Abstract Language, Margarete Gibbons' 1902 Completely Full Stenography Notebook early lessons Part of what really makes

Part of what really makes this little snapshot for me is the tiny sun (a glimpse of a sign or billboard I guess) peeking out just about the roof of the motel at far right

I might 10 1/4" x 1 7/8" x 2 (3 3/8" tall with jaws open)

when just the right spot to rest and look around is found

I believe this hand-forged and rasped iron tool was made for a farrier's use--with the rasped areas on either side used for filing a horse's hooves

set off perfectly by the bold orange mount

Abstract Language, Margarete Gibbons' 1902 Completely Full Stenography Notebook early lessons Part of what really makesI find stenography shorthand fascinating, though I can't decipher a single symbol! Pretty much a lost form at this point, shorthand was is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that was developed as a means of increasing speed and brevity in writing, especially used in taking dictation. Of course technology has largely obliterated the need for it, and the capacity to decipher it which makes these pages of intensive mark making now like floating