Miles Bartholomew (nicknamed the “Father of the Stenograph”) developed the first shorthand machine in 1877, the first machine to be regularly used in the court reporting field. Ten keys could be pressed singularly to create a series of dots and dashes (think Morse code).

Anderson Shorthand Typewriter (1889)

This machine, created by George Kerr Anderson, had the first keyboard that allowed multiple keys to be pressed at once. This typewriter used English characters instead of code, allowing words and symbols to be written.

Ireland Stenotype Shorthand Machine (1911)

The Ireland Stenotype Shorthand Machine was developed by The Universal Stenotype Company and was 40 pounds lighter than its predecessor. It had a totally depressible keyboard, allowing reporters to record numbers and words phonetically with fewer strokes.

Master Model Stenotype (1914)

Also developed by the Universal Stenotype Company, this machine was even lighter at only six pounds instead of eleven. This was the last machine produced by the company, as it went bankrupt during World War I.

LaSalle Stenotype (1927)

This machine differed from the others with its use of a two-spool ribbon system. Unfortunately, this was another company cut short by recession (the Great Depression). The court reporting industry as a whole slowed during this time.

Stenograph Shorthand Machine

This machine came in two models: secretarial and reporter. The Secretarial a single 11-inch ribbon and held 100 folds of paper, while the Reporter held 300. As compared to the others, this machine was known for being quiet.

A good number of things changed with the Data Writer. It’s organ-type switches allowed for good contact and transmission with minimum key pressure. It encoded a magnetic tape with machine notes for computer transcription. Upon its release, it could be attached to a cable connected to a separate tape recorder. By 1970, cartridge was used, and by 1974 cassettes were used.

Stenograph Machine (1982)

This machine has many of the same feature sof the previous model, but it was the first iteration to have a plastic shell, or casing. This made the machine more durable.

SmartWriter (1987)

With computers more widespread, the SmartWriter was made with the ability to encode machine notes on a floppy disk, which was a massive change in the court reporting industry.