This work is a presentation of the system of phonetic shorthand, the elementary parts of which were originally invented by Isaac Pitman, of Bath, England, in 1837 ; which was modified, improved, and named " Phonography " by him, in 1840; and which, developed and perfected through the suggestions, experiments, and tests of a multitude of practical writers in England and America, reached, substantially, its present form in the later fifties.

The first edition of this Manual, written by Benn Pitman (brother of the inventor of phonography) in 1855, appeared in no fewer than five distinct issues before i860, when the work was first revised. Numerous issues followed up to 1885, in which year it was again revised in collaboration by Benn Pitman and Jerome B. Howard, by whom the present revised and improved edition is also prepared. But slight additions have been made to the materiel of the system in the course of. these several revisions; neither has the plan of presentation been essentially changed, it being felt that any marked alteration of method would be accompanied by a diminution of that clearness and simplicity for which the book has been so long conspicuous among shorthand text-books and which have made it so eminently successful for both self and class instruction. The chief advances in the present revision consist in a somewhat modified and improved order of presenting the several appendages, in the earlier introduction of logo-grams, with suitable exercises, and in the addition of a new and copious set of dictation exercises.

It is natural, considering the astonishing spread of phonography of late years, that many variations upon the recognized system should be published and to a limited extent adopted. The authors of this work have felt, however, after careful examination and test of many hundreds of supposed improvements, that they were, for the most part, the expression of mere individual taste or caprice. Those slight changes and improvements adopted in the present revised edition are believed to be such as are of real importance. They have all stood the test of some years of actual practise and have received the general approval of reporters and phoneticians.

It is natural, too, that many conscientious teachers, zealous to help their students over the road to phonographic proficiency in the shortest possible time, should have worked out what they believe to be improved modes of presenting the system, and we have, therefore, had offeredto us a remarkable variety of " short-cut" methods purporting to teach "the reporting style from the beginning." The essential fallacy which underlies these endeavors to impart a working knowledge of the abbreviated form of phonography before giving the student a rational understanding of the system in its broad, elementary aspect, has been generally recognized by enlightened teachers. Continued experience amply demonstrates that in phonography, as in some other things, "the longest way 'round is the shortest way home." Sound reporting habits can not be developed by methods of instruction which neglect thorough training in the elementary parts of the system. The "corresponding style," too often despised for its own sake, is found, after all, to be the safest and shortest road by which the learner may reach the coveted skill of the amanuensis or reporter.

It will be perceived from the foregoing that the present work is the oldest as well as the newest shorthand instruction-book now in print in this country. It has been for over forty years the standard text-book of phonography in America, while the form of phonography it presents, and which through it has come to be often called " the Benn Pitman system," is written by a very large majority of American pho-nographers. This fact received signal recognition when the following words were printed in the report of the United States Commissioner of Education for the year 1887-88: "To supply the increasing demand for stenographers, schools of shorthand and typewriting have been established in various parts of the country, and, with few exceptions, all business colleges now have a 'department of shorthand.' A number of systems are taught but that of Benn Pitman is more generally used than any other in this country, and may be called the American System."