Although these larger dictionaries do not give the latest words and jargon, there are sufficient to enable the writer to create new outlines intelligently. They are no longer in normal print (to my knowledge), as demand is no doubt too low. The only one of these that I believe is still in print is the small white pocket dictionary. This is just about sufficient for learners, but not enough for the serious shorthand writer. Unfortunately an online shorthand dictionary for New Era is nowhere to be found.

I am repeating here part of my cautionary note on Links page regarding the online digitized shorthand dictionary:

"Your internet searches for an online Pitman's Shorthand and English dictionary may come across the following link from American Libraries Internet Archive:

www.archive.org/details/englishshorthand00pitmiala

Please note that this is a digitization of the Centenary version of 1913  and not New Era which did not appear until 1922. There are many differences in theory details between the two versions and so the above book is not suitable for learners, but is of course of great interest to existing writers. The text-version generated by OCR from the scans is not really of use, as there is no shorthand, and the text produced has crossed all the columns, thus shredding all the entries."

I have seen the big dictionary available online for sale "New" but I noticed in one excerpt that it said "Centenary", so this seems to be the same as the free download above, the "new" description probably referring to the paper "print on demand" copy that is being offered.

Second-hand bookshops and Ebay are where you will have a choice of the bigger dictionaries, and thankfully still at reasonable prices (Ebay UK has the most Pitman's books). When buying secondhand, ensure that the book is described as New Era. The title page will always have New Era on it. Book No.2 below is the only one of the five that does not have the words New Era on the cover.

Any book called "Pitman Shorterhand" will contain Pitman 2000, as this was the name that it started out with in 1971. The version called "Shorterhand" is very slightly different (regarding thick and thin vowel signs) from the subsequent Pitman 2000 editions that followed, so it would seem better to study the latter if you are doing that version of Pitman's, to ensure compatibility across your study books.

It is convenient to have the definition alongside the word, but not essential. Having the maximum number of shorthand outlines available is absolutely essential and you will never regret your purchase. A voluminous shorthand dictionary is far more valuable than any gold-nibbed shorthand pen, but I sincerely hope that you will be able to own both of these treasures.

Making do with "home-made" outlines through lack of a dictionary will produce a diluted, less efficient and less reliable version of shorthand. Diligence in dictionary use brings the desired results.

There are many thousands of outlines throughout this website (at least 10,000), mostly on the theory and reading pages, and you can use my search page to find the one you are after. All shorthand on the site has its text underneath. My shorthand blog may also yield the particular outline you are searching for.

Shorthand books (and maybe even pens) have a way of emerging from dusty storage when friends and family realise you are studying it. Time for an extra note in your email signature text "Rest your typing fingers and send me your latest news and chat in a sound file so I can practise my Pitman's Shorthand!"

If you are not learning, but have Auntie's old unused shorthand dictionary/instruction book gathering dust, please consider making it available to today's upcoming writers, either through Ebay or your local charity shop. Oxfam have branches that specialise in books, and this is a good place to ensure the copy is handled carefully and made available at a reasonable price, benefitting everyone involved. The committed student/writer will not mind the condition of the copy, the scribbles or the ink blots, they will see past that and really value the information that they gain. The marks in my books remind me of their history, the student toiling to master each page, and they give a sense of continuity of learning.

The fastest writer had to start somewhere. Did the person who wrote these laboured marks enjoy their lessons, or indeed did they have a choice? Did they relish speed victories, have an encouraging teacher, and finally achieve a usable speed? Did they actually use their shorthand in later life? Maybe it was a child drawing the marks, exactly what I would have done in very early years if I had had this book to play with!

Dictionaries 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5, given in size order.
Dimensions given below are width x length x thickness, the ruler is 30cm/12 inches.
Pictures of the page spread show fingers in order to indicate scale.

(1) THE PITMAN DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH AND SHORTHAND New Era Edition Publisher/Date Pitman Publishing Ltd 1974 ISBN 0 273 36137 6 Dimensions 14 x 22 x 5.5 cm Cover Red, Hardback Spine Stitched Introduction 32 pages giving in detail examples of the application of the rules, some special outlines, and how proper names should be written. Index to Introduction 10 pages longhand alphabetical list, plus page numbers, of all the words used for illustrating the shorthand principles. Dictionary 836 pages containing 100,000 shorthand outlines (all with a dotted line showing the position), longhand word and meaning. Short forms and contractions shown in italics. Appendix of Proper Names 42 pages of town, country and personal names. NOTE: The dotted lines occasionally obscure the dot vowels in some places. The dark blue version contains Pitman 2000 outlines, and it does say this on the cover and spine. It is the same size as the red one, but three-quarters of the thickness, with 75,000 outlines. It also lists the differences between Pitman 2000 and New Era.	Dark blue = Pitman 2000 dictionary
(2) PITMAN’S ENGLISH AND SHORTHAND DICTIONARY New Era Edition Publisher Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd (no date shown) ISBN None shown Dimensions 12.5 x 19 x 4 cm Cover Pale blue, Hardback Spine Stitched Introduction 34 pages pages giving in detail examples of the application of the rules, some special outlines, and how proper names should be written. New Era Changes 4 pages showing how New Era differs from Centenary shorthand. Index to Introduction 8 longhand alphabetical list, plus page numbers, of all the words used for illustrating the shorthand principles. Dictionary 740 pages containing approx 60,000 shorthand outlines, longhand word and meaning. Dotted line is only shown for 1st and 3rd position short forms. Short forms and contractions shown in italics. Proper Names 37 pages of town, country and personal names. Full List of Grammalogues 3 pages showing all the short forms in stroke order. Contractions 3 pages of the commonest contractions plus a third of a page with some common phrase logograms. Latin Prefixes 2 pages showing the prefix, meaning and examples. No shorthand. Greek Prefixes 2 pages showing the prefix meaning and examples. No shorthand. Foreign Words, Phrases and Sayings 11 pages giving the phrase, language and translation to English idiom/equivalent. Appendix 36 pages of new words. NOTE: Does not state number of entries, so the entry count is my own average; I believe the number of entries is probably identical to the slimmer volume below. The print size is very clear, helped by the bold main words. An educated guess at the date of my copy is 1950's, going by the new words in the appendix.
(3) PITMAN’S SHORTHAND DICTIONARY Eleventh Edition (New Era) Publisher Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd ISBN None shown Dimensions 12.5 x 19 x 2 cm Hardback Cover Light blue, Hardback Spine Stitched Introduction 34 pages pages giving in detail examples of the application of the rules, some special outlines, and how proper names should be written. New Era Changes 4 pages showing how New Era differs from Centenary shorthand. Index to Introduction 8 pages alphabetical list of all the words used for illustrating the shorthand principles. Dictionary 290 pages containing 60,000 shorthand outlines. Dotted line is only shown for 1st and 3rd position short forms. Short forms and contractions shown in italics. Proper Names 37 pages of town, country and personal names. Full List of Grammalogues 3 pages of all the short forms in stroke order. Contractions 3 pages of the commonest contractions plus a third of a page with some common phrase logograms. NOTE: The main dictionary part is probably identical to No.2 but without the definitions.
(4) POCKET DICTIONARY NEW ERA – Pitman New Era Shorthand Publisher Addison Wesley Longman Limited. First published 1975, Reprinted 1985, 86, 87, 88, 90, 92, 93, 96, 97 ISBN 0-582-29890-3 Dimensions 8.5 x 13.5 x 1.25 cm Cover White with red and black titles, Softback Spine Glued Dictionary 217 pages giving shorthand outlines for 20,000 words. Dotted lines given only for 1st and 3rd position short forms. Short forms and contractions shown in italics. NOTE: Very clear shorthand. The book does not lie flat, as the spine is glued, not stitched.
(5) PITMAN POCKET SHORTHAND DICTIONARY New Era Edition Publisher Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd ISBN 0 273 40954 9 Dimensions 7.5 x 12.5 x 1.25 cm Hardback Colour Royal blue Spine Stitched Dictionary 217 pages giving shorthand outlines for 20,000 words. Dotted lines given only for 1st and 3rd position short forms. Short forms and contractions shown in italics. NOTE: This older version does lie flat, and the print is slightly smaller than the above version.

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