gettysburg Address were all captured by an alert reporter using shorthand techniques. No form of written communication has lasted so long or has had as much impact in world history as shorthand. The need to have an indelible record of courtroom proceedings led to the creation of the court reporter. Early on the reporter had to rely on pen and ink, but today has the advantage of a vast assortment of machines. In The Record Never Forgets, Fannie H. Smith has presented an in-depth history of the development of shorthand and its eventual impact on court-reporting. With over 100 illustrations of key people, samples of shorthand technique, and the various court-reporting machines, hers is an unparalleled, exhaustive work. It is the fruit of nearly ten years of research.