Characteristics
Like Gregg shorthand, and unlike the older Pitman shorthand, Thomas Natural Shorthand is a "light-line system", i.e. a system which does not employ shading (light and heavy strokes) to distinguish symbols. Unlike earlier light-line systems such as Pernin phonography, cursive rather than angular strokes are employed. However, Thomas Natural differs from Gregg and resembles Pitman in its use of positional writing—vowels are deduced according to whether a form is written on, above, or below the line of writing.
The system aims to be simpler to learn than competing symbol shorthand systems of the time, boasting "only twelve word signs and one abbreviating principle". Total mastery of the system could therefore be achieved much quicker than the major court-reporting systems, and although this simplicity did come with a loss of speed, the speeds achieved were still adequate for secretarial use.
The system's failure to achieve popularity came from its "jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none" position. Those looking for an easy to learn system were far more likely to choose alphabetic systems such as Forkner shorthand or Speedwriting; those interested in developing serious shorthand speed were drawn to more established systems with a court reporting track record such as Gregg or Pitman. To the untrained eye, Thomas Natural shorthand bears a close resemblance to Gregg shorthand (despite being unrelated); it was necessary to actually undertake a study of the system to learn how much simpler it really was than Gregg.
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