Holdings of the Stenographic Collection

Currently, the collection comprises approximately 53,000 media units:

  • Monographs (around 27,700 volumes, of which 21,100 are in German and 6,600 in foreign languages)
  • Journals (around 17,400 volumes, of which 12,400 are German-language and 5,000 foreign-language, as well as around 35 journals obtained on an ongoing basis)
  • Manuscripts
    • Autographs (around 3,000; mainly correspondence from both German and foreign-language stenographers and system inventors; also autographs in shorthand, e.g. from politicians and writers)   
    • Manuscript volumes (around 350; mostly several manuscripts bound together in bundles; mainly in shorthand)
    • Archival records (a total of 497 archive boxes of files and bequests).
      • Files (310 cartons: 1. files of the Stenographic Institute/State Office Dresden; 2. files of stenographic organisations, associations, clubs; 3. exhibition materials, association reports, newspaper cuttings etc.)
      • Bequests/partial bequests (19 bequests in a total of 187 boxes)
  • Original stenographs (in addition to 54 itemised collections e.g. on the Reichstag, the Saxon Parliament or practitioners of the GDR)
  • Akzidenzdrucke (a total of around 1,100; these include cards of all kinds - such as visitation, membership or congratulation cards - certificates and diplomas, various philatelic objects, posters and advertising materials)
  • Pictures (a total of around 2,250; mainly portraits of numerous stenographers and system inventors as well as group shots, e.g. of important events in the history of stenography; see also in the picture database of the Deutsche Fotothek)
  • Audiovisual media and non-book materials (a total of around 530; these include sound and shellac records, tape cassettes, audio CDs, videos, DVDs, diskettes and CD-ROMs)
  • Specialised certificates
    • Medals (around 600; mainly commemorative and honorary medals; also badges, plaques and buttons; see also in the Image database of the Deutsche Fotothek)
    • Typewriters (a total of 54 historical typewriters)
    • Art objects (a total of 19 objects; these include sculptures, fabrics, graphics, paintings and furniture)

All media are listed in catalogues or in internal inventories. For their use, see here.