Browse Items · The Dickens Code

Nelson Part 1

Nineteen lines of Brachygraphy shorthand characters written in pencil fill the page of a notebook with 'Nelson' written in longhand at the top. In the top right corner is the number two, indicating the page number. The word 'Nelson' in longhand also appears in the first line.

The first part of a story about the death of Admiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar

Tags: Arthur P. Stone, Charles Dickens, deciphered shorthand, dictation exercise, Nelson, notebook

Miniature of Charles Dickens aged 18

A painted miniature in the oval aperture of a decorative frame. The head and shoulders of a fresh faced young man with dark curly hair neatly side parted. His left shoulder is turned away. His head is angled to present his full face. He is dressed in dark clothes to the chin excepting a golden buttoned waistcoat showing between the lapels of his overcoat.

A painted miniature of Charles Dickens aged eighteen

Tags: Charles Dickens, miniature, painting

House of Commons Illustration

A colour illustration of a large hall. A vast golden chandelier hangs from the high ceiling. The room is lit by its candles and other candles on sconces. Three large arched windows on the end wall show that it is dark outside. The hall has mezzanine galleries to the left and right and tiered bench seating with green cushions below. In the flat centre of the room is a very large table draped in green. Three men in white wigs and dressed in black are writing there. There is a golden staff laid at the front of the table. A man in a wig and gown sits on a large wooden chair leaning on its arms. The back of the chair is very tall and ornately carved topped with a golden royal crest and several bright candles on sconces. The tiered seating is full of men dressed in various colours, some with wigs or hats and some without. Men lean over the upper left balcony. A man is standing to the right of the large table gesturing with his arms as though speaking.

An illustration of the House of Commons

Tags: House of Commons, illustration, parliament

Hereditary Privilege Part 2

Fourteen lines of Brachygraphy shorthand characters written in pencil fill three quarters of a notebook page.

The second and final part of a critique of hereditary privilege, written in shorthand

Tags: Arthur P. Stone, Charles Dickens, deciphered shorthand, dictation exercise, notebook

Hereditary Privilege Part 1

Seven lines of Brachygraphy shorthand characters written in pencil fill the top half of a notebook page. A horizontal line, running from left to right, follows, underneath which are nine lines of Brachygraphy shorthand characters. The figure 10000£ is written as a figure amongst the other characters. The shorthand on the top half of the page is the third part of 'Sydney Smith' version B. The shorthand on the bottom half of the page is part of an untitled exercise about hereditary privilege. In the top right the number five indicates the page number.

The bottom half of the page features the first part of a critique of hereditary privilege, written in shorthand. The top half features the third and final part of 'Sydney Smith' version B.

Tags: Arthur P. Stone, Charles Dickens, deciphered shorthand, dictation exercise, notebook

Frontispiece portrait of Thomas Gurney

A black and white illustration on a book page. The illustration is of a man with a rounded face. He is wearing a white wig, necktie, waistcoat and jacket. He is smiling with mouth closed. His portrait is illustrated in an oval decorative frame. Beneath the frame are depictions of books, papers and a pen and ink stand. At the bottom of the illustration are the words 'Thomas Gurney' separated by a crest.

A portrait of Thomas Gurney, inventor of the Gurney shorthand system.

Tags: frontispiece, Gurney, illustration, manuals (instructional materials)

Doctors' Commons Illustration

A colour illustration of a large hall with flagstone floor. Three groups of men and ladies stand or sit around the edges of the room. They face a set of three archways beyond which is an ante-chamber flooded with light from large windows behind. Through the central archway is a horseshoe shaped bench. Stairs leading to the bench are set within the smaller archways to either side. A judge sits at the head of the bench beneath the Royal coat of arms with six men dressed in red and wearing wigs to either side. There is a large desk set within the bench, around which ten men in black robes and white stoles are sat. A man in plain clothes leans against the desk. The room is decorated with insignia and wooden panelling.

An illustration of proceedings at Doctors' Commons

Tags: court, illustration

Didactic

An exercise in shorthand critiquing Catholicism

Tags: Arthur P. Stone, Catholicism, Charles Dickens, deciphered shorthand, dictation exercise, notebook, Rome

Dickens's symbol for 'shorthand' written in Brachygraphy

Four Brachygraphy symbols written in blue ink.

The word 'shorthand' written in Brachygraphy from Dickens's Tavistock letter

Dickens's shorthand copy of a letter sent to S. A. Chappell on 22 November 1867

A photostat of both sides of a letter, side-by-side. On the right, a letterhead in Gothic font reads 'Gad's Hill Place, Higham by Rochester, Kent'. This is followed by a date (the month in shorthand) and 22 lines of shorthand arranged in six paragraphs. On the left is an inscription in longhand: 'Copy. Letter to S. A. Chappell. Boston. Friday 22nd November 1867.'

Shorthand copy of a letter sent by Dickens to his American promoter S. A. Chappell in 1867

Tags: Charles Dickens, letters (correspondence), public readings, shorthand

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