Our #SolveItDickens challenge for November 2022 is headed by a longhand date – ‘Sunday night 5 February 1860’ – rather than a longhand title. What does this suggest about the type of document this might be? Like other recent challenges, this page comes from the notebooks of Dickens’s shorthand pupil, Arthur Stone, at the Free Library of Philadelphia.
Use our ‘Resources’ to help you decipher the text, look out for repeat symbols, and consider searching distinctive words/phrases to see if you can find a source text to assist with your transcription. Remember that it is unlikely that you will be able to solve the whole text, but even one new symbol can be useful. Anyone who successfully describes a new symbol with be credited as its discoverer on our Roll of Honour.
Please complete the entry form and email us with your solutions by 30 November 2022. We will publish the results on 19 December 2022.
Entry forms
The entry form is available in .docx and .pdf formats for your convenience. Please let us know if you require an alternative format.