Written by
Peters, Cortez W. Jr., American, 1925 - 1993
Edited by
Ferrara, Gina M.
Published by
McGraw-Hill Education, American, founded 1888
Photograph by
Karp, Ken, American
Date
1989
Medium
ink on paper (fiber product) with cardboard
Dimensions
H x W x D (Closed): 11 1/8 × 8 3/4 × 5/8 in. (28.3 × 22.2 × 1.6 cm)
H x W x D (Open): 20 1/16 × 8 3/4 × 1 3/8 in. (51 × 22.2 × 3.5 cm)
Caption
Cortez W. Peters, Sr. was the first African American to win and hold the title of the World’s Accuracy Typist upon winning the World’s Amateur Typing Contest in 1925.
Born in 1906 in Baltimore, Maryland, Peters taught himself to type at the age of 11 after his father, a watchmaker, received a used typewriter as payment for his services. His self-taught style accounted for his unique typing methodology for developing accuracy and speed.
In 1934 Peters, Sr. opened the Cortez Peters Business School in Washington, D.C. Over the next seven years two more locations opened, in Baltimore (1935) and Chicago (1941), and remained in operation until the mid-1970s. The schools were among the only privately owned African American schools in the nation, and were among the first to teach the professional skill or typing to a black audience. In addition to typing, the schools also taught shorthand and other clerical skills to help African Americans break into white collar professions. Eventually the school expanded to cover 22 subjects and taught an estimated 100,000 students across all three locations.
Cortez W. Peters, Jr. helped his father run these institutions, eventually taking over after his father’s death in 1964. Peters, Jr. was an accomplished typist in his own right, winning several awards for both speed and accuracy. Together the pair honed and taught the Cortez Peters typing methodology in their schools and later through books and online. This method is knows as an “individual diagnostic/ prescriptive method” and focuses on identifying issues with an individual’s typing methods and developing personalized strategies to create new learned behaviors. This method is seen as the foundation of modern typing instruction.
Description
A book titled, Cortez Peters Championship Keyboarding, Skillbuilding, & Applications, written by Cortez Peters, Jr. The front cover features a color photograph of a large gold trophy cup set against a red background. The trophy is casted in a soft spotlight. It has two (2) handles and a dark base. The background above the trophy cup is dotted white. The author’s name/title is printed in white block text at the top, [CORTEZ PETERS] and is framed above and below with yellow and green lines. Below is the rest of the title, [CHAMPIONSHIP / KEYBOARDING, / SKILLBUILDING, / & APPLICATIONS] and is framed above and below with red and yellow lines. The back cover is dark red. In the bottom right corner is the publisher’s name printed in white text that reads [GREGG]. Below is the publisher’s logo, a white box with red text that reads [Mc / Graw / Hill]. Below the logo the ISBN number in a white box with black text that reads [ISBN 0-07-049635-8]. The book’s spine is at the top edge of the cover and the book opens vertically. The interior pages are white with black text and blue text, headers, graphics, diagrams, and bullet points. The book also features diagrams and black-and-white photographs. An inscription on the title page reads [10-18-88 / To Mom, / Thanks for helping / make this come true! / Love, CWP[?]]. The book has one hundred and six (106) pages plus thirteen (13) pages of publisher information, contents, user instructions, index, and equipment diagrams.
Place printed
New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
Classification
Documents and Published Materials-Published Works
Type
textbooks
Topic
Business
Communication
Education
Labor
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Joanne Peters King and Darryl Wayne Joyce
Object number
2019.30.3
Restrictions & Rights
© McGraw-Hill Education
Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5b6cc00d2-6a3f-4f77-8a8d-e6ba2985476d

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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