Fifty Mysterious Postcards

Regular price €19.99
1st world war
A01=Kathryn Baird
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
Author_Kathryn Baird
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Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=BJ
Category=CFL
Category=DND
Category=HBTB
Category=NHTB
Category=WQN
Category=WQP
Category=WTLC
COP=United Kingdom
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_dictionaries-language-reference
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_non-fiction
eq_travel
first world war
historical postcards
Language_English
nostalgia
nostalgic
old postcards
PA=Available
pitman messages
pitman shorthand
Pitman Shorthand Messages from the Golden Age of the Postcard
postcards
Price_€10 to €20
PS=Active
short hand
shorthand
sir isaac pitman
softlaunch
world war one
ww1

Product details

  • ISBN 9781803990460
  • Dimensions: 216 x 198mm
  • Publication Date: 15 Sep 2022
  • Publisher: The History Press Ltd
  • Publication City/Country: GB
  • Product Form: Paperback
  • Language: English
Delivery/Collection within 10-20 working days

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The lines, circles, ticks, hooks, dots and dashes of Pitman shorthand used by some postcard writers during the early twentieth century are obscure to most people. Could the mysterious messages contain scandalous gossip, tales of adventure or declarations of undying love?

Fifty Mysterious Postcards presents fascinating examples from the ‘Golden Age’ of the postcard, each with a message written in the dying art of Pitman shorthand. The rules of Pitman have changed since the postcards were written and posted over 100 years ago, but careful transcription has unlocked their meaning to bring stories of penfriends, sweethearts, holidays and the First World War to life once more.

KATHRYN BAIRD learnt to write Pitman Shorthand in the 1970s and taught it in the 1980s after qualifying to teach in Further Education. She has worked as a Medical Secretary, a Lecturer in FE, and a school teacher and examiner. She became fascinated by the mysterious shorthand messages used on so many postcards and has collected and transcribed over 300 postcards with Pitman messages. Her transcription of a 1915 diary was covered by the BBC and several newspapers, including The Daily Telegraph, in 2019. She lives in Peterborough.