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Do Elgar's notebook pages give the key to his semicircle alphabet?

Asked 26 Oct 2026 by ·3 answers·0·0 following
Three answers, none aheadNone is ahead yet. See what would settle it.

Where it stands

Three answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Three are still possible.

Why it matters

The same symbols appear in an 1886 programme, a 1920s exercise book and the Cryptogram card. If any of them fixes the letter values, Dorabella becomes a question of reading, not breaking⁠[1]⁠[2]⁠[3].

Answers 3

Evidence: 1 for
Still possible
None of these.
Not tested enough to call either way
Evidence: none yet
Still possible
Evidence: 2 for
Still possible

History

  1. Hartmeier: the Liszt fragment has been read as 'GETS YOU TO JOY, AND HYSTERIOUS'.For: The exercise book records Elgar's alphabet with plaintext test phrases, so the letter values can be recovered.
  2. Schmeh puts forward: elgar used the symbol set with different keys at different times, so the notebook does not fix Dorabella's…
  3. Schmeh: it is not known whether the other cryptograms use the same encryption.For: Elgar used the symbol set with different keys at different times, so the notebook does not fix Dorabella's…
  4. Asked on this site
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