Gregg Writer on Microfilm



(by Paul for group greggshorthand)


I went to the Los Angeles Public Library recently to view the Gregg Writer on Microfilm.  The holding listed v. 1-52; Apr. 20, 1899-June 1950. However, they only had Volumes 6 through 49.  (It is possible that Volumes 1-5 and 50-52 were never filmed.)

Several other libraries across the U.S. have this microfilm set.  The films might be a good reference source, but the shorthand plates are not very readable.  The microfilm is in negative form (white lettering against a black background).  I was able to scan negative printouts and reverse the image to positive (black against white background) in a Paint program.  (See the "Diamond Necklace" key I recently posted for a sample.)

University Microfilms International (UMI) created these films some years back.  (Microfilm scanning is becoming obsolete, as magazines are scanned to TIF or JPG images and converted to PDF files.)  UMI went out of business.  All of their materials were bought by Proquest (734 761-4700).  A librarian mentioned that they charged a lot of money for materials.  I am not sure whether they sell to private individuals.  They probably will only sell the entire collection, not individual rolls of film.

Here is what I found:
--Most of the magazine ads were missing.  In some cases, all adds for a volume were placed in the back of a volume.  But that was rare.
--All of the Indexes were includes.  However, beginning with Volume 35, the indexes looked hand-typed on an old typewriter.  They were very hard to read or print out.
--It was easy to find the start of each volume because of there was a length of clear tape between each volume.
--The pages were scanned two pages to an image, which made them smaller and caused quality loss.
--The source material used varied.  Individual magazines, as well as bound volumes were used.  There was often mentioned that that original source material was poor.

Here is how the films were broken down by roll:
--Volumes 6-12 (9-1903 thru 8-1910)
--Volumes 13-16 (9-1910 thru 8-1914)
--Volumes 17-22 (9-1914 thru 8-1920)
--Volumes 23-29 (9-1920 thru 6-1926)
--Volumes 30-36 (9-1927 thru 6-1934)
--Volumes 37-43 (9-1934 thru 6-1941)
--Volumes 44-49 (9-1941 thru 6-1947)

Here is the card catalog listing.
The Gregg writer.
Branch Holdings Central Library holdings shown. To check branch holdings go to http://www.lapl.org/catalog/branch_periodicals.html
Publisher New York, Gregg Pub. Co.
Description 52 v. ill. 23-25 cm.
Current frequency Monthly (except July and Aug.), Sept. 1924-June 1950
Former frequency Monthly, <1899>-June 1924
Publication History v. 1-52; Apr. 20, 1899-June 1950.
Notes "A magazine for secretaries, stenographers, and typists."
Subject(s) Shorthand Periodicals.
Typewriting Periodicals.
Secretaries Periodicals.
Continued by Today's secretary (OCoLC)6608804


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