telegraph shorthand

CWYCIT (call when you come in town)
GMLT (give my love to)
HYFMO (have you filled my order)
SMTBOP (send me ten barrels of pork)
MHII (my health is improving)

graphite on paper
each 22 h x 30 w
2012, 2015

from telegraph shorthand published in Alfred Vail's 1845 text Description of the American Electro Telegraph

Since the beginning of encoding information into electrical form for transmission, we’ve being consistently striving for the exact same things… It is fascinating to see, published in 1845, recommendations for telegraph shorthand to compress information into smaller packages, no different than our contemporary abbreviated texting language…

reference: The Information, James Gleik, 2012, Vintage