Browse Items · The Dickens Code

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

Shorthand memo by Dickens written on the back of a letter from George Lovejoy, dated 29 May 1841

A photostat of a shorthand memo. Three paragraphs of Brachygraphy characters arranged across nine lines.

A shorthand memo in which Dickens outlines his reasons for declining Lovejoy's proposal to stand for a seat in Parliament. The surviving longhand letter is dated 31 May 1841.

Tags: Charles Dickens, letters (correspondence), parliament, shorthand

Typed letter Higenbottam/Carlton Page 2

A sheet of paper with three lines of typewritten print followed by a signature and postscript handwritten in black ink. The postscript is a line of Brachygraphy shorthand characters followed by a transcription.

The second page of a typed letter to Carlton from Higenbottam concerning their attempts to transcribe Dickens's shorthand

Tags: Frank Higenbottam, letters (correspondence), shorthand, transcription, William J. Carlton

Typed letter Higenbottam/Carlton Page 1

A sheet of paper headed 'Royal Museum & Public Library, Canterbury' with the organisation crest. A typewritten letter with date, address, recipient and twenty-five lines of writing arranged in three paragraphs. In the first paragraph, four Brachygraphy shorthand symbols are added by hand in black ink. The last paragraph continues onto the next page.

The first page of a typed letter to Carlton from Higenbottam concerning their attempts to transcribe Dickens's shorthand

Tags: Frank Higenbottam, letters (correspondence), shorthand, transcription, William J. Carlton

Traced shorthand letter with partial solution

A brown sheet of tracing paper with holes punched down the left side. The outline of a smaller page torn from a notebook, also with holes punched down the left side, can be seen through the tracing paper. Written in black at the top is 'Dickens's Shorthand' and the date. 11 lines of shorthand characters in black ink are visible through the tracing paper. On top, written on the tracing paper layer, are potential transcriptions.

A tracing of a shorthand letter partially transcribed

Tags: Charles Dickens, letters (correspondence), shorthand, transcription

The Tavistock Letter

Notepaper headed in a gothic typeface 'Tavistock House, Tavistock Square, London, W.C'. On the paper, handwritten in ink, fifteen lines of Brachygraphy shorthand set in four paragraphs.

Shorthand copy of a letter that Dickens wrote to J. T. Delane, editor of The Times, in May 1859

Tags: Charles Dickens, deciphered shorthand, letters (correspondence)

Verso side of Dickens's shorthand copy of a letter from John Forster to Richard Bentley, dated 22 October 1838

A sheet of paper that shows fold lines in half horizontally and vertically. A red catalogue stamp just off centre. In the top right quarter, handwritten in ink, are details about the subject matter: 'Oliver Twist copy letter [...] Bentley from Forster October 22nd 1838'.

Verso side of Dickens's shorthand copy of a letter, containing details about the subject matter in longhand

Tags: Charles Dickens, contract negotiations, John Forster, letters (correspondence), Richard Bentley, shorthand

Recto side of Dickens's shorthand copy of a letter from John Forster to Richard Bentley, dated 22 October 1838

A sheet of paper with nine lines of Brachygraphy shorthand handwritten in ink, occasionally interspersed by Roman letters ('B', 'OT', 'D'). The characters are arranged in three paragraphs. Beneath, to the left, is signed 'Bentley' with the date.

Dickens's shorthand copy of a letter from John Forster to Richard Bentley, proposing that Bentley come to a new agreement with Dickens

Tags: Charles Dickens, contract negotiations, John Forster, letters (correspondence), Richard Bentley, shorthand

Verso side of a shorthand copy of a letter from Charles Dickens to his publisher Richard Bentley, dated 14 July 1837

A sheet of paper that shows fold lines in half horizontally and vertically. A red catalogue stamp just off centre. In the bottom left quarter an upside-down longhand note reads 'copy letter [...] Friday 14th July 1837', handwritten in ink. At the top of the page, two and a half lines of Brachygraphy shorthand.

Shorthand copy of a letter in which Dickens proposes a revised agreement to his publisher, Richard Bentley

Tags: Charles Dickens, contract negotiations, letters (correspondence), Richard Bentley, shorthand

Recto side of a shorthand copy of a letter from Charles Dickens to his publisher Richard Bentley, dated 14 July 1837

A sheet of paper with nineteen lines of Brachygraphy shorthand handwritten in ink. The lines are arranged in four paragraphs and interspersed with numerical figures, including '£600', '£700', and 38. The titles of two novels are also marked by Roman capitals: 'BR' for 'Barnaby Rudge' and 'OT' for 'Oliver Twist'.

Shorthand copy of a letter in which Dickens proposes a revised agreement to his publisher, Richard Bentley

Tags: Charles Dickens, contract negotiations, letters (correspondence), Richard Bentley, shorthand

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