"The New Standard Course of Gregg Shorthand" was the working title of the shorthand series that would replace the Anniversary series, which became the Simplified series when published. In a previous post, I showed how the list of brief forms for the "New Standard Course" was very different from the Simplified series, resembling the Anniversary series. I also posted the final list of changes in the Simplified manual. This post is a compilation of articles from The Gregg Newsletter from September 1948 to May 1949 covering news about the new shorthand manual, showing how the "New Standard Course" became the Simplified series. Here is a breakdown of the articles:
September-October 1948: Mrs. Gregg Describes New Manual
November 1948: Transfer to "New" Manual to Be Easy
December 1948:
1. The New Standard Course in Gregg Shorthand by Clyde I. Blanchard (First of four planned articles about the new manual.)
2. Anniversary Series to Continue
3. How to Get Your "New" Manual
January 1949: Brief Forms in the New Standard Course in Gregg Shorthand by Clyde I. Blanchard (Second of four planned articles about the new manual.)
February 1949: Past Tense, Diphthongs, and New Unit Organization in the New Standard Course in Gregg Shorthand by Clyde I. Blanchard (Third of four planned articles about the new manual.)
March 1949:
1. The New "Gregg Shorthand Manual Simplified" Goes to Press (this is the first mention of the word "Simplified")
2. First-Year Simplified-Manual Program
3. Teaching Innovations in the New Manual
April 1949:
1. Questions and Answers about the New Gregg Shorthand Simplified Series
2. Pupils Gain in the New Manuals
May 1949:
1. What About Those Longer Outlines?
2. 'Most-Used Words' Is Now Ready
As you can see, the fourth planned article by Clyde I. Blanchard, Editor-in-Chief of The Gregg Publishing Company, was never published. Moreover, the March 1949 newsletter announced the appointment of Charles Zoubek as Gregg Shorthand editor. My sense is that the authors received feedback from teachers regarding the new manual in January 1949, and during February 1949 made a substantial rewrite. While we would probably never know what really happened to make so many drastic changes, the attached documents are very interesting from a historical point of view.
Attachment: new-standard-course-gregg-shorthand.pdfLabels: general, simplified