Have you ever tried to read a doctor’s prescription, only to find yourself wondering whether it was written in English– maybe you accidentally stumbled upon someone’s abstract art sketchbook? If so, you’re reading the right blog post!
I work as a research assistant on the Assembling a City project. The bulk of my work so far has involved transcribing and cleaning data from a series of customs house and harbour master dues ledgers into spreadsheets, which often means decoding that kind of “abstract art” into something legible. For example, the image below says “1 hhd Saleratus,” but what does that mean? Keep reading, and not only will you find out, but you’ll also learn some handy tips and tricks to help you get there yourself.
The spreadsheets I’ve been working on will be used to create a database that can answer a variety of questions that may crop up throughout the project. For example, if we need to find out how many tons of coal were imported to Toronto harbours in 1840, we will be able to manipulate the database to show us that data.
This database is not my only experience with transcription; I have also been working on transcribing and summarizing newspaper articles relevant to Toronto’s energy history in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. So, I thought I would share some pointers to help anybody else who is navigating the tantalizing world of transcription!
Practice Makes Perfect
Spending a lot of time with the work you’re transcribing is the undoubtedly the best way to get better at decoding hard-to-read writing. The document itself is your best source for understanding the intricacies of another person’s handwriting. For example, if you encounter a letter that looks more like a doodle than a part of the English alphabet, take a moment to search through the rest of your source to find a similar shape. Odds are you will be able to determine what the letter/symbol is by finding a clearer example elsewhere in the text. This strategy works with words and unfamiliar phrases, too.
It is also a good idea to get familiar with the language that was used in historical context of your source. For example, the House of Industry books I am currently working on were written in Canada in the mid-nineteenth century. Knowing this tells me that the currency being used at the time included shillings, pence, and dollars. This background knowledge is valuable when I see “5/,” as I can determine that likely represents five shillings. To confirm this, I can look at other entries in the source to see if the word “shilling” is ever spelled out in place of the “/” symbol.
I highly recommend this article by Judith Batchelor, as it offers a lot of helpful insights on language evolution over time, including name abbreviations, punctuation, and archaic letters. If you want to practice deciphering handwriting but do not have a specific source to work with, I also highly recommend Cambridge University’s Online Handwriting Course. It is a fantastic resource that offers 28 different manuscripts ranked by difficulty, so you can gradually increase your skills.
Keep a Journal
I keep a journal to log my hours, but I also jot down any questions or important patterns I notice. For example, the handwriting in the ledger I am currently working on has very similar Ws and Hs, so I made a note of that in my journal. This will be helpful information when it comes time to clean up the data I am entering.
Keeping a journal also helps me remember specific issues, like the one above, so that next time I see a ship named “HmcArthur,” I can use that knowledge alongside context clues (in this instance, the fact “Wm” is often used as a shorthand spelling of “William” and the author of this ledger starts his capital A’s with a curl) to realize that it probably means “Wm Arthur.”
Keeping notes on my transcribing journey has also helped me memorize a lot of the common names that appear throughout the ledger, so I have become a lot more efficient at recognizing them amid the messy handwriting.
Keep a Google Tab Open
It is easy to write transcription off as mindless work, but a curious mind can make the job much more interesting. Oftentimes, a word that I am not familiar with will come up in the ledger, so I like to give it a quick Google search to ensure I am spelling it correctly. I have learned a lot about units of measurement, resources, and archaic language by doing this. For example, when I first came across the abbreviation “hhd,” I thought it must be a misspelling and was unsure whether it was a commodity name, unit, etc. So, I looked up “hhd unit” (it stands for “hogshead,” which is a unit of measurement for commodities stored in barrels or casks) and from that point on was able to accurately spell and categorize the data.
Google is great if you are working with hard-to-read handwriting, as you can misspell a word and it will still know what you mean. One of the first times I saw “saleratus” (which I now know is another term for baking soda) in the ledger, I Googled “sae eratus” and the search engine was able to correct me and steer me in the right direction. It is also a good way to error-check your work as you go, which will make data cleanup a bit easier. Searching up names that reappear throughout your work can also be a great way to immerse yourself more fully in the project, and it gives you a small break from the monotony of the task at hand.
Include a “Transcriber Notes” Section on Your Spreadsheet
Similar to the journal, this has saved me a lot. Sometimes, I will transcribe “rules” like “Ws and Hs look similar” in this section to maintain consistency and to make the ledger easier to decode for others. I tend to be very generous with the use of this section as I believe it is better to overexplain your view of the ledger than to forget key themes or issues within it.
Get Familiar with Excel
I am by no means an Excel expert, but knowing your way around some of the shortcuts will save you an immense amount of time. A quick YouTube tutorial or conversation with your supervisor to see what tips and tricks they have will save you hours. Here’s an Excel tutorial that functions as a great starting point.
Meet with Your Supervisor Regularly
I meet with my supervisor and the other research assistant once every two weeks. I often go into these meetings feeling like I have no questions or concerns, but I always come away with valuable insight. Sometimes it feels like transcribing means you have not been learning anything, but you will inadvertently pick up a lot of information that could be helpful to your supervisors or coworkers. This is also a great opportunity to ask questions that will allow you to understand the purpose of your work better.
Additionally, since your supervisor is likely more knowledgeable on the subject area of your project and more familiar with its terminology and names, they may be better equipped to decode a piece of handwriting that you are stumped on.
Take Breaks
It can be very tempting to sit and work for hours with no breaks to get the work out of the way. However, I have noticed that I tend to perform worse when I do this as I start to go into autopilot mode after a certain point. I am much more focused and engaged when I let myself get up and move around regularly. I try to get up and stretch or take a short walk every half hour or so. Sometimes, if your schedule is flexible, it can be really nice to work for half an hour and then take a half hour to study for classes before going back to work. I tend to do this on days where I notice that fatigue and autopilot are causing me to make mistakes.
Podcasts, Music, and Audiobooks
Unfortunately, transcribing can feel a bit mind-numbing sometimes. I have found that a good podcast, audiobook, or music is great for making the time fly by. It is also helpful for keeping you awake and engaged! With that being said, sometimes it is beneficial to fully immerse yourself in the document you are working with. I usually try to work in two-hour chunks, so I often go for the first half hour or hour without any background noise. You’ll be surprised with where your mind wanders as you fully engage with your work; you may pick up on new patterns or find yourself asking more questions. I also find that taking time away from auditory distractions makes you appreciate your podcasts and music more, gives you something to look forward to, and can even make the time go by faster.
Conclusion
Transcribing can be difficult, but it can also be rewarding. My ability to recognize patterns, patience, and curiosity have all benefitted from doing this work. I have also learned so much more about our project than I had expected. I have a much better grasp on what kinds of resources were being brought into Toronto in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, who was receiving them, how much they cost to ship, and where some of them ended up. I am excited to see my relationship to this project continue to flourish as I move onto the next ledger, newspaper, etc. Transcribing can certainly be surface-level or mind-numbing if you allow it to be, but you get out what you put into it. All this is to say that if you do your best to be curious, do extra research, and keep notes on the work you are doing, you can gain so much from transcription!
Feature image: Excerpt from Toronto Custom House Manifests, 1838-141. Archives of Ontario.
Kenzie Kosowan
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- Transcribing Toronto: Tips from a Research Assistant - February 5, 2026