Evermore Genealogy

1898 Ad for an Evercirculator from Liberal, Missouri

I found the below posted from Liberal, Missouri in 1898.

THE PHONOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE
Volume XII. January 1898, No. 1
Cincinnati, Ohio

WANTED – Five or six correspondents in Benn Pitman phonography to form an evercirculator. JAMES H ROBERTS, Box 91, Liberal, Missouri

So, what was an “evercirculator”? I go to an article in the Sep 1949 “The Rotarian” and find that an evercirculator was built on the theme of the round-robin letter.

…the idea calls for the continuous circulation of a notebook of writings, with an editor and, say, six contributors living in widely separated regions.

The editor obtains a loose-leaf notebook of convenient size, allows ten pages for each contributor, writes the first article, and mails the book to the second person on the list. Each contributor should have the book for a limited time–say, a week. He should read the contributions of the others, add his, and send the book to the next contributor. When the book makes its second or succeeding rounds, each contributor removes his first article and adds a new one.

What was Benn Pitman phonography?

Shorthand.

A John Roberts was included as an early (pre Walser) settler in the O. E. Harmon book The Story of Liberal. Perhaps James H. Roberts, who posted the requests for correspondents on Benn Pitman phonography, was a relative. Perhaps not.

I wonder if James got his evercirculator off the ground?


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2 responses to “1898 Ad for an Evercirculator from Liberal, Missouri”

  1. Sandie Avatar
    Sandie

    I have vols. I and II of Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers printed in Pitman shorthand with a book plate stating: William Jump winner of this prize given for the best original short story in the “Rose” Evercirculator. Octr. 1894.
    With best wishes.
    Conductor (and written in Pitman shorthand) G. (or J. as Pitman is phonetic) T. Hilton, 8 Frank Street, Wigan (which is in Lancashire, England)

  2. jmk Avatar
    jmk

    How bizarre and yet how wonderful, the Pickwick Papers in shorthand, something I never would have imagined. (Appropriately, my son and I this morning were discussing Dickens’ career and The Pickwick Papers etc.) Thanks for commenting. That’s interesting.

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