Created c. 1817 by Franz Xaver Gabelsberger, it was first fully described in the 1834 textbook Anleitung zur deutschen Redezeichenkunst oder Stenographie and became rapidly used.

Vowels in the middle of words are represented symbolically, mainly by varying the position and the impact of the following consonant signs.

Modern German shorthand, Deutsche Einheitskurzschrift, retains most of the consonant signs of Gabelsberger's alphabet but has a modified system of vowel representation.

Gabelsberger shorthand was adopted into many languages and was particularly successful in Scandinavia, the Slavic countries, and Italy.

A host of shorthand systems has since appeared that build on the graphic principles laid down by Gabelsberger.