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COHRECT COMPOSITION
THE PRACTICE OF TYPOGRAPHY
CORRECT COMPOSITION A TREATISE ON SPELLING ABBKEVIATIONS, THE COMPOUNDrNG AND DIVISION OF WORDS, THE PROPER USE OF FIGURES
AND NUMERALS, ITALIC AND CAPITAL LETTERS, NOTES, ETC.
WITH
OBSERVATIONS ON PUNCTUATION AND PROOF-READING BY
THEODORE LOW DE VINNE, A.M. SECOND EDITION
NEW YORK THE CENTURY CO. 1902
T
^-v>.
H\r
Copyriglit, 1901, 1902, by Theodoee Low De Vinite
Published November^ 1901
The DeVinne Press
CONTENTS CHAPTBE
PAGE
Preface
vii
I
SpeUiag
5
11
Abbreviations
33
in
Compound Words
rv
Figures and Numerals
V
ItaUc
VI
Capital Letters
VII
Division of Words
vni IX
94 .
108
.
128
Small Capitals Extracts and Letters
X Notes XI
61
76
.
Indention
145
...
....
157 171 182
xn Spacing
198
xm
Quotation-marks
209
xrv
Subheadings
230
XV
Punctuation
241
XVI
Proof-reading
294
xvn About Copy xviii
Errors of the Press
327 345
Appendix
359
Index
447
PEEFACE UNTORTUNATELT for an American printer, there is no authority beyond appeal for the spelling, division, and compounding of words. Neither in America nor in Great Britain is there an institution, like the Academie FranQaise or the Department of Public Instruction of France, which finally determines disputed questions in orthography. We have many dictionaries of the
Enghsh language, but they do not fully agree with one another as to the spelling of some words. There are more than sixteen hundred variable speUings, as shown in the Appendix to this work, and each form of spelling has had the approval of good writers. There are other irregularities in literary and mechanical composition that are even more unfortunate. We have grammars that give us rules for the proper use of capital letters, italic, and the marks of punctuation, but these rules, good as far as they go, are not enough for the guidance of a compositor who has to set tjrpes for works much unUke as to form and style. Nor do our high schools thoroughly teach the correct expression of thought in writing. The pupil is taught to be precise in his pronunciation of Latin and Greek as well as of English to give erroneous accent to a vowel, or improper emphasis to a syllable, stamps him as a vulgar perverter of correct speech ; but with too many pupils the practice ;
viii
Preface
of exactness ends with correctness of pronunciation.
Amateurs in literary composition soon acquire the bad habit of writing carelessly they spell strange names in two or more different ways they form capital letters, and even the small lower-case letters, so obscurely that one word may be mistaken for another they have no ;
;
;
clearly defined system, or at least observe none, for the
proper placing of capitals, italic, and the marks of punctuation.
There is a general belief that the correction of these oversights is the duty of the printer, and the writer too often throws this duty largely on the compositor and the proof-reader. During the last fifty years there has
been no marked improvement in the average writer's preparation of copy for the printer, but there have been steadily increasing exactions from book-buyers. The printing that passed a tolerant inspection in 1850 does not pass now. The reader insists on more attention to uniformity in mechanical details. He notices blemishes in the composition of types more quickly than lapses or oversights made by the author in written expression. "Not every reader assumes to be a critic of style in literature, but the reader of to-day is more or less a critic of style in type-settiag.
As there is no book of generally accepted authority that lays down a full code of explicit rules for orderly printing, every printing-house that strives for consistency as well as accuracy has found it necessary to make its own code for its own work. The code (or style-card, as it is often called) is constantly needed in every house for the guidance of new compositors and the maintenance of uniformity. But the works done in different printing-houses are much unlike, and different rules have to be made for different kinds of books, newspapers, and trade catalogues. What is correct in one house may be incorrect in another, and rules have to be more or less fiexible for special occasions. Tet there
Preface
ix
are rules in all codes upon which all careful printers agree, and this treatise is the result of an attempt to
combine and classify them. It should be understood, however, at the outset, that the writer does not propose here a complete system for correct book-making. The planning of a new book, from the determination of the shape of page and proper width of margin to the selection of the style and size of type in which each of its many parts should be set, is a subject too broad to be fairly treated in a limited space. This treatise must be given up to the consideration of the proprieties of undisplayed text composition, which
more important part of typography. It is the correctness and the careful arrangement of textmatter more than any novelty in plan, grace in display, or skill in decoration that give distinction to any book. Next to clearness of expression on the part of the author comes clearness in its reproduction by the printer. An incorrect expression may be overlooked in speech or in letter-writing, but a slovenly arrangement of words in type-setting is rated as a serious offence by the critical reader, who practically requires the printer to be more exact or at least more systematic than the author. It is believed that the methods here advised, although they may differ from those of a few codes, fairly define the fixed practice of the greater number of authors and printers concerning the niceties of type-setting. The writer's experience of more than fifty years as middleman between the author on the one side and the printer on the other warrants his belief that the methods here ad^ased are those that have been sanctioned by usage, and that they are enough to prevent the common errors of book composition. The compositor who heeds these suggestions will prevent the wasting of labor in avoidable alterations, and the inexperienced writer who follows directions about acceptable copy will save the expense of changes that must be made in proof. is really the
X
Preface
In makmg the last revision of this treatise, the writer has doubts as to the propriety of assuming to be its author, for the work done is as much the compilation and rearrangement of notes made by other men as it is the outcome of the writer's own long practice of printing. He acknowledges with thanks and the highest appreciation helpful suggestions and contributions made by Mr. Benjamin E. Smith, managing editor of the Century Dictionary and editor of the Century Cyclopedia of Names; Mr. Brander Matthews, professor of English Literatiu-e in Columbia University, New York ; and Mr. Wendell Phillips Garrison, editor of the Nation. Mr. J. Stearns Gushing and the proof-readers of the Norwood Press have been much interested in the preparation of the work, and especially efficient as collaborators. Last, but not least, thanks are due to Mr. P. J. Cassidy of the De Vinne Press for general supervision, and for the preparation of a table of the variable spellings of the seven leading dictionaries. This last feature should commend the book to every careful writer and proof-reader. August, 1901.
From Jolmson's TypograpMa (1824).
CORRECT COMPOSITION
SPELLING ^EVEN large dictionaries of the English language in daily use show that they find approval by editions frequently reprinted in England and her colo:
nies are Stormonth's, the Imperial, and
the Oxford; in the United States are Webster's (or, in its latest edition, Webster's
International),
Worcester's, the Century, and the Standard.
They
do not agree in the spelling of every word, and scholars who have been taught in boyhood to accept the spelling of a certain dictionary usually
adhere to that spelling in manhood and sometimes are intolerant of any other. is
It follows that there
occasional disagreement between writers and
printers about correct spelling.
Considering the great number of words that find place in every dictionary, the
words of changeable spelling are
Variable spellings
6 relatively few.
Most noticeable in English
dic-
tionaries are the retention of u in -our words like
honour and colour, and the preference for s in words that all American dictionaries spell with z, Peculiarities like as authorize and harmonize. ax, wagon, program, theater, and the rejection of one of the doubled consonants in words like traveled, are mannerisms of some American dictionaries.
In the compounding of words the divergences In the first quarter of
are great and increasing.
the nineteenth century rail road and steam boat
were separate words; after a little use the noun and its qualifier were connected by a hyphen; now they are welded together in one word by all dictionary makers. Other words have undergone or are now undergoing similar changes, which have been made in print, not by the order of any academy or by accepted teachers of language, but by writers who choose to deviate from previous usage. AH the changes begin with writers. Dictionary makers (Webster excepted) claim that they do not originate changes, and that they record only those that have been generally accepted.
To many readers the variations of British and American spelling and of compounded and separated words are of slight importance. Toleration is conceded to national mannerisms that have been confirmed by usage and do not confuse the meaning intended. Yet there are changes which
Variable compounds
7
seem trivial to the reader that are of importance To take out u in colour to please
to the printer.
one author, to put u in honor to please another, and to compound or to separate meeting words in the proof when these words were not so written in the copy, are discouraging to the compositor and hindrances to quick performance. The changes sanctioned by dictionaries seem to have been a sufficient warrant for some writers to take other and greater liberties.
Books are made
here and abroad in which some words are spelled
and compounded after one dictionary and other words by another. In compound words editors and proof-readers find opportunity for the exercise of nice critical ability in the making of alterations which they assert are for the sake of consistency, but it is difi3.cult for any one who is not a professional lexicographer to be minutely exact in following all the compoundings of any dictionary. It is stiU
more difficult for a proof-reader to aid
the author in the establishment of this consis-
tency when that author uses or rejects pecuharities at his pleasure ; for, in spite of all dictionary
teachings, the author is the only authority beyond
appeal in the printing-house for the spelling and division of words.
The order of an author to disregard all variable spellings in his copy, and to spell according to a specified dictionary, has to be
obeyed in the first
stage of the work by compositors who have small
Importance of uniformity
8
knowledge of, and often no access to, that authority, for not one printing-house in a hundred has more than one dictionary as a book of reference.
Prompt obedience is impracticable when British orthography is demanded. The Imperial and Stormonth's dictionaries are known by name only to
many American proof-readers, and the great Oxford dictionary, still incomplete, is out of reach of the workmen who need it most. In the absence of authority the compositor and the proof-reader
have to hazard guesses, based on analogy, at the spelling desired, and some of the guesses are cer-
tain to be wrong.
Failing to find in the first proof
the spelling he prefers, the author does last what
he should have done first, and carefully writes out on the proof the spellings which should have been made in his copy. These alterations delay the work and give dissatisfaction to the author because of the added expense.^
There are some niceties in spelling and style that have to be passed with ^ght notice. The formation of foreign words in the plural number, obso1
To remove some of
these
hindxances to acceptable composition tbe writer has prepared a list of variable spellings compiled from seven dictionaries in frequent use. (See Appendix A.) The spelling of the Standard dictionary differs from that of the Century in comparatively few words, but the exceptions are enough to be noted. The
list
may not inclnde every vari-
ation, but it does include all In
ordinary use, and some that the compositor may never meet, Expression of preference for the authority of any dictionary has been avoided. Remarks oecasionally made about variable spelling are not intended to be dogmatic or argumentative, but helpful only.
Distinctness in ivriting lete or little-used forms of past tenses
9
and parti-
ciples, and the use of accents and diacritical marks
for words in English, belong to
grammar rather
than to typography.
In the use of these niceties authors and editors have been and will continue to be laws to themselves.
For them, and indeed
for all who have made the niceties of literature a study, this book was not written.
It is intended
much larger number of compositors and proof-readers who are more or less bewildered by
for the
the obscure writing of different authors, especially in words that end in -able
and -ible, -ent and
-ant, -ise and -ize, -or and -er, and by the con-
The combook of reference in which different spellings are presented and the spelling preferred by the author is clearly set forth. The right of an educated author to speU as he
flict
of authorities out of their reach.
positor especially needs a
pleases is not to be questioned, but he should write distinctly.
As an additional safeguard, he should
note on the first page of his copy the name of the dictionary he desires to be accepted as authority. If he chooses to deviate from that dictionary in some words, he should prepare a list of his spell-
ings of these words.
This precaution is especially
own guidance in geographical which are differently rennames and historical
important for his
dered in foreign languages, as Mentz, Mainz, and Mayenee. It should not be expected that a compositor will make any one spelling invariable when
Compositors not correctors of copy
10
spellings vary in copy, or that a proof-reader will
attempt uniformity without positive instruction. Arabic and Oriental names with many accents, and ordinary names with diacritical marks, need parThe preparation of a proper ticular attention. code of spellings calls for time and trouble on the part of the author, but he is well repaid by cleaner proofs and by largely reduced expense for alteraThese precautions are observed in tions in type. their best work by all disciplined writers.
Much copy comes into every printing-house from writers who are not illiterate, but who are careless
or apparently indifferent about spelling and writ-
When they do not give particular directions, and their spelling is not uniform, it is the rule of
ing.
all
printing-houses that the spelling shall be that
of the dictionary selected by that house as authority.
When two or more forms of the same word
are presented in that dictionary, preference should
be given to the form that has the first place. A debatable form of spelling in copy that may be queried afterward by the proof-reader should not be anticipated and corrected by the compositor. Correction before the reading of proof is always a risk, and in many houses an unpardonable liberty. It is safer to follow copy and to leave all suggestions of emendation to the proof-reader. The remarks on spelling that follow have to be confined to words made uncertain by illegible writing or
by carelessness in the preparation of the copy.
;
11"
Formation of plurals
THE SPELLING OF NOUNS IN THE PLUKAL Changes from the singular to the plural in a proof negligently revised sometimes put upon a compositor the duty of making a proper plural.
It is usu-
ally formed by adding s to the word in the singu-
lar number, as bamboo, bamboos ; cameo, cameos folio, folios ;
octavo, octavos.
When the added s
makes another syllable (as it does in hiss, hisses sash, sashes), and sometimes when it does not (as in buffalo, buffaloes
groes
;
;
potato, potatoes
;
negro, ne-
hero, heroes), es is added.
When the noun ends in y, preceded by a consonant, the y is changed in the plural to ies, as in dainty, dainties
;
pygmy, pygmies
;
spy, spies.
Some words ending in f or fe change the f for v in the plural, as half, halves ; shelf, shelves
knife,
;
and strifes are exceptions. Nouns in common nse, derived from foreign languages, usually form their plurals according to the Fifes, proofs,
knives.
general English rule, as index, indexes; cherub,
cherubs formula, formulas seraph, seraphs beau, beans but in scientific writings the plurals should ;
;
;
;
be formed according to the rules of the language from which the words have been derived, as in appendix, appendices
index, indices
beau, beaux
medium, media
cherub, cherubim
seraph, seraphim
formula, formulae
vortex, vortices
:
12
,
Irregula/r plurals
For the proper plurals of foreign words, and of some others that are accepted as strictly English, the dictionary should be consulted. The formation of the plurals of English words cannot be reduced to a few simple rules in some words they are of great :
irregularity, as may be seen in these examples
brother, brethren
cayman, caymans
mongoose, mongooses mouse, mice
child, children
Mr., Messrs.
foot, feet
Mrs., Mesdames
goose, geese
ox, oxen
man, men
tooth, teeth
While s is sometimes added to the nouns Bedouin, cannon, heathen, to indicate the plural, they are commonly regarded as both singular and plm-al,
and the final s is omitted. On the other hand, some words plural in form, as means (agency or instrumentality), ethics, politics, news, optics, may
be used as nominatives with verbs in the singubut wages, pains, aborigines, antipodes, and literati need a verb in the plural number.
lar number ;
Compounded nouns add the s to the principal word, as in courts-martial, sons-in-law, stepsons, major-generals, four-per-cents.
The plural of nouns ending in ful, as handful, spoonful, etc., is one of the unsettled spellings.
Some make it handsful, spoonsful, etc.
;
but the
preference of most writers is for spelling the words as oftenest pronounced, handfuls, spoonfuls, etc.
When to use a or an
13
THE DIGRAPHS OR DIPHTHONGS The digraphs (or diphthongs, as they are commonly called) 88 and oe are not in as much favor as they have been for the trne rendering of Latin
and Greek words and their derivatives.
Aeneid,
Aeschylus, Caesar/ Oedipus, mediaeval, etc., are so written now by many classical scholars.
In early English names like Alfred and Ctedmon, and in
French words like manoeuvre, the digraph should be retained.
A OR AN It is a good general rule to use an before a word
beginning with a vowel sound, or in which the ini-
h is silent, and to use a before a word beginning with a consonant or a consonant sound, or with a vowel preceded by a strong aspirate. The few exceptions cannot be classified. tial
a imanimous
a eulogy
a hope
a European
a horse
a uniform
a ewe a ewer
a hospitaP
a union
a hoteP
a heroic
a humble
a historical
a oneness an herb, -al an honest
a universal a useful a usurper
an adder an heir, -loom
1 The Latin races discard the diphthong in names and words derived from Latin or Greek, Caesar in French is C&ar.
an honor, -able an hour, -glass
These are American methThere are English authors of eminence who write an hotel, an hospital, an hydraulic. 2
ods.
!
14
!
!
!
When accents may be used ACCENTS
many merits of the English language that words and sentences can be made suf-
It is one of the
ficiently intelligible
without the aid of accents,
which are reserved for dictionaries and educational books.
The grave accent for the final syllable -ed is used in poetry to show that this
occasionally
It rarely appears in -ed is a distinct syllable. prose, but when so marked by an author it should be repeated. All words or proper names distinctively foreign should be carefully accented as they Other foreign appear in their own language. words that have been incorporated in the English language, as depot, debut, debris, etc., do not need
when accents have been carefully added by the writer they should so appear in print. accents; but
O AND OH
The forms O and oh are often made interchangeable by some very careful writers; but it seems to be generally conceded that the proper form for an address in the vocative is O, with the exclamaend of the exclamatory phrase, and not immediately after the interjection.
tion-point at the
O Lord, have mercy on us O my fellow- citizens Break on thy cold gray stones, O sea Blessed art thou, O Lord
!
!
!
!!
Distinction between
!
and oh
:
15
O is also used as an ejaculation expressive of a wisli or desire, when it is joined to the following
clause by the word for or that. for rest and peace
that I had wings Kke a dove
!
As an interjection expressing surprise, tion, or regret,
indigna-
O is frequently followed by an
implied ellipsis and the word that.
O [it is sad] that I should live to see this day
O is common as an exclamation in trivial speech as,
O my
!
In many Southern States O dear beginning of familiar and abrupt !
is the customary
O James Oh, an ejaculation evoked by pain or woe, or by sudden emotion, as surprise, consternation, or address, as O John
!
delight, properly takes a lower-case letter (except
when beginning a sentence), and is followed by an exclamation-point either directly after the oh or at the end of the exclamatory phrase.
But she is in her grave, and oh The difference to me Oh, how I suffer
Oh my offence is rank, it smells to heaven. !
Oh is often used, even in the Northern States, as a colloquial introduction to a sentence, as in Oh, James, I am glad to see you. Oh, yes, it is quite satisfactory.
Endings in -ible
16
ENDINGS IN -IBLE AND -ABLE
The correct spelling of words that end in -ible or -able is often a puzzle to a compositor when they For his guidance have been obscurely written. the following list of the -ible words is presented. It
may be inferred that doubtful words not ap-
pearing in this list end in -able.^ accessible
corruptible
expansible
admissible
credible
expressible
appetible
decoctible
extendible
apprehensible
deducible
extensible
audible
defeasible
fallible
cessible
defensible
feasible
coercible
descendible
fencible
destructible compatible digestible competible comprehensible discernible
forcible
compressible
distensible
fusible
conceptible
divisible
gullible
contemptible
docible
horrible
contractible
edible
illegible
controvertible
effectible
immiscible
convertible
eligible
impassible j.'^t,
convincible
eludible
intelligible
corrigible
enforcible
irascible
corrosible
evincible
legible
1 On the use of this suffix, Dr. Pitzedward Hall's authoritative treatise. On English Adjectives
flexible
frangible
in -able, etc. (London, Triibner & Co., 1877), may be consulted with advantage.
Endings in -ihle miscible
17
:
Endings in -or
18
ENDINGS IN -IN OE -INE, -ID OR -IDE
The common words canine, feline, marine, divine, clandestine, are always speUed with the final e, and this was the preferred form for chlorin, cholesterin, creatin, fibrin, protein, etc. ;
but authors who now
write on medicine or therapeutics reject the final e.
The old chemical terms chloride, oxide, etc., are now written chlorid, oxid, etc'
NOUNS ENDING IN -OB
Words ending in -or and -er are often especially misleading in illegibly written manuscript. The following lists of these words will be found helpful abbreviator
administrator
appreeiator
abductor
admonitor
arbitrator
abettor (law)
adulator
assassinator
abominator abrogator
adulterator
assessor
aggravator
benefactor
accelerator
aggressor
bettor (one who bets)
acceptor (law)
agitator
calculator
accommodator
calumniator
accumulator
amalgamator animator
actor
annotator
castor (oil)
adjudicator
antecessor
censor 'cSf""'
adjutor
apparitor
coadjutor
1 The new spellings of chemical words, which appear in the
Century and the Standard dictionaries, and in the last edition
captor
of Gonld's Dictionary of Medicine, were recommended hy the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Endings in -or
19
eolleefcor
depressor
extensor
competitor
deteriorator
extirpator
compositor conductor
detractor
extractor
dictator
fabricator
confessor
dilator
factor
conqueror
director
flexor
conservator
dissector
fornicator
consignor
disseizor (law)
fumigator
conspirator
disseminator
generator
constrictor
distributor
gladiator
constructor
divisor
contaminator contemplator continuator
dominator donor
governor grantor (law) habitator
effector
imitator
contractor
elector
impostor
contributor
elevator
impropriator
corrector
elucidator
inaugurator
councillor
emulator
inceptor
counsellor
enactor
covenantor (law) equivocator
incisor
inheritor
creator
escheator
initiator
creditor
estimator
innovator
cultivator
exactor
insinuator
cunctator
excavator
institutor
debtor
exceptor
instructor
decorator
executor (law)
interlocutor
delator (law)
exhibitor
interpolator
denominator
explorator
interrogator
denunciator
expositor
inventor
depredator
expostulator
investor
20)
;
Endings in -er
21
NOUNS ENDING IN -EE' abetter^
corrupter
interrupter
abstracter
interpreter
adapter
covenanter debater defender
adviser
deliberater
afflrmer
deserter
lamenter mortgager^
aider
desolater
obliger^
almoner annoyer
deviser
obstructer
discontinuer^
obtruder
arbiter
disturber
perfecter
assenter
entreater
perjurer
asserter
exalter
preventer
bailer^
exasperater
probationer
caster (cruet, roUer)
exciter
propeller
censer (vessel)
executer^
protester
coneocter
expecter
recognizer^
accepter^
inviter jailer
condenser
frequenter
regrater
conferrer
granter^
relater^
conjurer
idolater
respecter
consulter
imposer
sailer (ship)
eontinuer
impugner
sorcerer
contradicter
incenser
suggester
contriver
inflicter
supplanter
convener conveyer
insulter
upholder vender^
1 Variants
interceder
ending with
-er,
-re (center, centre niter, nitre scepter, sceptre; theater, thear tre etc. ) will be found in alpha;
;
betical order under the different
authorities in Appendix A. 2 Except in law,
where the suf-
fix -or is preferred.
Endings in -sion and -Hon
22
NOUNS ENDING IN -SION AND -TION
A complete list of these words would be too long for a table of ready reference, but the different endings
may be determined by this rule
:
Words which, in
their shortest form, end with -d, -de, -ge, -mit, -rt, -se, or -SB, are usually lengthened by the ending
-sion.
Other words take the ending -tion.
abscind, abscission
extend, extension
absterge, abstersion
impress, impression admit, admission intrude, intrusion condescend, condescension pervert, perversion confess, confession
pretend, pretension
confuse, confusion
protrude, protrusion
convert, conversion
remit, remission
descend, descension
revert, reversion
emerge, emersion
revise, revision
evade, evasion
seclude, seclusion
IRREGULAK FORMS adhesion
dissension
propulsion
assertion
distortion
recursion
attention
divulsion
repulsion
coercion
expulsion
revulsion
cohesion
impulsion
scansion
crucifixion
insertion
suspicion
declension
intention
tension
dimension
occasion
version
:
Ambiguous terminations
23
WORDS ENDING IN -ANCE OR -ENCE, -ANCY OR -ENCY, -ANT OR -ENT The terminations specified in this heading are often made misleading by careless or illegible writing. The following is a list of many common words ending in -ence, -ency, -ent abducent
concurrence, -ent descendent(adj.)
abluent
conference
despondency despondent
absent, -ence
confidence, -ent
difference
absorbent
confiuenee, -ent
diffidence, -ent
abstergent
consentient
diffluent
abstinence, -ent
consequence consequent
efficiency, -ent
abhorrence, -ent condolence
adherence, -ent
eminence, -ency
advertency, -ent consistence, -ent eminent affluence, -ent
consistency
excellence, -ency
antecedence
constituent
excellent
antecedent
continence, -ent existence, -ent
apparent
convenience,-ent expediency, -ent
appertinent
corpulence, -ent feculence, -ent
appetence, -ency correspondence
ardent
correspondent
benevolence, -ent currency, -ent
flocculence, -ent
fluency, -ent
fraudulence,-ent
imminence, -ent
circumference
deference
coexistence
delinquency, -ent impatience, -ent
coherence, -ent
dependence
impellent
coincidence, -ent dependent (adj.) imprudence, -ent
competence, -ent deponent
impudence, -ent
24
Ambiguous terminations
incipience, -ent
permanency
incumbency,-ent permanent
resplendent respondent
independence independent
pertinence, -ent reverence, -ent
indolence, -ent
poculent
solvency, -ent
inference
portent
inherence, -ent
potency, -ent
somnolency, -ent subserviency
intermittent
precedence, -ent subservient subsidence, -ency
pestilence, -ent
sentient
iridescence, -ent preference
lambent
prescience, -ent
subsistence, -ent
latency, -ent
presence, -ent
succulent
leniency, -ent
presidency, -ent superintendence
magniloquence magniloquent
proiiciency, -ent superintendency
prominence, -ent superintendent tendence, -ency
malevolence,-ent proponent
meUifluence, -ent providence, -ent transcendence mollient
prudence, -ent
obedience, -ent
purulenee, -ent
occurrence, -ent quintessence
transcendency transcendent transference
omniscience, -ent recurrence, -ent transient
transparency
opulence, -ency
reference
opulent
refluence, -ent
patience, -ent
repellent
pendent (adj.) pendency
resident
turbulence, -ent
penitence, -ent
resolvent
vicegerency, -ent
permanence
resplendence
virulence, -ent
transparent transplendency residence, -ency transplendent
With few exceptions, words not found in the above list should end in -ance, -ancy, or -ant.
Proper names frequently misspelled
25
PROPER NAMES
Names of persons and places are frequently misThe proper names of geography, history, and mythology are differently rendered in different languages. Two forms of the same name may be written unwittingly by a rapid writer. To decide upon one form is the duty, not of the comspelled. fiction,
positor (nor yet of the proof-reader,
who should
query unless authorized to change), but of the author, who should write the name in one form only for the same book. When this duty devolves on the proof-reader he may confidently accept the preferred spelling of the dictionary prescribed.
There are, however, many names not to be found Indian names, and new places in the United States recently named, will be found in the lists prepared by the Board on Geographic Names at Washington.' For persons of in the ordinary dictionary.
local celebrity, the proof-reader is advised to record
the proper spelling in an indexed memorandum-
book.
The names here given need special care.
Acadia (Nova Scotia)
Andersen, Hans C.
Arcadia, poetical
Apennines Appalachian
Allegheny City Allegheny River Alleghany Mountains
BastiUe, The
Biglow Papers
(the form adopted by the Board on Geographic Names) is often spelled Porto Rico.
1 Puerto Rico
26
Ambiguous proper names
Bonheur, Rosa, painter
Field, Cyrus W.
Britannia
Fields, James T., author
Brittany
Fiske, John, historian
Brookline, Mass.
Brooklyn, New York
Fribourg, Switzerland G^rSme, Jean L6on, artist
Burdette, Robert Jones
Gray, Thomas, poet
Carey, Mathew, publicist Grey, Lady Jane Gary, Phoebe, author Caribbean Sea
Greeley, Horace
Greely, General A. W.
Carlisle, J. G.
Green, J. R., historian Greene, Robert, dramatist
Carlyle, Thomas, author
Harte, Francis Bret
Charleston, S.C.
Charlestown, Mass.
Hobbes, John Oliver Hobbes, Thomas
Chile
Humphrey, Duke
Colombia (South American republic) Coverley, Sir Roger de
Hutton, Laurence, author
Dantzic Davy, Sir Humphry
Johnston, Albert Sidney
Defoe, Daniel, author
Leipsic
De Quincey, Thomas
Lenox Library
Caribbees
Iviza
Johnson, Samuel, author Jonson, Ben, dramatist
Douglas, Stephen Arnold Lichfield, England Douglass, Frederick
Litchfield, Connecticut
Eifel River (in Germany) Li\dngstone, David Eliot, George, author
Luxembourg Gardens Luxembourg Palace
Elliott, Ebenezer
Luxemburg, Belgium
Eiffel Tower
Ericsson, John, inventor Magdalen CoUege, Oxford
Fenelon, ecclesiastic
Magdalene CoUege, Camb.
Distinctively British spellings
Mainz
27
Reid, Whitelaw
Mitchell, Donald G.
Rhead, Louis, artist
Mitchill, Samuel L.
Rheims
Morris, Gouverneur
Shakspere,! WUliam
Mytilene, island (also
Sidney, Sir Philip, author
chief city) of Lesbos
Smith, Sydney
Nuremberg
Spencer, Herbert
Oliphant, Laurence
Spenser, Edmund, poet
Philips, Ambrose, author Sterne, Laurence, author Phillips, Wendell
Strasburg (Ger., Strass-
Poe, Edgar Allan, poet
burg; Pr., Strasbourg)
Procter, Adelaide, poet
Thompson, Benjamin Thomson, James, poet Ward, Mrs. Humphry
Pyrenees Bead, Thomas B., poet Reade, Charles, novelist Watt, James, inventor Reed, Thomas B. Watts, Dr. Isaac Reid, Thomas Wiirtemberg
DISTINCTIVELY BEITISH SPELLINGS British spelling
is
occasionally required, and as
dictionaries made in England are not accessible to
compositors, special lists of some variable words in
frequent use are here appended.
(See also three
)
A general direction to use
Shakspere is scholarly, as
other form in the copy of an edu-
(Dr. J. A. H. Murray.) This is the spelling of the Century dictionary, but if the compositor or reader finds Shakespeare or any
be repeated. The preferred adjective suffix is -iau, not -ean
columns in Appendix A. 1 "
— The New Shakspere Society." cated writer, that form should (i.e.
Shaksperian, not
sperean).
Sbak-
28
Distinctively British spellings
British spelling is not specific enough.
There are
differences between the Imperial, Stormonth, and
the Oxford ;i therefore a request for British spelling should name the dictionary to be followed.
THE -OUE WORDS The words in British speUing which most perplex the compositor are those ending in -our, as
arbour
29
Variations of British spellings
While the -our words are always seen in British spelling,! Ijjjg Oxford dictionary does not follow the method of Stormonth, who changes many verbs ending in -ize to -ise, as in civilise, realise, utilise.
WORDS ENDING IN -ISE improvise
advertise
despise
advise
devise
incise
affranchise
disfranchise
mainpi'ise
apprise (to in-
disguise
manumise
emprise enfranchise
merchandise premise
circumcise
enterprise
reprise
comprise
excise
revise
compromise demise
exercise
surmise
franchise
surprise
form) chastise
1 The u is frequently omitted when the termination -ous is
added to any of the -our words, as in clamorous, dolorous, humorous, laborious, odorous, ran-
corous, rigorous, valorous, vaporous, vigorous. In many words derived from nouns ending in -our the u is omitted, as in
armory, colorable, honorary, inThere vigorate, invigoration. are a few English authors of authority
who
prefer
pallor, and tremor, but
clamor,
English usage is largely in favor of the retention of the u. Saviour, as the synonym of Christ, retains the u in all dictionaries but that of Webster.
' Aiming to write according to the best usage of the present day, I insert the u in so many of these words as now seem most familiar to the eye when '
so
written.
... If
this
book
should ever, by any good fortune, happen to be reprinted, after honour, labour, fmiour, 6ehaviour, and endeavour shall
have become as unfashionable as authour, errour, terrmir, and emperour are now, let the proofreader
strike out
the useless
letter not only from these words,
but from all others which shall bear an equally antiquated appearance." GooMBTOwn'sGramr marofJEnglish Grammars, p. 197.
30
Words ending in -ise WORDS ENDING IN -IZE
aggrandize
31
Beformed spelling lu the
New English (Oxford) Dictionary ail the
words that end in -ment retain the e in the preceding syllable, as abridgement, acknowledgement, judgement. In other English and in all American dictionaries the e is dropped.
Farther is generally restricted to distance
:
as,
"thus far, and no farther," or "farther down the river," etc.
Further is equivalent to additional,
besides, moreover
:
as,
"I have no further use for
him," "further consideration of the matter."
REFORMED SPELLING^ Reformed spelling, so called, is seldom presented by a writer it may be queried by the compositor if he finds in his copy hav for have, thru for through, fonografy for phonography, and other spellings of like nature, shall he spell the words as written ? When the writer of these spellings orders and pays for the printing, his spelling must be followed without in copy, but when so used
:
question;
but when this reformed spelling ap-
pears in a contribution to a periodical, and the printing is done at the expense of the publisher, that publisher or his editor has the right to deter-
mine the spelling.
This determination should be
1 The American Philological Association has published (in Transactions, 1886, and in the periodical Spelling of 1887) a
list of
amended spellings. This
list is reprinted,with some slight
corrections, in the Century die-
tionary (vol. viii).
:
Illiterate spelling
32
made before the copy goes to the compositor, and should be expressed in writing on the first page.
ILLITEKATE SPELLING It is difficult to draw the line and say when copy
should, and when it should not, be faithfully followed. Properly considered, it is an act of kindness
when the compositor throws a mantle of correct composition over a writer's indecent exposure of his bad spelling and writing, but he always does it
As a rule, the ignorant writer is tena-
at a risk.
cious about Ms spelling and expression of thought.
Editors of newspapers frequently take maUcious pleasure in printing a fault-finding communication exactly as it was written,
and always to the There are sent to newspapers communications of such delightful absurdity that it seems unwise and reaUy foolish to attempt writer's
mortification.
betterments that destroy their peculiarities.^ 1
From Cornwall, England
" B.
G
Surgin, Parish Clark and Skule-master, Groser and Hiindertaker, respectably informs ladys and gentlemen that he drors teeth without wateing a minut, applies laches every hour, blisters on the lowest terms, and visicks for a penny apece. As times is crul bad I ,
begs to tell 'ee that I have just beginned to sell all zorts of stationary ware, cox, hens, vowls, pigs and all other kinds of poultry. I as also laid in a large azzortment of trype, dog's mate, lolipops, ginger-beer and matches, and other pikkels, such as hepson salts, hoysters and winzer sope."
II
ABBREVIATIONS !>LIPPED WORDS are as old as writing. They were stamped on coins and medals and cut in stone or pressed on bricks long before Genesis was written. Medieval books are f uU of them. The practice began with the copyists who wished to put many words in a small space, as well as to lighten their own labor, but it was carried to such an extent that the books then made were hard to read,i and scholars everywhere complained of their obscurity.
Books had to be published to explain their intent. 1
Chevillier (I'Origine de I'im-
primerie de Paris,
etc., p.
Ill,
4to, Paris, 1595) speclfles an edi-
tion of the Logic of Ockham, printed in that city in 1488, in which he found this mysterious
statement.
He says it was seSic hie e f al sm
lected at hazard
:
qd ad simplr a e pducihUe a Deo silr hie a n e g a n e pducigae bileaDeo. These are the ahbre-
^
viations for Sicut hie est fallacia
secundum quid ad simpMciter. h, Deo. Ergo A est. Et similiter hie. A non est. Ergo Anon est producihile3,Deo.
A est producibile
34
Abbreviations of the fifteenth centwry
Ad at" in og po" dTq mPtj Irati 5! piti «f iudcos
fubieifla.g-aps umtl
pc^uttt i-^ge xpi .pj de aataaTicIc ni
cho"?
& ganaek.un Io.dc pricipib?
inf ti rfedidcrfltia eo, f g> phartfcoi
S 3fitfbiat nc extra finagog^a f'c«tt Bcpliciat«q.Io, Scot/.fu^ gtuof-.U' bris foiaruj nie"«8i dc aia.^ tdlifae*!
eiafde.imflIe*4p^qiVeadcIuia.de Spirit.
~
LaasofeQ
From Doctor John Scott's Commentary on the Four Books Part of the last paragraph and colophon. Printed by Windelin of Speyer, Venice, 1475. of Sentences.
Qja«xo.ii^,i[d. ecdtra an hbFuhcllio pot (it pftcere
mftfm p pic D^nus tra cta( bic
qdite in.l.rivno.fT.t>e auc.m.z.l.c{d oia'tit^ $.T.e.tuSar.in.l.p2.Defal.7.14fcf^Ainec« $.t.oetc(ta;'0er(ta8 eq* fili' emlctpat^pd (.nU'emactpac^.tti ^ii.fF.t>e fat. i^tUue Ic in pclrepzis no ^r.l.t>e eo.in ^n.ff.eode. Ouero vlttmo nu4<l^''^tci'Po^^t pftcere Jnltrntp fratre.*Rndco ft futamboinptate
eiurdep2t8nopct>ereqpnqrif.I.t)c^uo. fn^n.fF.Defal. fj fi rutemlapatipor.ar.l* impubere.$.j.t)efaU
finit Itber plarimo^ traccamu fnrf inil pzelTus ^Irgetme 3nno oni.^.ccccjccijCi
i^mitne fejcca fma poftBartboIomet. Two para-
From the Modus Legendi Abbreviaturas, etc. graphs and the colophon on its last page. Martin Flach, Strasbui-g, 1499.
Printed by
35
Abbreviations of the seventeenth century
The facsimiles on the previous page, from two books of the fifteenth century, are fair exhibits of the frequency of early abbreviations. When books in roman type were printed in the sixteenth century for the unschooled reader, the abbreviations were used sparingly, but they were not entirely under ban in descriptive writing even They might have been in the eighteenth century. frequent in print if compositors could have put them in diminutive letters and on a higher line as readily as the writer of the manuscript, but the selection and adjustment of small type in the text made composition more difficult. "When the publisher found that this use of small type delayed
work and increased cost, abbreviating with small A Letter from Robert Scott, the London Agent of Dr. Thomas Marshall, to Samvsl Clarendon Press.
Clarice,
concerning Type-metal for the
These for M' Gierke att his house in Holy Well in Oxford. Octob' 29'": 1668.
M' Gierke I haue rec' both yo' lett"^ & had sooner giuen you answer butt y' I was out of towne ; now first for :
M' Lee, I find hee is willing to Comply in all y' y= Vniuersity hath desired & will shortley giue mee some letters w'^'" shall
bee as a Standard for y° mettall,
.
.
.
this is all att p'sent fi-om S'
Yo' Seru' to Goniand Robert Scott.
Prom Notes on a Century of Typography at the University Press, Oxford, 1693-1794, ete. (Horace Hart, 1900), p. 155.
— 36
Abbreviations of the eighteenth century
Baskett the patentee for bible-printing in Engl, having befides obtained a leafe of their printing-houfe from the
Univ. of Oxf. and having alfo as he thought fecured the printing-h. at Edinburgh, immediately levied upon the
populace an advance of ^^60 p cent, on bibles and comm. pr. books, railing an enormous tax upon the people for reading thtfcriptures, and for learning to "pray by rote
upon the book." and this is what is called religion. he impoled upon the fimple folk at his own price books printed on bad paper and worfe letter. for lid. the duty charged by government on a ream of paper he charged to the people 1 1 x. fo they were taxed this way and that way, yet the affigns of Mofes had no part of the gains. More moderate were The Comp. of Stat, who for the additional id. charged upon almanacs charged to the people no more than 3 1/. fuch are the efFefts of charters and patents granted to leeches, and to luch leaches only be they granted as to Rock and others who are panders
—
—
for the devil.
—
but why are the people flich fools?
comm. prayer andfcripture they may have for their tythes.
—for almanacs
they may revive The clogg,
—
or there is
a vagabond Ifraelite who fells "Perpetual almanacs that lafts for
ever."
From Mores's English Typographical Founders and Founderies (London, 1778), p. 79.
type had to give way to the cheaper method of using text type only, and of shortening the word with period or apostrophe. In account-books and epistolary writing abbreviations of •w''* for would, w"''
for which, y« for the, hon"*'^ for honorable,
judgm'* for judgment, and gents, for gentlemen, were common. Although tolerated in some printed books after the year 1800, they are now regarded
Proper and improper use of abbreviations 37 as evidences of laziness or illiteracy.
The rule is
inflexible that words must be in full in all places
where space permits.^ In formal legal documents, and even in brief notes or cards printed or written for occasions of ceremony, the number of the year
and the day of the month must be spelled out in In almanacs, arithmetics, dictionaries, gazet-
full.
teers, and technical books of like nature, abbrevia-
tions are not a fault but a positive merit where
they save needed space.
In treatises on botany,
chemistry, or algebra and the higher mathematics, signs, symbols, and abbreviations are most helpful
to the student.
To print words in f uU would be a
hindrance, especially so when it would prevent the
neat arrangement of figures in columns and tables that makes the subject-matter clear at a glance.
PROPER AND IMPROPER USE The compositor finds it perplexing to make or to follow fixed rules for the proper use of abbrevia-
The method that is suitable for the footis not becoming for its text. Contractions permissible and commendable in the narrow columns of tabular work are not allowed There must be in the descriptive text of a book. dissimilar methods for the different forms of comtions.
notes of a history
1
These remarks apply to de-
scriptive writing in the text of a book or magazine, but not at all
3
to foot-notes or narrow columns in which abbreviations are sometimes obligatory.
38
Permissible abbreviations
position frequently required,
and the compositor
should not be required to determine the method. The line between a proper and an improper use
can be most satisfactorily drawn by the author, who should not abbreviate any word in his copy which he intends shaU be printed at full length.
Even the abbreviations for foot- or for side-notes should also be written exactly as they are to appear in that note. When these notes are extracts from or citations of authors who write in a foreign language, too
much care cannot be given to dis-
tinctness of writing.
The compositor cannot spell
out or contract technical words that he does not understand, or put points, italic, and capitals in
proper places unless they are so marked in copy. For the ordinary descriptive text the rule to avoid abbreviations is now generally obeyed.
No
form of carelessness in writing, not even the misuse of capitals and italic, so plainly indicates the undisciplined writer as the abuse of abbreviations.
Cobbett has stigmatized them as plain indications of slovenliness and vulgarity.
PERMISSIBLE ABBREVIATIONS Acceptable abbreviations in the text of a book are not numerous. Mr., Mrs., Messrs., Hon., Right
Hon., Jr., Sr. (or Jun., Sen.), Esq., Rev., and Right Rev. are tolerated in newspapers and magazines, and even in some books, but it is more deco-
Abbreviations of time and date
39
rous to spell out all the words in the preceding list except Mr., Mrs., Messrs., Jr., and Sr. Doctor and Professor should always be spelled out. In
newspapers Gen., Capt., Col., and Maj. are sometimes allowed, but in book-work these titles should be in full, as General, Captain, Colonel, and Major. When the title is double and is connected with a hyphen, as in Major-general or Lieutenant-colonel, the first word takes the capital letter.
The same
ruling should be applied to Ex-governor or Bxsenator.
ABBREVIATIONS OP TIME AND DATE
Ante meridiem and post meridiem are frequently presented in the small capitals a.m. and p.m. without a separating space, but it is now a commoner practice to make use of lower-case letters for a.m.
and p.m., as is here shown. The abbreviations inst., prox., and ult., which are usual in correspondence and commercial work, The are entirely improper in the texts of books. name of the month should be in full. The days of the week and the name of the month may be abbreviated in the narrow columns of a table, but never in anj^ place where there is full space. The names of months and days should always be in full in the text of a standard book.
In the nar-
row measure of a side-note and elsewhere they may be abbreviated, as is shown on the next page.
40
Abbreviations of names and epochs Ja,n.
Abbreviations for epochs
41
Nicknames and pet names, like Bob, Dick, Jim, Tom, and Joe, do not belong to the class of abbreviations, for they do not require a full point after
the last letter; but Wm., Jas., Chas., and Geo. are rated as abbreviations requiring a full point.
The pet names may appear in the text of a book as here printed, but clipped names like Wm.. and Geo. should there appear in full as William and George. In all foot- and side-notes the initial or initials only of the baptismal name or names of the author of a cited book may be inserted, but this name should be printed in full in the list of
authorities or in the index.
Formal abbreviations
of anno Domini, anno mundi, anno hejirae, anno
urbis conditae, and before Christ are made with A.D., A.M., A.H., A.U.G.,
and B.C.
For this purpose
small capitals closely set are preferred.
Other abbreviations, like e.g. for exempli gratia, for id est, q.v. for quod vide, viz. for videlicet or to wit, etc. for et cetera, are frequently put in lower-case, and, when composed of two or more i.e.
abbreviated words, without any separating space. They have a grudged tolerance in ordinary books,
but careful writers avoid them in their texts, even when they make use of them in tables and footnotes six o'clock in the morning and for example will be so written for the text, while 6 a.m. :
and e.g. will be substituted for the foot- or side-note. Italic is frequently
but not always wisely used
for the common abbreviations q.v., viz., e.g.
When the ampersand may be used
42
MARKS OF REFERENCE The seven marks of reference made for foot-notes
^"
^^® seldom used in the condemned as too been have They best books. page, as well as same on the few for many notes
*
t
t
II
§
IT
for their want of regularity.
Some are too weak
Superior figures and let^ for the texts of orfigures the preferred ters are notes of pocket cut-in letters for the dinary books
and others are too bold. :
;
Bibles, and for other notes when many in number.
THE AMPERSAND The ampersand & is proper for the exact rendering of the signature or the authorized business name
of a firm of copartners or a corporation, as in
E. Hoe & Co. or New York & Harlem Railroad Co. It is in this form that such names are used in news-
papers and pamphlets, and even in ordinary books. When many firm names are printed in a column, as in signatures, the & and the Co. should be retained as the true copy of each signature.^ 1 The letters are also used as signs or symbols in text-books of sciences to refer to many different things. In music and geometry, roman capital letters are preferred; in algebra, lower-case italic letters; in astronomy, lower-case Greek characters ; in chemistry, capitals, figures, and lower-case combined.
2 Some publishers and authors require that they shall appear in a standard book as E. Hoe and
Company and New York and Harlem Railroad Company. is, however,
It
impossible here to draw a line of distinetion between the ordinary and the standard book. The compositor should follow his copy.
:
Abbreviations of companies and titles
43
The ampersand is occasionally found in the leading line of display in the title-pages of fine English books, but this use of & is rare in America.
Why
& should be forbidden in the text and allowed in the title-page has never been explained.
ABBREVIATIONS OF COMPANIES AND TITLES
The abbreviation Co., as in The Century Co., must be so used when it is the company's approved form of imprint and signature. The compositor should
not spell out Co. as Company in the oflcial document of any company without a distinct order to that effect.
When the firm name is to be set in aU
capital letters, the final o in Co. should not be in
lower-case,
and the same method should be ob-
served with Jr. and Sr., or Jun. and Sen.
THE CENTURY Co. JOHN BROWN, Jr. PAUL SMITH, Sr.
THE CENTURY CO. JOHN BROWN, JR. PAUL SMITH, SR.
Incorrect
Correct
The spelling out of abbreviations should be confined to all writings that have been carelessly pre-
pared, not with intent, but through inadvertence or thoughtlessness. Extracts, quotations, and docu-
ments inserted in any text should be faithfully copied, with aU their faults. Without special order, the compositor should not try to amend, in the copy of an educated writer, any supposed fault in spell-
44
Abbreviations of companies and titles
ing, abbreviation, or punctuation, or in the use of italic.
Yet the compositor is often requested to
amend the grosser faults of an illiterate or careIt is not possible here to define where
less writer.
the amendment should begin or end. Faults of wi-iting often convey to the reader a clearer notion of the style and mental status of the writer than
can be gathered from his words properly rendered. Abbreviations of honoraiy titles, as a.m., m.d., LL.D., and D.D., are usually put in capitals when they are appended to a name in the text composed almost entirely of lower-ease letters. When the abbreviations of many titles are added to the name, as in
John Robinson, M.D., F.R.S., K.C.B., the absurdity of capitalizing the abbreviations of
and making them more prominent than the name becomes painfully conspicuous. Despite the
titles
absurdity, this use of capitals for abbreviated titles is made imperative in many offices. When the small capitals of the text letter have a
in the text
more prominence than the lower-case letters (which they seldom have), the small capitals will
little
be found a more pleasing substitute. In the title-pages of books a contrary practice prevails.
When the name of the author has many
letters, and
the honorary titles are many, these honorary titles are sometimes made smaller than the name by being put in small capitals. This
^
:
Scientific signs and terminology
:
45
makes a crooked or unbalanced line of display. When honorary titles are numerous it is the usual practice to put them in one or more lines of small capitals or small lower-case below the name.
ABBREVIATIONS THAT CONFUSE Abbreviations may make confusion.
The initials A.M. are abbreviations of three distinct phrases master of arts, in the year of the world, and before noon. Dr. stands for doctor and debtor; P.M., for postmaster and afternoon. As a rule, the context prevents misunderstanding, but abbreviations are sometimes used which cannot be explained by the context. What is worse, a short word may be misunderstood as an abbreviation. SCIENTIFIC SIGNS AND TERMINOLOGY
The abbreviations oftenest used are to be found in the dictionaries
;
but for the abbreviations used
works on chemistry, botany, medicine, mathematics, and other sciences, in which they are sometimes conjoined with signs, an approved modern
in
text-book of these sciences is the only safe authority. 1
The cataloguer at times puts
In an English catalogue appears this entry of Talfourd's Ion Talfourd. One on, a Tragedy, The reader may here recoUect Saxe's ignoramus, who read the tlie compositor to shame.
of a celebrated picture as Jupiter and 10. To him the 10 was quite a plausible reading of the lo who was one of Jupiter's numerous loves. I have seen Jupiter and lo rendered in print as Jupiter and Jo. title
46
Mathematical and astronomical signs
MATHEMATICAL SIGNS
+ plus
Commercial and apothecaries'' signs
47
ZODIACAL
T Aries, the ram
=^ Libra, the scales
b Taurus, the bull
^ Scorpio, scorpion
n Gemini, the twins 25 Cancer, the crab
t
Sagittarius, archer
!<?
CapricornuSjgoat
Leo, the Uon
™ Aquarius,waterman
HE Virgo, the \argin
3€ Pisces, the fishes
SI
ASPECTS AND NODES d
conjunction
8 opposition
quadrature Q ascending node Q descending node
(T
>K
or O quintUe sextUe
A trine
COMMERCIAL SIGNS
® at or to ¥ per
% account % care of
pound
o degree
lb
% per cent.
'
minute
$ dollar (f:
cent
£ pound /
shilling
pound
3
ounce
pint
3
drachm
APOTHECAKIES' SIGNS
5 recipe a or aa of each
same quantity
lb
n\ drop
3 scruple
Quantities are always written in lower-case letters. If the quantity expressed ends with i, the final i is
made as j, as in vij, which represents seven.
Signs used in hooks of devotion
48
The abbreviation lb. may properly be selected for pounds, but some dictionaries sanction lbs. The abbreviations that appear in newspapers for reports of markets and of sales of stocks and bonds at the stock exchange, for horse-racing, base-ball,
and aquatic sports, as well as many used in the catalogues of booksellers, auctioneers, and manufacturers, are not to be found in any dictionary. Some of them soon go out of use and are forgotten, but others stay and ultimately find a place in In the absence of printed au-
proper text-books.
thority, the proof-reader should make up a manu-
script book of the unlisted abbreviations he has to
use repeatedly.
Without this guide he may pass
abbreviations of the same word in two forms.
ECCLESIASTICAL SIGNS »}«
The Maltese cross is used before their signa-
tm-es by certain dignitaries of the Roman Catholic
Church.
It is also
used in the service-books of
that church to notify the reader when to make the
sign of the cross.
The ordinary reference-mark f
(the dagger) should not be used as a substitute. f*
The Latin cross.
X St. Andrew's cross. B: Response in service-books. The apothecaries' sign 5 is not an entirely acceptable substitute.
Y Versicle in service-books. :^
indicates the words intoned by the celebrant.
;
Abbreviations of Latin, new and old
49
ABBREVIATION OF LATIN WORDS
A printer is seldom asked to abbreviate long words. If so required, to
maintain uniformity in column
matter, the abbreviations made, especially in Latin
words, should end preferably on a consonant, as mere. cor. for mercurius corrosivus. Many Latin words, as pro tempore and per cen-
tum, have been incorporated in the English language in their abbreviated forms pro tem. and per cent. They do not really need the abbreviating period, but if the author systematically uses the period the compositor must follow his method.
They need not be in italic. Medieval copyists made many abbreviations, but few of them have been reproduced by American type-founders, and those mainly for bodies of tenThe few made eleven- and twelve-point roman. and most used are C^ for cujus n for non g for per, por, par q for qui q for quod cj for que ;
;
;
;
;
^ for rum 5 for et.^ Made with many variations by different copyists and different printers, they were hard to decipher even in their own time. They are used now mainly by librarians for the exact ;
rendering of the colophons or titles of old books. 1 An apparently full list, yet incomplete, is given in Savage's Dictionary of the Art of Print-
ing (8vo, London, 1841), under the subheading of Records. A much more complete list of the
Latin abteeviations, amounting to more than thirteen thousand
words, has heenmadebyAdriano Capelll in his Dizionario di Abbreviature Latine ed Italiane (16mo, MUan, 1899).
!
!
Abbreviations of dialect and slang
50
DIALECT AND SLANG Dialect, slang,
and colloquialisms are considered
of value in giving piquancy to a story or novel,
and each writer has a method of his own which the compositor must follow. When he can do so, and the author permits, he shoidd make one word of all colloquial clippings of speech, as ain't or hain't,
don't, won't, can't, shan't, putting no space between the words and using the apostrophe in place of the cancelled letter. Ain't and are n't are of bad form, but permissible as exhibits of vulgarisms. According to rule, shan't should have two apostrophes (one for the elision in shall, and one for that in not), but two apostrophes in one short word are unsightly, and one is customary. I 've, you '11, 't was, 't
was n't, 't is, 't is n't,
are more clearly expressed when a thin space
etc.,
put between the words, but in some printinghouses this space is often omitted by order. is
'
I 've forgotten the countersign,' sez 'e.
Oh
You 'ave, 'ave you ? sez I. But I'm the Colonel,' sez 'e. Oh You are, are you ? sez I. Colonel nor no Colonel, you waits 'ere till I 'm relieved, an' the Sarjint reports on your ugly old mug. Coop sez I. An' s'elp me soul, 't was '
'
!
'
'
'
!
'
'
the Colonel after all
.
.
.
Kipling.
The Century dictionary prefers a thin space before when is or has is clipped to 's.
the apostrophe
:
Old-style contractions of words
51
but the space should be thinner than that between other words in that Une, as It 's true, the man 's thoroughly exhausted. He 's arrived by the Empire State Express.
The thinner space is intended to show that the short form of is or has should not be confounded with the possessive form of the pronouns. The man's services were appreciated. New York Central's fastest train.
It's the
Dialect matter, for which there can be no good
authority but that of the author, should be spelled as written, even when the same word is abbrevi-
ated or contracted in different ways.
It is unwise
to attempt uniformity without a written code or
permission from the author.
OLD-STYLE CONTRACTIONS Quotations from obsolete authors, or reprints of old books or documents, or illustrative letters by illiterate people,
originals.
should be accurate copies of the
Every fault of bad spelling, or misuse
of capitals or italic, should be faithfully repeated to the minutest particular, so far as the types will
allow. Old-style abbreviations with superior letters,
such as -w**, w^, y®, etc., are troublesome, and may lead to the dropping out of a superior letter which
cannot be justified securely but they must be repeated unless a distinct order is given to spell out. ;
52
Indefensible abbreviations
SOME INDEFENSIBLE ABBREVIATIONS
When a sentence begins with the specification of a number, the spelled-out form should always be used, even if arable figures are made to serve for other numbers in the same paragraph or sentence.^ Abbreviations Hke dept. or dep't, gov't, sec, sec'y, or seot'y, pres't, and treas. are indefensible in any kind of pamphlet work or job-work when they appear, as they usually do, in open lines with ample space. Even in hurried job-work abbreviations like these are damaging to the reputation of
They often appear in the en-
any printing-house.
graved headings of oflcial letter-paper and in the display lines of job-printers, so made with intent to put many words in one line of large letters, in places where the words would have been clearer and more comely in two lines of smaller letters. 1 This
rule should not be ap-
plied to the figures that specify verses in the Bible or in hymnbooks, which are not followed by a period. Nor can it be applied to the signs If and § which are sometimes used before figures to indicate paragraphs and sec-
ure 1 and Exempli gratia, are acceptable. The improper use of abbreviations and arable figures
for words is more fully set forth in the chapter on Figures and Numerals. The exhibit of its absurdity here appended is taken from a letter to the Evening Post Exception also may be of New York City, in which the tions. made for the figures that begin writer properly burlesques the the short sentences under an carelessness of some composiillustration and that explain cor- tors and proof-readers, responding figures in that illus% a lea., a lea., tration, but abbreviations like ^ a lea. onward Pig. 1 or E.g. at the beginning of All in the valley of death a foot-note are unsightly FigRode the 600.
%
:
—
Abbreviations of states, etc.
53
USUAL ABBREVIATIONS FOR STATES, ETC. The names of states and territories frequently have to be abbreviated in job-work, and in gazetteers and guide-books where space must be economized, but in a well-printed book Burlington, Vermont, should be so presented, and not as Burlington, Vt. Alabama.
.
.
54
Abbreviations ofsises of books
Maine, Iowa, Ohio, Utah, Alaska, and Idaho are
always unwisely abbreviated. It is better practice to speU out Mississippi and Missouri in any position where there is full space, for the abbreviations Miss, and Mo. are not sufficiently distinct. Penn. is clearer than Pa., which may be improperly taken for Philadelphia as well as for Pennsylvania.
ABBREVIATIONS OF SIZES OF BOOKS Ordinary sizes of books specified as in folio, quarto, octavo, or duodecimo may be in words.
For the
sextodecimo words in Latin or English seem pedantical. Arabic figures convey a clearer notion to the reader, but figures cannot be consistently used, for there is no approved abbreviation for foho, and a figure has an unsightly appearance when it appears, as it often does, at the beginning of a sentence. In book-lists 4to, 8vo, 1 6ino, 64mo, and other compounds are tolsizes smaller than
erated as savers of space, but they should not have the abbreviating period.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE OLD TESTAMENT Gen. xi. 17
Deut.
1 Sam.
1 Chron.
Exod.
2 Sam.
2 Chron.
Lev.
Joshua Judges
1 Kings
Ezra
Num.
Ruth
2 Kings
Neh
Authorities cited in foot-notes
Esther
55
56
Authorities cited in foot-notes
of tlie same name.
Set name in roman lower-case The use of small
only, unless otherwise ordered.
capitals is an old fashion, and is lapsing into disuse.
2 The name of the book in roman lower-case, always abbreviated in the same form. The full title, with aU its words speUed out, may be given in the list of authorities at the end of the book.
Some publishers require the full title of the book to be inclosed with marks of quotation, but this formality is more common in the text, and is unnecessary in the foot-note. 3
The number of the volume in roman numerals
of capital letters.
When the small capitals of the
text type are taller than the round letters of the lower-case, small capitals should be preferred.
If
the small capitals are not tall, or if condensed and
not clear, use the full capitals. omitted.
The period may be
(See exhibits of notes on pages 58, 59.)
4 The number of the page in arable figures.
The specification of the edition of the book from which the citation has been made is required only when two or more editions have been printed with changes in paging and subject-matter. If the edition is clearly specified in the list of authorities, this
information need not be repeated in the foot-note.
In many books frequently cited, Kke the Bible, Shakspere, Blackstone, Homer, or Horace, the passage quoted cannot be specified properly by gi^^ng the number of volume and page, for there are too
many editions in difEerent form.
Book, chapter
:
57
Abbreviations for citations
and verse, section and paragraph, or canto, stanza, and line must be specified. This cannot be done readily, for the ordinary font of text type has not
enough characters to give a separate distinction to each abbreviation. The following abbreviations are approved and used by the Century dictionary
Number of paragraph only .... No. 68 Stanza only Page only Line only Paragraph only Section only Chapter only Canto only Book only
18 213 p. 1. 384 st.
II
34
§
5
xiv.
xiv. iii.
Book and chapter ^ Part and chapter
(
Book and line
C
Act and scene
/
— 2 45
Act, scene, and line
iv. 3.
Chapter and verse j Number and page > Volume and page )
II.
Volume and chapter
IV. iv.
Part, book, and chapter Part, canto, and stanza
II. iv.
12
II. iv.
12
Chapter, section, paragraph.
.
.
Volume, part, section, paragraph Book, chapter, section, paragraph
34
.vii. §3,^4 .
I.
.
I. i. § 2,
i.
§ 2,
^6 ^6
Abbreviations in foot-notes
58
In an abbreviated reference to the Bible or to the plays of Shakspere, use arable figures instead of roman numerals to specify first, second, or third
part of the same epistle, play, or book; but put these figures before the name of the play or book.
Give at least one fuU syllable to each abbreviation of the book, and where it is possible make the abbreviation end with a consonant. In making reference to Shakspere's 1 Henry VI, iii. 2. 14, the form here given is the preferred style of the Clarendon Press. Some writers prefer 1
Henry VI, m. ii. 14.
The great objection to small
capitals is their too frequent insignificance.
From English Past mid Present, by B. C. Trench 1 Guest,
Hist, of English Khythms, vol. I. p. 280.
2 Hooker, Eecles. 5 Craik,
* Marsh,
Pol. i. 3,
5.
On the English of Shakespeare, 2nd edit. p. 97. Manual of the English Language, Engl.
edit.
p. 278.
From Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Murray's edition of 1881 (8 vols. 8vo) 1 Orosius, I. ii. c. 19, p. 143. 2 Heineeeius,
Antiquitat. Juris Roman, torn, i, p. 96.
3 Jornandes,
de Reb. Get. c. 30, p. 654 [p. 87, ed. Lugd.
B. 1597]. * Ausonius (de Claris Urblbus. p. 5 A.
257-262 [No. 14]). Thierry, Lettres sur I'Histoire de France, p. 90.
« Procopius, de Bell. Vandal. I. i. e. 7, p. 194 [torn. I.
ed. Bonn].
p. 341,
59
Abbreviations in foot-notes
From Hum^s History of England, Gadell's edition of 1841 {6 vols. 8vo) Herbert, p. 431, 432.
1
2 Collier, vol.
ii.
Stowe, p. 575.
3
p. 176.
* Burnet,
p. 322.
6
34 and 35 Hen. VHI. e. i.
*
M^moires du Bellay, lib. x.
The comma is not inserted after the period in some places where it would be used in the text.
When citations are made in the text, the abbreviations in copy of oh. for the chapter and p. for
the page should not be repeated in type, even when the author has made them in his manuscript copy.
The abbreviations eh., and pp. may be used in foot-notes.
Spell out chapter and page. p.,
In a lower-case text &c. should not be used
;
etc.
is better, but it need not be repeated.
PS. (not P.S.) for postscript, and MS. for manuscript, are still tolerated in capital or small-capital
form, but they are more acceptable as spelled-out words. By-laws are frequently printed with the sideheadings Art. 1 for Article 1, Sec. 2 for Section 2, etc., but it is a better practice to print the word in
full in the paragraph where it first appears, and to
omit the word in subsequent paragraphs, using the proper figure only, as is customary in verses of the Bible and in hymn-books. The arable figures engraved on illustrations as references to their explanations in the small type
below the illustration never have No. before them.
60
Special lists of abbreviations
It is useless to insert No. before the reference fig-
ures in the explanation.
Figures and letters used
as references do not need the abbreviating period.
Abbreviations of honorary titles should not be divided by putting one letter in one line and its mate in the following line. These titles, abbreviated
with two or more capitals, as in A.M. or LL.D., do not need intervening spaces, for the space is confusing in a list of many abbreviated titles.
When two or moi-e pages are specified in the text, set them thus
:
pages 141, 142, 158, and not as
"Wlien a reference pp. 141-2, 158, nor as 141-158. includes numerous pages, set thus pages 141 to 150. :
Compactness is desirable in references, but abbreviations should not be indefinite or misleading.
When a period of time is expressed by the dates of two consecutive years, set them thus
:
1895-6.
When there is a lapse of a year or more, give each date in full, as
:
1895, 1897, 1899.
The apostrophe
in such cases as '95, '97, and ^99 is common, but it
makes an unpleasing abbreviation. The careftd writer who has to abbreviate in his foot-notes the names of books and periodicals, or scientific terms and foreign or little-used words, should prepare an alphabetical list of abbreviations that will prevent him and the compositor from spelling the same word in different ways. As the compositor is required to follow his copy, he must abbreviate as the writer has done, even when the abbreviations are not alwavs consistent.
Ill
COMPOUND WORDS !)ORDS of variable spelling are rare in ordinary copy, but words that may be compounded are frequent. When to set up two meeting words as two words, when to consolidate them in one word, when to connect them with a hyphen, are problems that the compositor has to decide almost every hour. He finds it very difficult to get authoritative instruction. There are not many authors who compound words uniformly, and the dictionaries differ, and sometimes are not consistent in rendering words or phrases of similar class. Arm chair, arm-chair, armchair, are suitable illustrations.
The proof-reader may overrule the
teachings of the dictionary provided by the office
may correct proof by some The author may object to the
as an authority, and
system of his own.
62
Compounds needed for clearness
rulings of dictionary and proof-reader, and insist on his own methods.
may
It follows that there
are often wranglings in every printing-house over
the propriety of some compounded words.^
VALUE OF COMPOUNDS The subject cannot be set aside as frivolous. The importance of making instantly perceptible the union or the distinctiveness of meeting words that might otherwise convey unintended meanings is fairly presented by Mr. Teall in the three forms iron fence, iron-saw, and ironw^ood. An iron fence is a fence of iron, which is clearly understood when set as two distinct words.
Iron-saw,
a saw made to cut iron, if not connected with a
hyphen would convey the wrong notion that it was a saw made of iron. Ironwood, the accepted name of a kind of hard wood, would not so clearly convey the intended meaning if set as two words or if it were connected with a hyphen. Other illustrations could be presented to show that the neglect to compound or to keep separate meeting
words may lead to unforeseen misunderstandings. 1 It is not the purpose of the writer to lay down new rules or to take part in the controversies of opposing systems. For this work it is enough to present examples of words and wordjoinings that have met with general approval Readers who
are interested in greater niceties are referred to two books by Mr. F. Horace Teall : English
Compound Words and Phrases (octavo,
New York, 1892), and
The Compounding of English Words,
etc.
York, 1891).
(duodecimo.
New
—
Consolidations fixed by usage
63
THEORY OF COMPOUNDING The theory of compounding is quite intelligibly presented in many English grammars. When two words meet which convey one meaning, with the emphasis of pronunciation upon the first word, the two words should be consolidated or connected with the hyphen, as in laughter-loving.
When
emphasis is required for the second word, the two words may not be connected with the hyphen.^ This is clear and easily remembered, buj>, to this general rule there are some exceptions not to be classified. The compositor must determine whether the first word in a possible compound is an ordinary and removable qualifier which has no need of a hyphen, or whether it is an inseparable adjunct which must have the hyphen or be consolidated with the following word. The consolidation of two words in one, as in ironwood, is still more difficult to define by rule, for consolidation is governed by usage, as in the words railroad and steamboat, once 1 ... Is not the pronunciation of the words the best guide? In the English language, every word of more than one syllable is marked by an accent on some particular syllable. Some very
long words indeed admit a secondary accent on another syllable; but still this is much inf erior, and leaves one leading accent prominent as in expos^tulatory. Accordingly, when a :
compound has but one accented syllable in pronunciation, as nightcap, bed'stead, broad'sword, the two words have coalesced completely into one, and no hyphen should be admitted. On the other hand, when each of the radical words has an accent, as Chris' tian-name', broad'-sh&iil'dered, I think the hyphen should
be used. Goold Brown's Grammar of English Grammars, p. 188.
Dieresis in consolidated words
64:
separate, but now consolidated, while house-boat
and ferry-boat are sometimes hyphened and sometimes set as distinct words.
Many good writers do not favor the increase of compounds: words once hyphened are now separated, as
common law grand jury
master printer minute hand
slave trade
interest tables
palm leaf
Sunday school
law merchant peasant woman
sister city
supper table
The compounding of very long phrases, as neverenough-to-be-remembered, long-looked-for, counsellor-at-law, after the Grerman method of uniting all
qualifying words,
is
not practised by carefid
Bigelow judiciously says that the hyphening of these words adds nothing toward clearness of expression. Two words should not be connected with the hyphen when separated words will convey writers.
the meaning with sufficient distinctness.
THE DIEEESIS The dieresis, always on the second vowel, may be required in some words like cooperative and preem"When a word carrying this dieresis, Uke inent. cooperation and preemption, has to be divided on the first syllable at the end of a line, the dieresis should be suppressed.
He sought the agent at once, and asked his cooperation in securing for his son the preemption of the land.
Fractions and numerals
65
When the prefix co- is followed by a consonant it does not always take the hyphen.
Usage allows
contemporary, copartner, and correspond, as well as co-worker and co-respondent.
The dieresis should be preferred where, in words not compound, the vowel o is doubled, forming a separate syllable, as in epizootic, laocoon, zoology,
zoophyte.
POINTS OF THE COMPASS Useless hyphened words are often made in naming
some of the points of the compass, as north-east, north-west, south-east, south-west, which are better as consolidated words (northeast, northwest, etc.). A hyphen is needed only when one of the words is repeated, as in north-northeast, south-southwest.
FRACTIONS AND NUMERALS Simple fractions, like one half, two thirds, seven no connecting hyphen; they are more clearly expressed when numerator and denominator are kept separate and sixteenths, ten thousandths, need
printed as two disunited words.
But two nume-
rals may be compounded by the aid of the hyphen
when they are needed to qualify a following noun, as in one-half interest, two-third share, seven-six-
teenth division.
When the fraction is complex, as in three seventy-ninths or thirty-eight thousandths, the hyphen
66
Compomtdsfor mimerals
should be used to connect the numerals more nearly
For a similar reason the hyphen should be used in the specification of numbered streets, as in Eighty-second Street or One-hundred-andtwenty-first Street. The hyphen makes the phrase awkward in appearance, but it is of real service, for by dictation the words Eighty-second Street might be misunderstood as Eighty (or 80) Second Street. Two numerals so connected as to express an amount that represents unity and not division, as twenty-seven, should always be compounded. Compounds of half, quarter, eighth, etc., are usually conjoined by the hyphen, as related.
eighth-barrel
half-dozen
half-witted
half-barrel
half-holiday
quarter-barrel
half-crown
half-past
quarter-day
half-dollar
half-yearly
quarter-section
but quartermaster and headquarters are not.
Numerals of one syllable used before the sufBx -fold, or with the words score, penny, and pence,
are consolidated, as in
fourfold
halfpence
fourpence
halfpenny
twelvepence twofold
fourscore
sixpence
twopenny
but numerals of two syllables are made separate words, as in a hundred fold, twenty score, fifteen pence. When used as an adjective qualifier, as in fifteen-penny tax, the hyphen may be used.
:
Consolidation of 'personal nouns
67
First-rate, second-rate, and other terms signi-
fying degrees, are compounded.
So are the titles
of First-lieutenant, Second-lieutenant, First-mate,
Second -mate, when used before the name of the but when these titles occur without the name of the person they are made separate words.
person
;
Numerals combined with adjectives or nouns and used as qualifying adjectives take the hyphen. four-mile run three-legged stool two-hundredfour-story
twenty-acre lot
one-sided
two-foot rule
dollar note
two-faced
APPROVED COMPOUNDS OF KINDRED foster-brother great-grandfa-
grand-uncle
ther
great-aunt
heir-at-law
mother-in-law second-cousin son-in-law
Kinship words in frequent use are consolidated godfather
grandfather
stepfather
godmother godson
grandmother
stepmother
stepdaughter
stepson
PERSONAL COMPOUNDS
Compound nouns ending with man or woman should be consolidated
:
as.
Englishman, French-
woman, oysterman, warehouseman, needlewoman, workingman, marketwoman, etc.
68
Civic and military titles
While a noun or an adjective made by adding a suffix to a proper name composed of two words
may be compounded (as in East-Indian or NewYorker), qualifjdng names without a sufBx should not be compounded the Bast India Company and :
a New York man are better renderings.
The hyphen is needed in many words beginning with self. Exceptions are selfhood, selfsame, and selfish with some derivatives. Words ending with self,
as myself,
itself,
himself, are consolidated.
The exception is one's self, which should be made two words, marking the first word in the possessive There are a few writers, however, who precase. fer the solid form oneself. Personal descriptions tersely expressed in two words, as light -haired, long-legged, sharp -nosed, broad-shouldered, blue-eyed, invariably have these
words connected with a hyphen.
CIVIC
AND MILITAEY TITLES
Accepted compounds are major-general, rear-admiral, captain-general, adjutant-general, attorney-
general, lieutenant-colonel, governor-general, vice-
the words viceroy and viceregent are consolidated. They always take one capital when they precede the name of the person, and sometimes when used as the synonym of that person's name, as in the words Governor-gen-
president, vice-chanceUor, but
eral, the Rear-admiral, the Vice-president, etc.
Compounds ofpossessive case
69
COMPOUNDS OP -LIKE AND MIDCompounds ending with -like are usually made one word, unless derived from a proper name, or appearing in unusual and unpleasing combination, as they do when two or more similar consonants meet, in which case the hyphen should be used, as it is in shell-like, bell-like, and miniature-like. Childlike, godlike, lifelike, ladylike, businesslike, etc.,
are always consolidated.
Compounds in which the prefix mid- begins the word are frequently written with a hyphen, as in mid-ocean but the words in commoner use have ;
become consolidated, as midday, midnight, midway, midsummer, midships, midland, midrib, midwife.
COMPOUNDS OP COLOR Expressions like a brownish yellow or a yellowish white, being simple cases of adjective and noun,
are not compounded.
But where a noun is used
with an adjective to specify color the words may take the hyphen: lemon-yellow, silver-gray, olivegreen, emerald-green, etc.
COMPOUNDS OF POSSESSIVE CASE Compounds formed of nouns in the possessive case with other nouns are not infrequent, as in bird'seye, death's-head, king's-evil, crow's-nest, bear'sThe use of a hyphen followfoot, jew's-harp, etc. 5
70
Approved consolidations
ing the possessive "s has good authority, but it is of doubtful propriety and is
much oftener disre-
garded, as in birdseye, jewsharp, ratsbane, beeswax, and townspeople. When there is reasonable
doubt as to their propriety, it will be safer to omit the apostrophe and hyphen and to consolidate.
APPROVED CONSOLIDATIONS anybody
Prefixes frequently compounded
71
PREFIXES "Where the prefix pre- or re- is joined to a word beginning with e, the hyphen, and not the dieresis, may be needed, as pre-exist, re-enter, re-enlist. The hyphen should be used when the prefix comes before a consonant and forms a word similar in form to another of different signification, as in re-create or re-creation, but not in rec'reation, nor in rec'oUection. It may be used in re-form or re-formation, but not in reformation, for the word with a hyphen conveys a different meaning. The hyphen is used in pre-historic and pre-raphaeUte, but not in predetermine. The prefixes over, under, after, out, cross, and
counter are usually consolidated, as in overdone, overestimate, overboard, underclothes, undertaker,
underbrush, undergraduate, afterpiece, aftermath, outpour, crossexamine, crossquestion, When, however, countermarch, couutercharm. outlook,
these prefixes come before nouns or adjectives of two syllables they may take the hyphen, as in undercurrent, under-master, counter-current, over-issue, over-jealous.
In some dictionaries the hyphen is
authorized in under-lip, over-anxious, after-age, after-part, cross-piece, county-town, cross-section, counter-influence, but these words are oftener kept apart.
Antislavery and antedate, once joined with
a hyphen, are words.
now more common as consoHdated
:
72
Prefixes frequently consolidated
Demi and semi, non, sub, and extra are prefixes usually consolidated with the following word, but
when the combination is unusual, as in demi-devil, semi-savage, non-essential, sub-iodide, extra-judicial, the hyphen should be used.
The same distinction may be made in scientific peeudo, sulpho.
prefixes like electro, thermo,
Electro -gilding, thermo-electric, pseudo- metallic,
and sulpho-cyanide are made clearer by the hyphen.
Above, ill, -well, so, when they precede a participle and are used as qualifiers, may be connected to
that participle by a hyphen, as in above-mentioned, ill-bred, well -formed, so-called.
Adverbs ending
in -ly are seldom compounded with the participle that may follow.
Nouns or adjectives preceded or followed by a present participle are frequently connected with a
hyphen
:
composing-room, printing-house, dining-
table, good-looking, cloud-compelling.
In the earShakspere and of other English dramatists hyphened compounds of nouns with
lier editions of
participles are noticeably frequent.
School is consolidated in the following words schoolboy,
schoolmate,
schoolmaster, schoolmis-
compounded in school-bred and school-teaching when used to qualify a following noun. It is a distinct word in school teacher, tress;
but
it is
school children, school days, school district.
Bye is usually consolidated in most of its compounds, as eyelash, eyebrow, eyeglass, eyewitness.
73
Prefixes frequently consolidated
PREFIXES AND TERMINALS
Compounds that end with boat, house, book, room, side, yard, shop, mill, work, maker, holder, keeper, etc., are frequently printed with a hyphen, but when the words that so end are in
common use they should be consolidated, as in anteroom
foothills
rainfall
bedroom
roadside
bookbinder
framework gamekeeper groundwork
seaside
bookseller
handbill
shoemaker
breastworks
handbook
steamboat
commonplace
headwaters
stockholder
daybreak
hillside
storehouse
bedside
daylight
hiRtop
storeroom
daytime downstairs drawbridge earthworks
hotchpot
upstairs
fireside
firewarden
It.
sawmill
lawsuit
warehouse
lifetime
watercourse
network
wayfarer wayside
outhouse quitclaim
workshop
should be noted that most of the prefixes in
these examples are words of one syllable.
When
the prefix consists of two syllables, as in canalboat, ferry-house, dwelling-house, water-drop, etc., the words are more acceptable
with the hyphen.
when connected
74
Words that may be compounded PHRASES OF SEPARATE WORDS
after a while
in the meanwhile
attorney at law
in the meantime
by and by by the bye
it
may be so
long looked for (return)
ever to be remembered some time ago the carrying out good by
good morning in any way in any wise in no wise
the pulling down
inside out
weU laid out (grounds)
uncalled for (remarks)
upside down
waste ground
Good day and good night should be made separate words, except when used as qualifiers of a following noun, as in good-night kiss, good-day greeting.
APPROVED COMPOUNDS a-flshing
charter-party
fellow-student
apple-tree
counting-house
first-born
arm-chair
church-goer
first-fruits
arm's-length
fore-leg
battle-flag
deep-mouthed dining-haU
bill-holder
easy-chair
glass-house
bird's-eye view
evil-doer
book-account
fancy-free
gold-mining good-wiU
bric-^-brac
fault-finding
ground-floor
burnt-offering
fee-simple
ground-plan
freight-car
;
Compounds in capital letters ground-rent
loop-hole
harvest- time
heaven-high
man-of-war many-sided May-pole
high-priest
mill-pond
head-right
75
snow-bound snow-storm spell-bound
star-chamber starting-point
high-water mark moss-covered
steam-engine
hill-bound
night-time
stock-raising
hind-leg
old-fashioned
stumbling-block
hind-quarters
out-building
subject-matter
horse-power house-servant imposing-stone
party-waU
table-land
peace-lovirig
terra-cotta
pew-owner
text-book
judgment-day
purchase-money text- writer
knight-errant
rent-charge
title-page
land-of&ee
rent-service
trade- wind
laughing-stock
restiug-place
water-mark
law-abiding
safe-keeping
water-proof
law-writer
set-off
way-biU
hvery-stable
sewing-machine way-station
live-stock
side-track
long-suflfering
silver-tongued
wide-spread
looker-on
smart-money
wrong-doer
well-being
Compound words often cause over -wide spacing, but the gaps so made may be modified by putting a thin space on each side of the hyphen.
A
compound word within a line of capital letters should have an en dash to mark the compound but when it has to be divided at the end of a line, the hyphen should be used.
IV
FIGUEES AND NUMERALS I'RABIC FIGURES are not always to be repeated in type as written in the manuscript copy. In the descriptive text of a standard book numbers but occasionally presented are more pleas-
ing in words.
Figures should be avoided as much
as possible for all numbers but those of dates.
Yet
there are limits to the rule, for many writings compel a free use of arable figures.
FIGURES PREFERRED IN COMMEROIAX, PRINTING
When and where to substitute figures for words
K
cannot be determined by an inflexible rule. the compositor finds this statement in his copy, the height of the statue is 8 ft. 1 1 in., he may put it in type in many ways. If it is to appear in 76
Words preferred informal writings
77
an auctioneer's catalogue, or in an advertisement
where compactness
is
desired, he
may repeat it
exactly as wTitten, using figures and abbreviations for feet and inches.
If it is for a more carefully
printed trader's pamphlet or circular, he may use
but he should spell out the words feet and inches; if it is for the descriptive text of a good book, the words eight feet and eleven inches should be preferred. This substitution of words
figures,
for figures is a hazard, but the compositor may as-
sume, when space is limited and brevity is sought, that figures and abbreviations will be preferred.
WORDS PEEPERRED IN FORMAL WRITINGS
When great precision of statement is desired, as many other kinds of formal writing, figures and abbreviations should never be used where there is abundance of space. 1 Words should be preferred for the statements of whole numbers in simple sentences: is customary in legal documents and in
The basket held twenty apples. The engine has one hundred horse-power. The steamer's capacity is six thousand tons. In ordinary newspaper and job work numbers of infrequent recurrence should be in words. 1
The
this
principal
exception to
mle is to be found in the
compositiou of tables in which
Even
the compactness of figures aids the reader in making a compari-
son of amounts.
Uniformity of expression
78
when the mimbers are large but not too frequent, words are to be preferred if space will permit. The regiment consisted of ten. hundred and fortyeight men.
The returns showed twenty-nine killed, forty-four wounded, and twenty-six missing. In ordinary description the expression of numbers by hundreds is preferred to that by thousands: twenty-eight hundred and sixty is a more approved phrase than two thousand eight hundred and sixty. In legal documents a contrary method prevails: dates always appear by thousands, and speUed-out words are obligatory for measurements, values, and their fractions in every form.
UNIFOBMITY OF EXPRESSION TO BE MAINTAINED
When space is limited, and numbers appear in every sentence and are complex, calling for many digits, speUed-out words are a hindrance and of no
The information intended be more quickly discerned by figures, which must be regarded as proper when they really help benefit to the reader. will
Yet it is not becoming to put figures and not in another. Uniformity of stj'le should be maintained throughout. It is better to give slight ofEence by an apparently pedantic precision in one paragraph than to give greater offence by varying the style in difthe reader.
in one chapter or paragraph
ferent paragraphs to the confusion of the reader.
Words preferred in legal documents
79
WORDS PREFERRED IN LEGAL DOCUMENTS Words should always be preferred for numbers as well as for dates in legal documents, as in This indenture, made the twenty-seventh day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven.
Words should also be used in all legal papers for the statement of moneys paid, as well as for the
measurements of land and the expression of values, for figures are specially liable to error, alteration,
and misconstruction. For this reason statements of numbers plainly intended to have special distinction should be in words, even
when they ap-
pear as arable figures in ordinary writings. Even in compact writing the use of speUed-out words instead of figures is sometimes obligatory.
FIGURES SHOULD NOT BEGIN A SENTENCE
When the sentence begins with a numerical statement, words must be used for the numbers, even if figures are used in
other parts of that sentence.
Eighteen thousand men enlisted in New York State during the year: 8000 are credited to Manhattan, 4000 to Brooklyn, 2000 to Troy, 1000 to Albany, and 3000 elsewhere.
A statement like this is permissible in a newspaper or pamphlet, but in a history or in any book in-
Figwres and words in one sentence
80
tended to be formally precise, it is a nmch better practice to put all the numbers in words. In a catalogue of books in which the size of the book has to be specified, the terms 4to, 8vo, 12mo,
may be used within the sentence, but the words Quarto, Octavo, Twelvemo, Eighteenmo, Thirtytwomo, etc., are better when they begin sentences. etc.,
FIGURES AND WOEDS IN ONE SENTENCE
When any paragraph consists largely of numbers that specify quantities, weights, or measurements,
immediately followed by rates or values, then the quantities, weights, or measurements should be in words and the rates in figures. This remark apIn market plies mainly to the circulars of traders. reports, catalogues, inventories, and works of like
character in which great compactness is desired, figures may be used throughout for specifications
of
all
numbers.
When vulgar fractions have to
be used with whole numbers, the selection of arable figures seems unavoidable. Seventy yards of calico, at 5^ cents per yard. Forty-five bushels of oats, at 37J^ cents per bushel. Seventeen acres of land, at $12% per acre.
When numerical statements like these are repeated frequently, this restricted use of figures for rates or
values makes a proper distinction between quanti-
and rates, and helps the reader to a better understanding of the subject-matter. ties
Dates best expressed in figures
81
Arabic figures should be selected to express degrees of heat (as in Temperature 71°) or specifications of gravity (as in Lead is 11.352), but words are better for degrees of inclination (as in At an angle of forty-five degrees). Records of votes (as in 20 yeas to 41 nays), or of time in a race (as in One mile in 2 minutes 23J seconds), are made clearer by figures.
Numerals occasionally employed as qualifiers are neater in words (as in two-foot rule or ten-story
but when a noun is frequently repeated on the same page, with different qualifiers, figures make the subject-matter more intelligible (as in 6point, 24-point, and 60-point type). It is admitted, however, that the combination of figures and words
building)
;
in a compound is not sightly.
DATES BEST EXPRESSED IN FIGURES In ordinary writings all dates should be in arable figures, but when they appear in legal documents
words should be used.
When the numerical day
of the month precedes the month, it should appear as 10th April or 22d April. When it follows the month, the th or d is not required it should be ;
April 10 or April 22.
When it is spelled out in a
document, it should be in full, as the tenth day of April or the twenty-second day of April. Dates should be stated with system in every book. It is a fault to have April 17, 1762, on one page, and
;
82
Vulgar and decimal fractions
23d August, 1764, on another. The use of 2nd or 3rd, common in England, is not to be commended 2d or 3d is a more acceptable abbreviation.
STATEMENTS OF TIME In formal writing a statement of time should be
made in words.
Phrases like two o'clock, half-past
three, or ten minutes to four are more pleasingly
expressed by words than by 2 o'clock, 3.30, or 3.50. Hours are usually separated from minutes by a period, as in 11.30.
Sometimes the period is in-
verted, as in 11'30, and sometimes a colon is un-
wisely used, as in 11:30.
The forms o'clk and o'cl'k
are tolerated in narrow column work only.
In rapid writing figures are often used for time
when followed by the abbreviations a.m. or p.m.
When a.m. and p.m. are not in the copy, which reads, at seven o'clock in the morning, or at twelve o'clock
noon, words should be used instead of figures.
VULGAK AND DECIMAL FRACTIONS In ordinary description, but not in a legal document, the expression of money in complex or broken amounts, as $21.76 or £23 7s. 3d., should be in fig. ures.
Even amounts of money, like five dollars or
three shillings, may be in words, but not if figures are used in the same paragraph for other amounts.
In ordinary composition, whole numbers with vul-
gar fractions often compel the use of figures.
Obscurity of many fractions
83
Analysis showed 13J^ grains of soda to the pint. John has $76.21, and James has $50.67.
An isolated vulgar fraction should be in words:
^
is insignificant, and is more readably prei or sented as one eighth or one thirty-second.
The hyphen is not needed to join the words one eighth, or those of any similar fraction, when they
are used alone, but it is needed when the fraction is used as a qualifier, as in one-eighth share.
Compoimded fractions like eight thirty-seconds take the hyphen for the compounded numeral, be-
cause the hyphen is needed to show the closer relation of the two numbers to each other, as more
clearly appears in forty-seven ninety-sixths.
The figures upon the en body provided by typefounders are insignificant in a line of capital letNewspapers prefer figures on the two-third-
ters.
em body for their tabular work. i
i
%
i
i
I
i
%
Va
%
y^
^/s
%
'h
Fractions on the en body are quite indistinct in tabular work, for which fractions on the em body
should be preferred. Piece-fractions on two bodies, each one half of the en body of the text type, are often required for vulgar fractions, but they are
almost unreadable when cast for the smaller sizes.
As these piece-fractions differ in size and cut from the solid fractions of the font, the two forms should
not be used in the same table.
84
Figures not mating with letters
Decimal fractions are most intelligibly stated in figures, vnth the decimal point placed on the line of the figure, as it is in .638.
The inversion of the
decimal point, as in '638, is not an improvement. The decimal point must always precede the decimal If division has to be made between dollars and cents, the point shordd be before the cents. The ciphers .00 should not be added in paragi-aph matter to any statement of even doUars $100 is better than $100.00, which may be confusing. Yet
figures.
:
the addition of the ciphers is proper in every table that contains columns separating dollars and cents.
When figures of very large amounts, as 23,762 or 5,368,872, are of frequent recurrence, the thou-
sands should be separated by a comma; but it is not necessary to use the comma for four figures only, as 5962, nor should the comma be inserted
between figures that express dates, as 1861. Figures in a descriptive text are not pleasing, but they are necessary when the amounts are large and of frequent recurrence. To put the figures in the preceding paragraph in words would require more space, and would not be regarded as an improvement by the reader. In the texts of formal documents, however, words are preferred to figures, not only for their greater exactness, but for their neater appearance. As figures are ascending letters, occupying two thirds of the height of the body, the bunching of many of them in a paragraph spots the page and produces the effect of
:
Numerical names of streets
85
the overbold display of many capital letters. it
Yet
often happens that neatness must be subordi-
nated to clearness. Figures are more quickly read, are more compact, and are decidedly indispensable for tabular work that is intended to present contrasts or comparisons of amounts or values. Statistical matter not
put in tables often com-
pels the use of figures in a descriptive text, as
The warehouse held 950 tons of wheat 500 prime, :
240 ordinary, 210 inferior. The cannon captured were 110 in number 40 tenponnders, 50 forty-ponnders, 15 sixty-pounders, 5 hundred-pounders. :
In aU encyclopedias, gazetteers, dictionaries, guidebooks, and compact works of similar character, figures are preferred for numerical statements.
A
similar rule prevails, with occasional exceptions, in
some forms of offteial documents, and exception is rarely made for a short number hke 1 or 10.
NUMERICAL NAMES OF STREETS The numerical names of city streets are presented when the words are not repeated too frequently in the same sentence or paragraph. best in words
First Street is better than 1st Street. One-hundredand-sixty-first Street is a somewhat awkward term,
but it should be governed by this rule and be uniform with other numerical words. 6
86
Numerical names of regiments
When the niimber of the house is placed before the street name, as 65 First Street or 27 One-hnndred-and-sixty-first Street, figures are needed to
emphasize the diflEerence between the number of the house and that of the street.^
When streets and avenues are frequently mentioned in the same sentence or paragraph, and this treatment is not contrary to that prevailing in other parts of the work, the avenue may take
the numerical word and the street the arable figure
or figures, as Fifth Avenue and 125th Street.
In
directories and other compacted works streets and
avenues are necessarily described by figures only. But when a distinction has to be made, the avenue should have the word, the street the figure.
NUMERICAL NAMES OF REGIMENTS Regiments and corps of the army are easily differentiated by similar treatment. When two or more regiments only are specified in a sentence, as the Fortieth and the One-hundi-ed-and-seventh, words are properly selected but when in this sentence or paragraph other names occur, as the First Corps, Seventh Corps, etc., then the corps should be specified by numerical words and the regiments by arable figures. In a newspaper report of a battle or a review the specification of different regiments ;
1 In
England the comma always is put after the nnmber of the house. This is correct, but it is not American usage.
Arabic figures with capital letters
87
by words would make that report needlessly prolix, and sometimes would confuse the reader. ARABIC FIGURES BAD MATES FOR CAPITALS Ai-abic figures are now made to line with the lower-
case letters, and are of improved symmetrical form,
but they continue to be cast upon the en body for convenience in table-work. They are consequently too weak to be used with capital letters that may be nearly twice as wide. For this reason the dates
some book titles, and the numbers of chapters and of other headings of a book in which numbers have to appear in the same line with capitals, are usually put in roman numerals made of capital letters. When a font has fuU figures of the width of
of the average capital letter, these broader figures
may properly be used with the capitals, but figures on the en body should be used with capital letters only when these capitals are of condensed shape. When arable figures are required in a display line o£ old-style capitals, the figures selected should be of a larger body— about one half larger— than the
regular capitals, and should be justified to line but this is possible only in a book title or in very open ;
display.
ROMAN NUMERALS The insignificance in a line of capital letters of the arable figures provided for book types compels
:
Numerals made hy capital letters
88
roman numerals for an orderly rendering The numerals in Aiost use are made from combinations
tlie use of
of dates in title-pages and chapter headings. of the seven capitals, I, V, X, L, C, D,
1=1 2
II
12=XII
30=XXX
M
500=D
Ungainliness of early arable figwes
89
Roman numerals had to be used by the first printers because they had no arable figures. These figures were first used In 1471 by Ther Hoernen, but they did not obtain a general acceptance for many years after.
They were IrregTilar in form and bad mates
for the roman capital letters.
These unsymmetrical
characters were bettered but slowly, still remaining
\ 1
90
Numerals for chapter headings
iascriptions, and every other part of a book that was
required to be composed largely in capital letters.^
NUMERALS FOR CHAPTER HEADINGS, ETC.
Roman numerals are often used to specify parts and chapters.
The numeral used in a chapter head-
ing generally has the word chapter before it, as
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER III
but the continued repetition of the word chapter seems as unnecessary in this position as the word page before paging figures. Some printers suppress the word chapter (always understood) to give the required prominence to the numeral. Arabic figures following the word chapter should be as broad and as prominent as the letters of the word. Sections, pages, paragraphs, and verses are usually mai'ked with arable figures,
but numerals of
roman small capitals are preferred for cantos or stanzas of poetry. Numerals in roman lower-ease are the rule for the paging of prefaces and some1 Old-style arable figures that are clear enough when emhedded in a lower-case text are not fairly clear when set solid in the coltinins of a table, for the figures in different lines are sometimes too close and need the separation of a lead to give them proper dis-
tinctiveness. Sometimes, however, irregularity in figures is a
merit. It is f or unevenness that writers on astronomy prefer for
signs the crooked Greek letters, Old-style figures in all tables set in a broad measure, especially when the columns of figures are separated by a broad blank from the words that show their meaning, are too compact; they interfere, and confuse the reader, Figures of greater height than the round lower-case letters need leads between lines to produce the clearness desired.
Numerals for magnates and centuries
91
times of introductions. Book titles, dedications, and formal printed pieces which require an occasional use of numbers usually present these num-
bers in the form of reman numerals, but this is not obligatory.
The date line of the title-page of the
ordinary book is frequently in arable figures. The numbers of the chapter headings in a table of contents are put in roman numerals, usually in capitals, but sometimes in small capitals.
NUMERALS FOR MAGNATES AND CENTURIES The numerical part of the names of magnates is usually put in capital letters, and the name proper is kept in lower-ease, as Gregory IX, Henry VIII, etc. but the large size and the frequent recur;
rence of these capitals seriously disfigure a page that has many names of like character. To avoid this blemish, small capitals may be preferred when
they are a trifle higher than the round letters of the lower-case and are sufficiently large and distinct.
They should not be used when they are not higher and are condensed or compacted. Centuries and dynasties are often specified by numerals in capital letters, as in XlXth century, but the undue prominence of the roman numerals in a lower-case text is a needless blemish. Small capitals when sufficiently large may be substituted with advantage. Many writers make use of speUed-out words in
XXIId dynasty
;
92
Numerals and figures for foot-notes
place of roman nmneraJs.
century is tnry.
The phrase nineteenth
now more common than XlXth cen-
The phrases sixteenth Louis, Gregory the
fourth, and twenty-second dynasty may displease
some readers by their novelty, but it is probable that they wiU supplant the older form. It is
customary in many printiog-houses to ,put
a period after the numerical part of the Tiame. The need of the period in this position has never
been satisfactorily explained, for XIX is no more of an abbreviation than 19, but it is unsafe for the compositor to suppress it unless so requested. The period is not used with the numerals employed to page a preface, nor for Part II or Canto IV, nor for [chapter] xx, [page] 375, as in a foot-note.
A
few old printers did, however, rate figures as abbreviations.^
Reference figures need not be separated from the
marks of parenthesis, as in (1) or 1). The marks so used may be more prominent than old-style figures, and can serve no useful purpose. When the type selected for text and notes is small, a figure of slightly bolder face will be more helptext by the
ful to the reader.^ 1 1 have seen old books with the period Se/ore and after every date, and even after the arable flgures selected for the paging of leaves. The period seems a useless nicety in this position. 2 In a narrow measure the en quadrat may come after the
flgnre ; in a broad
measure the
em quadrat may be used. In a catalogue of books hanging indention should be preferr^ so that the figure that denotes the number of each book shall projeet into the margin and readily be seen by the reader.
Figures without points in versification
93
NUMERALS FOR FOOT-NOTES
Roman numerals of the capital, small-capital, or lower-case series are sometimes used to specify vol-
umes, parts, or chapters in indexes and foot-notes. The word volume or chapter is rarely spelled out in an index or a note, or even abbreviated to vol.
or ch., for it is siipposed that the size, shape, and position of the numeral
wiU distinguish it from
xi, 63, which is intended to express chapter xi, page 63. (See Abbreviations.) The numerals used for the paging of prefaces and introductions should be of the roman
other abbreviations, as it does in
lower-case series.
The lower-case and the small-
capital letters i, v, x, closely resemble each other,
and it is safer to make use of the lower-case letters only for the foot-notes where this treatment is possible. This is one of many reasons why small capitals should be made higher and wider than the round letters of the lower-case and be a proper intermediate between that series and the series of capitals.
FIGURES IN VERSIFICATION
When figures are used at the beginning of paragraphs, or to number verses or other subdivisions, See the
the period is not needed after the figure.
paragraphing of the Bible and the versification of all hymn-books.
ITALIC ^NE line drawn underneath any written word is understood as a direction to put that word in italic. This underscoring should be done by the writer wherever italic
is
really needed.
A
general direction to put in italic a class of words
not so marked may not be understood when copy so neglected has to be set by many compositors. In the sixteenth century italic was an approved letter for book texts
;
it is
now seldom selected for
that purpose, although frequently used for sub-
headings, running titles, important texts or paragraphs, and sometimes for prefaces.
Authors of the
eighteenth century made free use of italic not only as an emphasizing letter, but to enforce nice and
needless distinctions between different kinds of subject-matter, as may be noticed in the following
Improper use of italic extract
from Hansard's Typographia (page
95 373),
in whicli book that author literally quotes this pas-
sage from Nelson's Fasts and Festivals.
What was the form of St. Andrew's Cross ? A. The Instrument of his Martyrdom is commonly said to have been something peeuHar in the Form of the letter X, being a Cross decussate, two Pieces of Timber crossing each other in the Middle And hence known by the Name of St. Andrew^s Cross. Q.
:
It will
be seen that there has been no want of
method iu this arrangement.
1.
to be Itahc the answers Roman
The Questions
but the Q. and the A. to be reversed, viz. the Q. to be Roman for the Itahc, and the A. to be Itahc for the Roman. 2. All substantives to be capitated aU noun-substantives to be Italic in the Roman part, and Roman in the Italic part, this not to extend to ;
;
the sign of the genitive case, as the letter s is to Also particular words to be distinguished contrary wise. The labour to a compositor, and also the reader, on such a work as this, will be httle short of that required upon a
be the reverse.
—
work of which he understands not a single word, and the book, when printed, exhibits a motley appearance of Roman and Itahc, capitals and lower-case, till those who are not sufficient judges of typography to know the cause, wonder why the page is so confused and tiresome to the eye. Since 1825 the reading world has outgrown this artificial method of using italic, but it still adheres
to other methods that are as illogical.
96
Mismating of italic with roman
ITALIC IN COPY NOT ALWAYS TO BE REPEATED
The free use, or even the moderate use, of italic for emphasis in a text is now regarded as an exhibition of bad taste on the part of the writer and a
needless affront to the intelligence of the reader.
For this reason the compositor should not servilely The undis-
follow copy in its markings for italic.
ciplined writer usually regrets profuse itaKcizings
when he sees their effect in the proof.
In case of doubt special instructions either to follow or to change overmarked italic should be obtained from the foreman or the proof-reader. If seven per cent, of the words in a manuscript is marked for italic, its composition cannot be done to advantage on the ordinary type-setting machine. When ten per cent, or more is italicized, the compositor by hand rightfully claims an extra price for the additional labor it imposes.
ITALIC NOT ALWAYS A MATE FOR ROMAN Italic was made objectionable to critical readers by its frequent mismating with roman. When a thin italic of light face was made the emphasizing
character for a text in a bold-faced roman, the in-
congruity of the unlike styles was apparent, and this led to a general dislike of all italics.
Type-setting
machines constructed without proper provision for the composition of italic have been more effectual
:
Misuse of italic for foreign phrases
97
than any other agency in curtailing its use. Italic is rarely seen in the text of the reading-matter of the ordinary daily newspaper, for experience has proved that it is not needed as much as was supposed for emphasis or distinctness of statement. Yet it is not out of fashion in book-work, being used for running titles and subheadings, and to some extent in the text to differentiate words or phrases that might be misunderstood but it is not used so freely as it has been to mark the emphatic words and examples of educational books. It has been found that the profuse commingling of an upright and an inclined letter irritates the eye, confuses perception, and makes the page hard to read ;
and understand. A light-faced antique of roiind or slightly compressed form has been found more acceptable than italic for distinctions in the text.
FOREIGN WORDS AND PHRASES
Words and phrases in foreign languages are not put in italic so frequently as they were a hundred years ago, but if the compositor finds italic clearly marked in the manuscript of a disciplined writer, he should obey this direction. Yet there are many good book-houses that forbid the use of italic for the short sentences of the following examples This inscription was on the tablet est pro patria mori.
:
Duke et decorum
:
98
German authors dislike italic
Caesar wrote Veni, vidi, viei. Qui vit sans foKe n'est pas si sage quHl croit. :
Most
true, you spiteful critic.
Sentences like these do not need italic or quotaThe selection of the colon, the change
tion-marks.
from English to a foreign language, the beginniiig of the quotation with a capital letter, the context,
and the occasional but improper use of quotationmarks, are enough to make it apparent that the foreign words are quotations. To set an entire paragraph of the quoted matter of a foreign language in italic, or even to select it too freely for phrases, practically nullifies its value as a display letter for the subheadings or for any other part of the book in which distinction is reaUy needed. Words and short phrases quoted from Greek or German are usually set in roman between quotation-marks but if the quoted word or phrase is ;
made the text or subject of fine verbal criticism, it should be put in the proper character of its own language. To the critical German author italic is offensive as it appears in this sentence
The connection with potamos and with posis equivocal and insufficient.
is
The connection with noTa/jidg and with noaig is equivocal and insufficient.
Greek characters, as they are shown in the second example, should be preferred to those of italic.
:
Verses and phrases in italic
99
When an entire paragraph or a long sentence in a foreign language is quoted in fuU, the quotation-
marks are sufficient to show that the quoted matter is not a part of the text.
Italic is not needed, but
bibliographers who habitually select itaUc for the citations of books prefer that character for all quotations, whether they do or do not make an entire
paragraph.
The verse that follows is in the style
preferred by Pollard^ in his reprint of the colophon of an edition of Bartolus de Saxoferrato on the Digests
of Justinian, printed by Windelin of Speyer Si correcta voles digesta evolvere legum,
Hec erne, quae nulla carpere parte potes. Perlege : non parvo sunt emendata labore.
Nil nisi correctum vendere Spira juhet.
One revival of an old fashion in typography is the selection of italic in modern books for bits of verse between paragraphs in the text of roman, but it is not a fashion to be commended. An unusual word or a short phrase in a foreign language, even when it is accompanied by a translation, is sometimes required to be set in italic, as in It
was a simple chaise, a due posti, neither new nor neat.
The mdtayer system is not beneficial to the farmer.
We had our dejeuner a la fourchette as early as eleven o'clock in the morning. 1 Last
Words on the History of the Title Page, etc., p. 11.
:
Words that do not need italic
100
Why these words should be set in italic, why a due posti would not be equally clear in quotation-marks
or in parentheses, why metayer should not be in
quotation-marks, are questions not to be answered satisfactorily, but when it is the plain order of the
author to set phrases or words like these in italic, that direction must be obeyed.
There are foreign
words, used for the first time, that need some dis-
and there are others that have no proper Here follows a sentence in which the use of itaUe seems to be regarded by the writer as not only admissible but commendable tinction,
equivalents in English.
He was told that she was very unhappy, powr lui et par lui, and that his attentions had been compromettant to her prospects as weU as destructive to her peace.
Pour lui et par lui and compromettant have satisfactory equivalents in English, but these equivalents do not convey the alliteration
and the play on words intended hj the writer. There is increasing resistance to the excessive use of italic. The foreign words and phrases that have been practically incorporated in the English language are now preferably put in roman, as in aide-de-camp
Words that do not need italic cantos
eutrepdt
carte blanche
erratum
chapeau et cetera chaperon facsimile charge d'affaires fete
101
per capita per cent.
per centum per se
finis
post-mortem pro rata
cicerone
gratis
proteg(§
contra
corrigenda
imprimatur innuendo
data
literati
regime rendezvous
debris
mandamus
r61e
debut depot
manoeuvre mignonette
savants
diarrhoea
naive
sobriquet
chiaroscuro
quondam
seraglio
dictum
olla podrida
dilettante
onus
ultimatum verbatim
dramatis personae
paterfamilias
vice
patois
vice versa
ennui
per annum
viva voce
This list could be largely extended.
Any word of
foreign origin which appears as an English word in an approved English dictionary, by that adoption ceases to be foreign, and should not be set in italic unless it is so ordered by the author.
Foreign words that are familiar to all intelligent The accents should be marked in copy, but are so repeated when they like depot and role when in words their omission readers do not need italic.
set in roman is a common practice. 7
:
:
102 Italic preferred for citations of books
The following words or phrases usually appear in italic,
with their proper accents
ab ovo
en passant
locum tenens
ancien regime
fait accompli
mise en scene
bete noire
grand monde hors de combat
raison d'etre
de quoi viire
inter alia
sans ceremonie
de trap
jeud'esprit
tour deforce
comme il fatit
noblesse oblige
The phrases prima facie and ex ofBlcio, when used to qualify the nouns that follow, are frequently put in roman ; but when used as adverbs they may be set in italic.
The compositor may need from the
proof-reader special instruction for these eases. Prima-faeie evidence. The evidence is, prima fade, convincing.
An ex-offlcio member of the committee. The Speaker is, ex officio, the chairman.
Xote also that these words may be connected with a hj-phen when they are used as qualifiers.
In works on bibliography the titles of all books specified in the text are usually put iu italic, as
Storia Crifica de Xic. Jenson. Lettres d'un Bibliographe.
Hints on Decorative Printing. This method, approved by all bibliographers, is to
be preferred to the commoner practice of setting titles in roman and inclosing them with quotation-
Italic for names of periodicals
marks.
103
A different method is observed for foot-
notes, not only by bibliographers, but by modern
the name of the author, the title of the book, and the date and description are always set in historians
:
roman lower-case, without the use of small capitals, italic, or quotation-marks. 1
Sardini, Storia Critiea de Nie. Jenson, Lucca, 1796-98
(3 parts), 8vo, p. 19. 2
Madden, Lettres d'un Bibliograplie,
Paris,
1886,
8vo,
sixifeme s6rie, p. 116. ^
Savage, Hints on Decorative Printing, London, 1882, 4to,
chap. ii.
In the texts of magazines and journals, and in all ordinary book-work, the titles of cited books are frequently and needlessly put in roman lower-case
between quotation-marks, as in " Introduction to the Classics," vol. ii, p. 555. " Gentleman's Magazine," 1793, p. 91.
The full names of magazines and newspapers were formerly always set in italic, but they often appear
now in roman lower-case quoted.'
A recent prac-
tice is to select italic for the name (but not always
the place) of the paper, as London Times or New 1 Some editors stiU adhere to the old usage, putting the name of the book or magaziue in italic, and reserving quotation-marks for the heading of any article referred to in the publication, This is a nice distinction, but
the specification of the article could be made equally clear by using roman lower-case for the name or title, and beginning each Important word with a capital letter, as has been the custom for the specification of book titles.
Italic for characters in plays
104
Yorli Herald} One old tradition is maintained the paper or magazine that prints its own name ia its text does so with small capitals. Names of vessels, as the Kearsarge or the Alabama, are frequently put in italic. The intent of the :
italic is to differentiate
the ships from the places.
Italic is often selected (too often
unwisely) for
the names of paintings and statues, and for characters in plays, apparently with intent to aid the
reader to a better understanding of the subject. In the text of the ordinary book or periodical, Julius Caesar, the man of history, is always set in
roman
but Julius Caesar as a personage in a In these attempts to help, profuse italic defeats the purpose of the ;
play is usually set in italic. writer;
it
spots the text, disfigures the page, and
irritates the reader.^
PROPER USE OF ITALIC Although itaHe often has been misused, it cannot be dispensed with. It can be made a help to good 1
The
definite
article
the,
which usually precedes the citar tion of a journal, need not be capitalized, italicized, or put in
quotation-marks.
York Herald,"
"The New
" The
Evening
Journal," are obsolete fashions of citatiou. These papers are of tener cited without quotationmarks, as the New York Herald or the Evening Journal. 2 For an exhibit of a needless
use of italic for words arbitral rily selected, see the extract on page 36, from Rowe Mores's Typographical Founders and Founderies. The Mechanick Exercises of Joseph Moxon, frequently cited this book, is even more profuse in display. Excess of
m
italic in print, like false empha-
in oratory and profuse underscorings in writing, does not help but hinders understanding. sis
Italic for credits
105
It may be selected with proprietj^ for running titles, for the headings of tables, for subheadings, and for a clearer marking of the words and phrases that really need distinction in the text. The signature of each contributor to a magazine is usually set in italic, but it is unwisely used for side-notes, for it has many kerned or projecting letters, which are liable to break and often do break off at the endings of lines in an exposed position. Italic may be selected occasionally to distinguish the words or clauses that serve as verbal texts for an extended comment, but it should not be selected unless there is real need for making a distinction. Small capitals are sometimes used with good effect. In the text of a book or pamphlet, use roman for the name of the writer, but italic for the title of the cited book. In a citation that makes a full paragraph, and in all foot-notes, it is the common practice to put the name of the author as well as At the end of of the book in roman lower-case. a paragraph or foot-note, specijleation of author and book may be roman for author and italic for book book alone, italic. Select roman, without quotation-marks, for the names of papers, magazines, and serials appearing in the body of the text or in a foot-note, but when put at the end of paragraphs as credits, use italic. When an unfamiliar foreign word is used to convey precise description, put it in italic, but use
typography.
;
roman for repetitions of that word.
106
Latinized names of science LATINIZED NAMES OF SCIENCE
Names of diseases, as angina pectoris, cerebrospinal meningitis, and of remedies, as nux vomica, cannabis indica, are not set in italic, nor does the first word begin with a capital letter. Ordinary names in geology, as quartz, hornblende, gneiss, do not take capitals or italic; but
when they are derived from proper names, as Devonian, Jurassic, a capital is required for the first letter, but the word is set in roman.
In botany and zoology the first letter of a name composed of two words usually takes a capital, and each word is set in italic. The first word denotes the genus; the second, the species, — the generic and specific names together constituting the scientific
name of the animal or plant: as, Arvicola ampJiihius. When the second name is derived from that of a person or place, its first letter may be capitalized, as in DelpMnus Sinensis or Darlingfonia Californica. WTien the name of a family or an order is mentioned, the first letter of the word is usually capitalized.
Of the Cdstoridae, or beaver family of Bodentia, we have three native species: the water-vole (Arvicola amphibius), the field-vole
(Arvicola agrestis),
and the bank-vole [Arvicola pratensis). In this illustration the words Castoridae and Rodentia
denote respectively the family and order, and
the three species of Arvicola the particular kind of
Names of species in italic
107
animal. Wlien first used all the words should be in italic.
The words Castoridae or Rodentia when re
peated in the same article may be in roman, but the
names of species should be in italic, however often repeated. The distinction prevents confusion. Authorities in science differ as to the use of italic
and capitals, but the rules here given are enough for the uniformity of negligently prepared copy. If the compositor finds another method in carefuUy
prepared copy, he should observe that method. Italic is frequently used for the words of a running commentary bracketed in the text. The word [sic] is
often selected to call attention to bad spell-
ing or the improper use of a word.
Comments
set in roman and put in brackets should not need
greater distinction. Italic should be avoided in all lines (as in date-
and side-notes) in which upright figures are The contrast between straight roman and bent italic in the same word is unpleasing. Quotations and extracts that make two or more lines, and reaUy require a special paragraph, may be set in roman with quotation-marks if in the same type as the text, or without them if in smaller type with blank at top and bottom. This arrangement will be more pleasing than a paragraph of italic.
lines
used.
In book- work, italic parentheses should not be
used for inclosing words in italic. Distinction is sought for the words, not for the points. In displayed job-work italic parentheses may be used.
VI
CAPITAL LETTEES ETTBRS intended for capitals of full size are indicated in the manuscript by
underscoring them with three parallel hnes.
The first word of every full sen-
tence should begin with a capital letter.
For the proper expression of words correctly written in English this rule is invariable, but it should not be applied, when literal exactness is intended, to a reprint of the incorrect writing of an illiterate person who does not begin a sentence -with a capital.^
Every line or verse of poetry should begin with a 1 There have been
even schol-
arly Tnen who did not observe this ruling. The English Typographical Founders and Founderies of E. Bowe Mores shows capitals for proper names only and for the first letter of the first sentence in a paragraph, but not for the
letters of sentences that follow in that paragraph. (See extractonpageSe.) quotation from the book is not fairly presented if it does not reproduce this mannerism. In setting matter with these peculiarities the copy should be followed. first
A
Capitals for the Deity and synonyms
109
capital letter, but this rule does not apply to the
turned-over words of a line or a verse of too many syllables for the measure.
The early printers of
Italy put small capitals at the beginning of lines
of poetry, and these small capitals were separated
by a wide space from the letters in lower-ease that
When literal exactness is intended in a
followed.
quotation this mannerism may be followed.
E / pleis in medijs latina campis
H orrebat mala nauigationes?The first letter of every proper noun should have a capital. Here the printer may be puzzled. John Smith and James Brown, America and England, are unmistakably proper nouns, but there are per-
Government, Goodness, Heaven, etc., which in some senses need a capital, and in others do not. Rules for giving or withholding the capital may be gathered from the following sonified abstractions, like
remarks.
THE DEITY, SYNONYMS, AND PRONOUNS The name of the Deity in every person, and in every synonym or attribute, should begin with a capital, as Father, Son, Holy Ghost, God, Lord, Jehovah, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Saviour, AlIn mighty, Heaven, Creator, Providence, etc. the Bible the words God and Lord, when they 1
Prom an edition of Statins by Aldus, 1502.
110
Capitals for certain pronoims
"represent the words substituted by Jewish custom for the ineffable Name," ^ are presented in capitals and small capitals, as is here shown; but
the gods and lords of the heathen have not this distinction. The pronouns Thee, Thou, and Thy, He, Him, and His, specifying God, always begin with a lower-case letter in the Bible, but in hymnbooks and other manuals of devotion it is usual to
give to them a capital letter.
The pronouns that,
which, who, whose, and whom, referring to Deity or divine attributes, do not take a capital letter.
The capitalizing of a pronoun is contrary to the general rules of English grammar, but for this purpose capitals have found approval for many years, and when a compositor or proof-reader finds such pronouns consistently capitalized in manuscript he should not make or suggest their altera-
tion to lower-case letters.
The pronoun I and the interjection O always take a capital letter in English writing, but oh does not, except when it begins a sentence.
This rule does not always apply to Latin, in which the de-
nouncing or appealing O should appear in the form of a lower-case letter.^ Sometimes the capital O has been used in famous editions of the classics, but this usage is not approved by the best scholars. The compositor should select the lower-case character. 1 Preface to Revised Version, 16mo, p. vl, edition of 1885. 2 Hoceine seclum ! o scelera ! o genera sacrilega ! o hominem
impiiim! Terence, Adelphi, IH, ii, 6. Adestes o Maria, o Angele, o Patroni castitatis meae. IdheUus Precum.
:
,
Capitals for books, plays, and pictures
111
DAYS OF THE WEEK AND MONTH, FESTIVALS AND HISTORIC DAYS
The proper names of the days of the week and of the months of the year should always begin with a This rule is amplified to include the days
capital.
of feasts and fasts, festivals and holidays, whether
they are for religious or civic observance, as
Arbor Day
Easter
Lady Day
Ascension Bank Holiday Christmas Decoration Day
Fast Day
New Year's
Fourth of July Good Friday Labor Day
Whitsunday
Thanksgiving Whitsuntide
Appellations attached to historic days, even when they are of merely temporary importance, as Black Friday, must be rated as proper names and should
take a capital.
Do not capitalize O'Clock in any lower-case text that seems to call for some form of modified dis-
play
;
always make it o'clock.
This remark applies
also to such names as John o' Groat, Tarn o' Shanter, etc.
:
ia all names so compounded the o' should
be small and separated from the following word.
TITLES OF BOOKS, PERIODICALS, PLAYS, AND PICTURES
The title of every book, periodical, play, or picture that is mentioned in the text should always begin
:
112
Capitals for hooks and headings
with a capital letter, and every important word of the title so described is usually capitalized,^ as Maxwell's Advanced Lessons in English. Grammar. the New- York Trihune.
Watson's History of the Art of Printing. Blades's How to Tell a Caxton. Sheridan's School for Scandal. Dore's Christ Leaving the Pretorium.
In long or complex titles the nouns always may be capitalized
;
important verbs, participles, and adjec-
tives usually; articles, prepositions,
and conjunc-
This rule is usually applied not only to the titles of books and plays, but of
tions rarely or never.
every form of literary or artistic work, large or small, even to the title of a short newspaper article.
When the name of a newspaper or periodical is
cited in the text, the definite article the should
not have a capital, but in the exact citation of a book title this beginning the should be capitalized. According to the Tribune. This appears in the Century. We cannot praise The Revolt of Islam.
Capitals are preferred for the composition of all titles
and dedications, the headings of parts and and the headings of many important
chapters,
but another method is presented on page 127 of this work.
1 This is prevailing usage,
Capitals for organized corporations
113
minor portions of a book/ but they should never be compacted in composition. As capitals occupy much more of the type body, and have no ascending or descending strokes or lines to break up their monotony, they require a much wider leading and a broader spacing than are given to text letters in lower-case.
Where one thin lead is used between the lines of a lower-case text, at least two and sometimes three leads are needed to make consecutive lines of capi-
This method is approved by the publishers of aU modern books.^ tals sufficiently readable.
TITLES OF COEPORATIONS
The first word and the leading words of the titles of corporations, and of all organized assemblies or societies, should begin with a capital letter.
The Board of Education of the City of New York. The Senate and Assembly of the State of New York. The Society for Improving the Condition of the Poor.
When, for the sake of brevity, the full title of a corporate body is not given, but is shortened, as 1 For Capitals express Dignity, where -ever they are Set, and Space and Distance also implies stateliness. Joseph Moxon, Me-
mg the iashion of a few of the
chanick Exercises, p. 225.
close spaced
2
WilliamMorrisof theKelms-
cott Press held to a different practice,
which is accepted by
some of his disciples.
Follow-
early printers, who had not then learned the value of leads, he recommended that all words be
and lines be kept
close together, making no excep-
tion for lines of capitals.
For an
illustration of the two methods,
see page 203 of this book.
114
Capitals for titles of honor
the Senate, the Assembly, the Chamber (of
ComCompany, the Club, and it is clearly intended that the word so selected is to apply to a merce), the
particular organization, the capital letter always
should be selected.
This rule is to be observed in
printing the abbreviated name of every organization or association when it is intended to specify
a particular association, as the Synod, the Convention,
the Union, the Typothetse, the Parliament,
the State, the Government.
These words, and all other words of like nature, need not take a capital when they are not intended to specify one association only. A state, a government, or a convention is but a common noun and needs no capital. The State, the G-overnment, or the Convention, when used to identify one corporate body only, becomes the synonym of a proper noun and should have the capital. The general rule to be deduced is that corporate bodies defined by the definite article the need a capital, while those that follow the indefinite article a or an should not have a capital.
TITLES OF HONOR OR DISTINCTION Titles of distinction that immediately precede the
name of a person should begin with a capital letter.
No change to a lower-case letter should be
made when the title has to be applied to an office or official of no conventional dignity.
Capitals for titles of honor
115
President Harrison's first pension agent was Corporal James Tanner.
A plan sanctioned by President Cleveland. Engineer Eoberts Janitor Jones
Mr. Robinson Officer Jenkins
Messrs. R. Hoe & Co.
Queen Victoria
When the title of an official follows his name, the capital
need not be used in good book-work for
the first letter of that title, but it is frequently so
used in newspapers and advertising pamphlets as a method of modified display.
Copy so capitalized
should be followed, but this method of using the capital letters is not recommended.
James G. Blaine, secretary of state. Alexis, grand duke and envoy extraordinary. C. B. Farwell, ex-senator from Illinois. William Gedney, first lieutenant. Company I. Frank Wood, roundsman, Broadway squad.
A too frequent use of capital letters for titles spots the page and makes the titles much more prominent
than the names; yet capitals must be used if so requested by the author. One rule should prevail for all appended titles, but the selection of a capital should not depend upon the relative rank of the person. This rule is too often set aside. In ofiicial
documents it is common to capitalize the titles of potentates, even when they follow the name. Victoria,
by the grace of God, Queen of Great
Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, Defender of the Faith, etc.
:
:
116 Capitals for complimentary salutations In formal and ceremonious letters or addresses to dignitaries, in which neither the name nor the full title
of the person addressed
is
specifically men-
tioned, it is customary to capitalize the
synonym
and its preceding pronoun in the salutation, as Tour Grace Your Reverence
Your Honor Your Majesty Your Royal Highness, etc.
When only the title of a person is mentioned, preceded by the article the, and the context shows that this title is intended for one person only, it should have a capital, as the Pope, the President, the Sultan, the Czar, the Chief-justice.
The capi-
tal should not be selected when the context shows
that the title is not intended for one person, but
may be applied to two or more persons.
When compUmentarj' salutations appear, not at the beginning, but within the text, of a sentence
or paragraph of dialogue matter, as sir, my lord,
madam, your honor, they do not take a capital.
A title distinctly intended as the sjTionym of a partieidar person thereby becomes a proper noun,
and should be capitalized. Good morning, General. Mr. Speaker, I rise to a point of order.
He sent his credentials to the President. The Sultan proceeded iu state to the mosque.
Two capitals are not needed in a compound title, as Major-general Merritt. Chief-justice Fuller.
Ex-president Cleveland. Vice-president Little.
Capitals following proper names
117
It is the commoner usage to provide a capital for
each title, but one capital should be enough for a compounded title. When two capitals precede the
name of a man, they make that name relatively insignificant,
but if double capitalizing is syste-
matic in copy, the compositor should not alter. Abbreviated titles of honor or of respect immediately following a name should have capitals. John Smith, Esq. Robert Southard, D.D. Hemry Armitage, LL.D.
The observance of this rule gives a very imsightly appearance to a page when the person mentioned has many honorary titles, as in Eobert W. Eogers, Ph.D., D.D., LL.D., F.E.G.S.
In this example the titles have more prominence
than the man, and shabbily spot the page of text. Small capitals are neater, but they should not be used without the permission of the author, pubJr. and sr. need not take a capilisher, or editor. tal in lower-case text matter, but if an author does so capitalize, follow his copy.
In the composition of the leading display line of a book title, the titles of honor put after a name are often an annoyance by their frequent length or
undue prominence.
Sometimes the honorary
titles are put in a small size of the same face and
justified in the line.
This treatment abates the
;
;
118
Capitals for prefixes and nicknames
A
prominence, but puts the line out of balance. much better method is to put honorary titles, when
there are many, in small type in a separate Line
below the name, and to spell out all the words. A title not clearly intended as the synonym of a specified person should not begin with a capital.
He was taken before a judge. Every captain on the staff obtained his brevet. The assembly chamber was soon filled with senators and congressmen, mayors and sheriffs, and other magnates. There is no appeal from the High Court of Chancery. Wards may weep, gay captains fume, serjeants-at-law protest, but a chancery judge is an oracle with a bench for a tripod, whose decisions oft are bare of sense as the inarticulate mutterings of a Delphic pythia.
PREFIXES AND NICKNAMES Prepositional words ushering foreign proper names usually begin with a capital, as De or D' in French
Da, Delia, De, or Di in Italian Van in Dutch, or Von in German;^ but there are prefixes that do not begin with a capital, and when the author sys;
1 For French
and German se- with capital V is correct when
V shonld not appear in Ludwig van Beethoven. In Italian there is more
lect the capital when the name is
alone, but the capital
not in full, as De Toequeville but when preceded by a title or by the baptismal name, the prefix should be lower-case, as in M. de Toequeville. Van Beethoven
irregularity
:
Edmondo De Ami-
cis is correct, but so are Leonardo
da Vinci and LncadeUaEobbia.
Capitals for geographical names
119
tematically makes use of the lower-case letter for
any one of them, his usage must be followed. The compositor who changes the de of copy to De in type, fancying that De is always proper, is in fault.
Nicknames or disparaging epithets when applied to races or castes are rarely capitalized, as Creole,
negro, coolie, quadroon, gipsy.
The word devil is sometimes written with a capital when it is obviously intended for the Devil of
the Bible and of John Milton.
When used in dia-
logue matter, or as an expletive in swearing, the capital is never allowed.
Other names of the devil,
as Satan or Beelzebub, always take the capital.
GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES AND QUALIFIERS
Names of all geographical zones or sections of the world, when used as proper nouns, take a capital, as the Arctic, the Tropics, the Levant, the Orient.
Geographical, national, or personal quaUflers, when
used as nouns or before nouns in common use that specify merchandise, do not need a capital. arctic ivory
Capitals for geographical names
120
In the capitalizing of qualifying words we meet with many serious inconsistencies that cannot be
We make qualifying words from proper nouns, as French,
defended or explained. directly derived
English, American, always begin with a capital.
Long usage has sanctioned the rule that gives the qualifier more prominence than the noun to which it is
subjected, but the rule is illogical.
In the
catalogues of auctioneers, and sometimes in those of merchants and manufacturers, qualifying words like French, Spanish,
German, Italian, sometimes
begin with a lower-case letter, and the capital is reserved for the noun.
This agrees with French
usage, in which language words of this description
never take a capital. There are writers of good English who follow the French method in words romanized, frenchifled, and ameriAlthough not sanctioned by the dictionaries, this method is common. Qualifiers derived from proper names and compounded with prefixes or suffixes, as in transatlike angMcized,
canized.
lantic,
cisalpine,
hyperborean, tropical or sub-
ti'opical, herculean, plutonian, vulcanized, platonic, etc.,
should not have a capital.
East, West, North, South, and their compounds
Northeast,
etc.,
when used to particularize unde-
fined geographical sections, should have a capital.
When used to specify direction only (or as points of the compass), east, west, north, south, and their
compounds should not be capitalized.
:
Capitals for geographical names
121
The West is an empire, poor as compared -with the East, but rich in promise of greatness.
A representative of the South. I
am going west.
The house was fifty feet east from the river, and extended twelve feet due north of the buildingliae.
The compass indicated south-southwest.
When a geograpMcal or a personal name is used to qualify another descriptive word, like street,
avenue, river, road, lake, island, valley, etc., the capital should be put at the beginning of each word, as
Bay of Fundy
Lafayette Place
Chenango County
Long Island Long Island Sound
Erie Canal
Governor's Island
Shenandoah Valley
Hudson River Railroad
Strait of Dover
When place, street, county, river, island, road, etc., are used in a generalized way, and not for specific identification, they do not take capitals ; but when
one place is clearly intended and is usually so understood, although the full name of that place is not given, the capital should be used. I
purpose making a trip to-morrow on the Sound steamer for Fall River.
The man was sent to the Island.
When the general name precedes the specific in ordinary book-work, as in county of Westchester,
:
:
;
122 Capitals for religious and political names state of New York, empire of Germany, the capital
need not be used for tlie first name of the phrase but in legal documents and in every writing of formality, as weU as in aU forms of displayed composition, use the capital for the general as well as
for the specific name.
mSTOKIC, RELIGIOUS, AND POLITICAL NAMES All important epochs or events in history should
have a capital for the more prominent words Civil
War
the Dark Ages
Commencement Day
the Elizabethan Age
Eocene Period Great Reformation
the Middle Ages the Renaissance
Lord's Day Parliamentary Time Peace of Utrecht
the Captivity
Silurian Age
the Advent
the Delnge
the Restoration
Thirty Years' War
All religious denominations and political parties should have their names capitalized, whether used as nouns or adjectives, as Catholic
!
:
!
Capitals for abstract qualities
123
The capital should not be selected for heathen or pagan, for these words do not sufficiently specify any particular belief or association. Indirect references to the Bible, as in Scriptures,
Gospels, Psalms, etc., should begin with a capitril.
The same rule should be applied to important divisions of the Book of Common Prayer, as the Collects, the Litany, etc.
The words hell, purgatory, and paradise are now seldom capitalized, but Hades, WalhaUa, and other poetical names of a future abode should have the capital always.
ABSTRACT QUALITIES PERSONIFIED Abstract qualities, when personified in exclamatory addresses, always should be capitalized, as
O Liberty what crimes are committed in thy name O Fame thy smile forebodes a frown. !
!
Some writers give a capital to an abstract quality that is not clearly personified and is not at all ex-
clamatory, as War, Slavery, Temperance.
This is
not a wise use of the capital, but it must be copied
when the intent of a writer is plain.
A youth to Fortune and to Fame unknown. And Scandal at her shot no venom'd shaft. Then Crime ran riot. Let Fate do her worst
Now comes Peace to bless the land.
:
124
:
Capitals as a means of display
The capital need not be selected when the principle or attribute does not decidedly represent active
agency. War, Slavery, Intemperance, and similar words are erroneously capitalized when they are The capital should passive or objects of action. be suppressed when the words are not intended as synonyms of personified forces.
CAPITALS IN QUOTATIONS In the text, all quotations that are intended to be emphatic, or that consist of a complete sentence,
should always begin with a capital, as
Then Elijah said. Thou art the man. The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.
A fragmentary quotation needs no capital, but it is
the common practice to inclose all short quota-
tions in the ordinary quotation-marks, as
The " carriage," so called, was really a wagon. The writer's account was described as " marked by accuracy and fairness."
CAPITALS AS A MEANS OP DISPLAY In aU job-work and zines capitals
m some newspapers and maga-
may be used more freely than in
good book- work. The writers of advertisements, pamphlets, and circulars use capital letters as a
Free use of capitals
means of distinction
125
or display in the text, but
they are seldom used consistently.
It is
a part
of the duty of the compositor and the proof-reader to try to maintain consistency in the use of capitals, but this is difficult
when one abandons rules
that have proved useful in other work.
In cases
of doubt the capital may be safely omitted, for the style of an author is seriously vulgarized by an ex-
cessive use of capitals.
Capitals are largety used in the nomenclature of different sciences, but under rules that differ for
each science.
The study (not a cursory reading)
of authoritative treatises on chemistry, botany,
medicine, mineralogy, etc., will be required for an
understanding of the different systems of capitaland abbreviating adopted in each of these
izing
sciences.
In job-work, and in many kinds of catalogue and pamphlet work, a free use of capitals is not only permissible but necessary.
Precise rules for
these kinds of work cannot be given, for they will
have to be varied according to the subject-matter and the wishes of the publisher or writer. In serious or standard books capitals should not be used too lavishly for marking emphasis in
A projecting capital in a text is like a rock in the current, for it diverts the eye and interrupts an even stream of attention. For the same reason, a free use of capitals is of service in mercantile blanks or catalogues, when they draw the the text.
126
Capitals for summaries and legends
attention to
nouns for which notice is
desired.
When capitals are used freely in a text they must be used with system, and the same words or class of words should always come under the same rule. Compound words in every line of capital letters should be connected with an en dash, and not with the hyphen.
Some writers make use of capitals as a modified form of display, or to invite special attention to a particular word or words. The Drive, when it has been justified and fitted to the mould, is known as a Matrix.'
In some kinds of descriptive writing this use of the capital is permissible, but it is unsafe to capitalize
nouns too freely, and thereby make display where display is not needed and is irritating to a reader. Exact writers never make use of this method of marking emphasis in any scientific description.
CAPITALS IN SUMMARIES AND LEGENDS
Summaries of chapters, running titles, tables of contents, and work of similar nature, including the 1
The words Drive and Matrix one of these methods when it is
could be put in italic or in quotation-marks, but this treatment would give them a greater dlsword or phrase setinction. lected for extended comment in the text may be treated by any
A
specified for the first time, but it is not at all necessary to con-
tinue the vise of capitals, italic, or quotation-marks in subsequent repetitions of that word or phrase.
127
Capital letters unwisely used
legend lines of diagrams and illustrations, may be capitalized by the same rules that govern the capitalization of book titles
portant verbs always
;
:
capitals to nouns and im-
to pronouns, adjectives, and
participles seldom; all.
to particles rarely or not at This is common usage, but a too free use of
capital letters gives an uncouth appearance to long
summaries and legend lines that is too suggestive of the startling head-lines of a sensational news-
paper, or the hackneyed methods of the writer of
beguiling advertisements.
" Changing his Plans, He Throws Himself upon the King's Supposed Generosity, Praying that He be Allowed to Reveal His Secret Instructions."
" A Fatal Gift !
What WUl He Do with It 1 "
One may change these capitals in many ways, but every change will be equally unpleasing
;
a profu-
sion of capitalized verbs or adjectives is always a
disfigurement in any book. In recent English and French books of high merit a new method is in favor for the citations of the titles of books, for the
legend lines of illustrations, and for all running Capital letters are excluded from aU words but those that begin a sentence or are proper names. This simplicity is commendable, but it is not safe for a compositor to follow this style in opposition titles.
to copy.
:
VII
DIVISION OF WORDS l)HRBE systems, or attempts at system, for the division of words have been in use for many years, but it does not
appear that any one has succeeded in securing the favor of all printers and publishers.
The system most approved now au-
thorizes the division of a word,
when consistent
with pronunciation, on the vowel at the end of the syllable.
THE VOWEL SYSTEM This system can be applied safely to
many long
words, but its too rigid observance may lead the
unthinking compositor to these unusual breaks ca-pa-ci-ty
lexi-co-gra-pher
pro-gno-sti-cate
cata-stro-phe
pre-fe-rence
re-co-gnize
128
Division on emphasized syllables
129
The vowel system has many adherents in America, in spite of occasional uncouth divisions, but it
is
defective as a system in its inability to make pro-
vision for the syllables that end with consonants.
DIVISION ON CONSTITUENTS
Another system requires the division of consolidated words at the junction of their constituents. anim-ad-vert
geo-logy
pre-judice
cata-strophe
know-ledge
pro-gnos-ticate
found-ation
lexi-co-grapher
pro-position
geo-graphy
pre-fer-ence
typo-graphy
This system is logical, or at least etymological, but it is not practicable in the printing-house, for compositors should not be expected to be expert
words compounded from Greek or Latin. Nor does this system provide for the words that have to be divided but are not made up of two or more consolidated words.
in divining the derivation of
DIVISION ON EMPHASIZED SYLLABLES
The system which seems to have the most supporters in the United States is that which permits the division of a word on the emphasized syllable. an-imadvert
geog-raphy
pref-erence
catas-trophe
lexi-cog-rapher
prog-nos-ticate
;
130
The system of no division
This system is of most service in dividing words of many syllables, yet it frequently happens that a
word must be divided on an unemphasized syllable.
No system of division known to the writer is so entirely satisfactory as to command general obedience. The compositor usually takes for his guide in division the dictionary selected by the ofilce as its authority, but he sometimes finds that this authority is rejected by the proof-reader and the author,
who say that a word is not always correctly divided when it is hyphened according to the dictionary, for the hyphens are inserted there only as helps to a proper pronunciation.
Dictionaries not only with one another, but are not always consistent with their own practice in making syllables of similar words. differ
THE SYSTEM OF NO DIVISION Fifty years ago the proposition was made by some
unknown reformer of typography that all divisions It was then taught that the unequal spacing of words ia proximate lines which must follow the application of this rule should be rated
are blemishes.
as a more tolerable defect.
Obeying this teaching,
the late Joel Munsell of Albany printed a book of
many pages in which no divided word can be seen but the spacing between the words was unavoidably irregular, and the general effect of the print was
not pleasing.
His method had few imitators.
Divisions in lines of display
131
It is now admitted by all publishers and printers
The narrow measures used for pocket editions of the Bible, for the column headings of table matter, and for side-notes of all forms, compel divisions of one short syllable and sometimes of one letter only. Long words have to be divided occasionally even in a very broad measure. Although the that it is impracticable to prevent divisions.
divisions are unavoidable, the prejudice still holds
that the breaking of a word is a misfortune to be
deplored when it is not a fault to be condemned.
DIVISIONS IN LINES OF DISPLAY
In one kind of composition division is prohibited absolutely: words of bold display in a title-page
must never be divided.
But there are minor lines
of display in smaller capitals (usually subtitles
and summaries) in which words are often divided. Nor does the breaking of this old rule end at this point.
A new school of typography authorizes the
division of capitals in a square-set title, sometimes
in the middle of a syllable confessedly indivisible,
without the formality of the hyphen, but this is perA subheading of two lines should never have a divided word missible in eccentric composition only.
on the first line when it is possible to turn the full word over into the next line. The shortening of the first line is never a blemish, but a too short second
line following a hyphened first line is always a fault.
132
Divisions authorised hy pronimciation
WANT OP SYSTEM IN DIVISION To the young compositor these vagaries of practice The only clear impression left on his mind after a study of the proof-
in division are confusing.
marking is that the divisions should be made at the ends of syllables only. But what are reader's
One proof-reader may divide a long word on a vowel to show its derivation, and another on the emphasized syllable to indicate its correct syllables ?
pronunciation.
The proof-reader must be obeyed,
especially so when his ruling has been approved.
Sometimes the proof-reader is overruled by the author, editor, or publisher.
In a reading over of
the composition of a morning newspaper or of hurried job-work the proof-reader refrains from chang-
ing any division that is not flagrantly bad.
A di-
vision of doubtful propriety that could be changed
in movable types at moderate expense cannot be
changed in the soKd Hues of linotype composition without a serious loss of time and greatly increased expense.
The questionable division is allowed, for
it is well
understood by the publisher that not one
reader in a hundred will find fault with it or will accept any change as a betterment.
DIVISION BY PRONUNCIATION
A very long word of one syllable like through is indivisible even in a
narrow measure, and there
Divisions authorized by pronunciation
133
are words of but two syllables which, some proof-
readers make indivisible in the ordinary measure.
crooked
*
lo4
:
Divisions on short syllables
Divisions in print as guides to good pronunciation are condemned as needless manglings of language
by many teachers who maintain that every word should be divided on syllables according to derivation or structure. Obeying this rule, geography and theology should be divided in the second syllable on the letter o, but in pronunciation these words are correctly emphasized and thereby practically divided on the g and 1. In many dictionaries these words are hyphened geog-raphy and theol-ogy.
The rules of the teachers are in opposition to those of dictionaries and to proper pronunciation.
DIVISIONS ON SHORT SYLLABLES Syllables of two letters have to take a division in
a narrow measure, but terminations of words ending in -ly and -ed are not good in a broad measure
when they appear at the beginning of new lines. Nor are in-, en-, on-, and de- wisely placed at the 1
The usual rules for dividing
[words into] syUaWes are not only arbitrary but false and absurd. They contradict the very definition of a syllable given by
A
the authors themselves. ... syllable in pronunciation is an iiidiri.iible thing ; and strange as it may appear, what is indivisible in utterance, is divided in writing; when the very purpose of dividing words into syllables in writing, is to lead the learner to a just pronunciation. Web-
ster, Improved Grammar, p. 156.
Philosophical
Grammar, p. 221.
Goold Brown adds these notes " to show what is the pronunciation of a word, we must, if possible, divide into such syllabic sounds as will exactly recompose the word, when put together again as, or-thog~ rarphy, the-ol-o-gy. This being the most common purpose of syllabication, perhaps it would be well to give it a general preference, and adopt it when.
.
.
;
:
135
Divisions on short syllables
end of a line when division can be avoided "without bad spacing.
The terminations -ed and -ing of all verbs and participles may be carried over when unavoidable
bound-ed bound-iug
debat-ed
gild-ed
rat-ed
debat-ing
gild-ing
rat-ing
The terminations -er and -est in many adjectives
when pronunciation practically makes one syllable only of a word, as in cooked, are divisible, but
its division
should be avoided when possible.
black-er
bold-er
great-er
strong-er
black-est
bold-est
great-est
strong-est
The terminations -ed, -ing, -er, -est, should not be carried over as distinct syllables in words that double the consonants preceding, as admit-ted
hot-ter
red-der
admit-ting
hot-test
red-dest
ever we can, not only in
tlie
composing of spelling-books and dictionaries, but also in the diTiding of words at the ends of lines.
.
.
same in written, as in spoken language otherwise the learner is misguided, and seduced by ;
false representations into inju-
(Wilson, Essay on Grammar, p. 37.) Through the influence of books in which the words are divided according to their sounds, the pronunciation of the language is daily berious errors.'
.
" The old principle of dividing by the eye, and not by the ear, and, with it, I have rejected all but one of the five rules which the old grammarians gave 'The divifor the purpose. sionsoftbeletters into syllables, should, unquestionably, be the ;
coming more and more uniform, .
.
."
Grammar of English
Grammars, p. 182.
:
136
Divisions between consonants
To divide any word properly, a knowledge of its etymology is of value, but this knowledge is not so generally useful as that of its correct pronunciation.
He who pronounces and emphasizes correctly is seldom in error as to the right division of a word. DIVISIONS BETWEEN CONSONANTS
When two consonants meet between vowels, and the syllable ends on one consonant, divisions are often properly made between the consonants, as
advan-tage foun-da-tion In-dian appel-lant
fur-ther
appel-lee
gar-nish
plain-tiff
mad-der mar-ket
scur-rilous
struc-ture
Rich-mond
finan-cier
gram-mar
mil-lion
for-tune
impor-tant
moun-tain Wil-liam
The divisions here offered are not always on the radicals
;
it is
the pronunciation that determines
This observation concerning pronunciation is of value in deciding' the position the place of di\'ision.
of the doubled consonant. When three consonants follow a short vowel, the consonants that must be
pronounced together should make a separate syllable.
ae-tress
Division on prefixes
137
The division of similar words should be accommodated to suit altered pronunciation, as in
amend-able emen-dation
represen-tation
syste-matic
represent-ative
system-atize
DIVISIONS ON VOWELS Divisions are properly made on the vowel when the emphasis is on the syllable that contains this
vowel, and not on its following consonant.
ma-tron me-moir
noi-sy
pro-gress
colo-nel
pa-tron
trou-ble
dou-ble
mo-bile
pro-duct
wo-man
busi-ness
Pro-gress is the proper division for the verb, and prog-ress is permissible but awkward for the noun.
Some of these words violate the rule of division on the emphasized syllable, but they are tolerated when they prevent too short final syllables, as in trou-ble.
DIVISION ON PREFIXES
The word compounded with a prefix should be divided preferably on the prefix, as in dis-inherit, dis-avow,
dis-agree,
un-able.
The terminations
-tion, -able, -ive, are most frequent in one syllable, but -sion
may be more flexible.
In occa-sion,
apprehen-sion, ces-sion, and declen-sion the s al-
ways appears
in the final
syllable.
As a rule.
—
138
Good divisions may make had spacing
these endings should be kept intact, but in a word like division the strong emphasis needed for the s
in pronunciation seems to justify divis-ion.
BAD SPACING MADE BY INJUDICIOUS DIVISION All proper names and all amounts in figures suffer from division, but this division is unavoidable in narrow measures. When the author objects to an offensive division of words or figures he should be asked to add or cancel or substitute a word or words that wiU prevent the breakage. The over-
running of a long paragraph to evade a strange division of a word often produces the much more unsightly blemish of irregular spacing, and this
change is usually accomplished at a serious added cost to that of the first composition. Changes like these would seldom be made if the author or the proof-reader had to pay for the additional altera^ tions. These remarks can be applied to manuscript copy only in a faithful reprint a change of any kind cannot be allowed. Authors who insist on even spacing always, with sightly divisions always, do not clearly understand the rigidity of types.^ ;
1 On this point Drew wisely says: "Theories are elastic, are expansihle and compressihie but types of metal have set dimensions of extension, and, in some circumstances, absoluteJy refuse to budge, wherefore ;
—
theories must gracefully yield, and allow, it may he, a two-letter division even in a wide measure, Types are tyrannical, and will
sometimes perpetrate solecisms under the plea of necessity." Pens and Types, p. 89.
Good divisions may make bad spacing 139 Assuming that all divisions are blemishes, some printing-houses try to put these rules in practice
avoid divisions in three consecutive first
:
lines, in the
and last lines of any paragraph or page, in
the proper name of any person or place.
A strict
compliance with all these rules is impracticable in the ordinary measure without the cooperation of an author who is willing to shorten or lengthen
by substituting synonymous words or expletives that will prevent the objectionable division. There are few authors who will take this trouble. Without doubt, words always appear better unbroken, but the breaking of words the words in a line
may not be so unsightly as the breaking up of a general uniformity of the spacing between words.
To avoid divisions that may be oflEensive, the commay have to hair-space one line and emquad the next line. He may make a worse division positor
He may unintentionally produce the irregular upcurv-
in the lines following that he has to overrun.
ing gaps of white across Unes, known as hounds'teeth, which are more offensive to the reader than
any strangeness of division.
The setting of Wil-
at the end of a tight line and of liam
McKinley
at the beginning of another line is not so sightly as William McKinley in one line, but the attempts of a compositor, without the help of the author, to keep this
name in one line may and probably
will produce a much greater blemish.
More attention is now given to the even spacing
:
:
140
Divisions of the Clarendon Press
The old fashion of spacing with two three-to-em spaces, and even with em quadrats, is of lines.
not tolerated in books, although it is an oddity which seems to be favored by modem advertisers. To avoid the fault of over-wide spacing divisions
which were once prohibited are now allowed. DIVISIONS OF THE UNIVERSITY PRESS
These divisions are preferred by Horace Hart of the University Press, Oxford, England
abun-dance
dimin-ish
minis-ter
corre-spon-
estab-lish-ment
pun-ish
denee depen-dent
impor-tance
respon-dent
inter-est
He disapproves of these divisions gene-ration
imagi-nation
origi-naHy
exal-tation
obser-vation
star-vation
The principle is that the part of the word left at the end of the first line should suggest the part to
be carried over to the next line. He advises that the word "happiness be divided happi-ness, not hap-piness." He prefers Roman-ism, Puritan-ism, Catholi-cism, criti-cism, fanati-eism, tautolo-gism, witti-cism,
philo-sophy,
tele-phone, micro-scope;
atmo-sphere,
tele-scope,
but he admits that some
of the divisions specified in this paragraph,
and
Divisions make composition expensive
141
noted as preferable, are not free from objection, and should be avoided when it can be done.
Webster allows discrep-ancy Worcester prints the word as discre-pancy. English printers divide father and mo-ther as is here shown, but American printers render the words as fa-ther and moth-er. ;
DIVISIONS MAKE COMPOSITION EXPENSIVE
The rule that words must be divided on syllables compels a very great waste of time. At least once every hour (and five or more times an hour if the measure is narrow) the compositor has to pause and think before he decides the question, Shall I divide on this or on that letter? He may decide wrongly, and be required by the proof-reader to divide on another syllable and to overrun many lines. The author may overrule the proof-reader and divide in a third way. The time wasted in overrunning and respacing lines to avoid divisions objected to by proof-reader and author is a serious not less in the tax upon the cost of composition aggregate than one fifth the cost of type-setting alone. To correct the supposed fault words may have to be spaced wide in one line and close in
—
the next line, to a much greater disfigurement of the composition.
Are the rules now in force for dividing words A book is
in syllables really needed in printing ?
142
Swpposed importance of catchwords
supposed to be written for the convenience of the reader, and not to illustrate the author's scientific knowledge of the derivation and proper dissection The of words derived from foreign languages. understanding of the helped a better reader is to subject when the division of the word in the first line
more clearly suggests the pronunciation (not
the derivation) of the part following in the next line. Efforts to help or educate the reader have been
made often in a wrong direction.
Before typog-
raphy had been introduced, and for about twenty years after its invention, all books were written or printed as type-writing is now done, with a ragged outline at the right. This was unavoidable, for the early printers did not have spaces of different widths. There are improvers of typography in our own time who revive this old method, regardless of its raggedness, and to some extent of the correct division of words. In the chap-book style for the display of title-pages
it is
permissible to
omit the hyphen in a divided word at the end of a full line, and there are other practitioners of this style who divide the word on any letter, regardless of the syllable, and require the reader to join the broken word without the suggestion made by the hyphen. For more than three centuries printers of books appended at the foot of every page the first word or syllable of the next page. This catchword was supposed to be needed by the reader to make clea^
143
Knoivledge of theories of value
tlie two pages; but the catchword is now out of use, and it is not missed. It may be that the reader of the future will have
the connection between
a similar opinion of the present method of dividing words on syllables only. A feeble resistance against the tyranny of the rule has already been
made by some amateurs in printing.
If,
to pre-
vent bad spacing, it is pi-oper to divide a word like Geo rge on the o (as it here appears) in the large type of the displayed lines of the so-called artistic title-page, why is it not proper to repeat the
practice in the small type of the text of the same book"? Is a division on two letters, or even on one letter,^ as offensive as a wide spacing of words in one line and their narrow spacing in the line
following
'?
It is not probable that this innovation
will find favor with the critical, but
it
may be
mentioned as an exhibit of increasing restiveness at grammatical and typographical shackles which annoy the reader and do not help and do hinder the proper rendering of printed words. Beadnell, Wilson, Bigelow, Drew, and Teall have
written on the division of words much that may
be read with advantage by every compositor
;
but
these writers admit that printed words can be, and 1 Not much attention seems to have been paid to a systematic division of words even by good
ton
printers of the eighteenth cenIn Baskerville's edition tury. of Paradise Lost, I find these
there was no real need for a division of these long words on the single letter.
diyisions in the preface by Mile-specially and o-therwise, :
and they appear in lines where
144
Divisions in foreign languages
often must be, arranged in ways that compel the vio-
Yet rules cannot be entirely The good compositor should understand the theory as well as the practice of making syllables; but his acquired knowledge of the elementary principles of etymology and his memo-
lation of their rules.
abrogated.
rizing of fixed rules will not prove so serviceable in every-day work as a knowledge of correct pro-
nunciation.
Much as the writer dislikes clippings
and abbreviations in a text, he would not hesitate to render though as tho' at the end of a line in which it would be impossible to crowd the three following letters of the word.
The occasional reprinting in a foreign language of sentences, sometimes in the form of entire para-
graphs, calls for the division of words by a compositor who knows nothing of the structure or the
The remarks in Appendices B, C, and D, prepared by an author who has had the technical education of a printer and long experience as an editor, will be found of material service in the composition of French, true pronunciation of the words.
Italian, and German.
The rules for the division of words in Spanish have been copied, in Appendix E, from Knapp's Spanish Grammar, by permission of the publishers, Messrs.
Ginn & Co.
VIII
SMALL CAPITALS WRITER'S desire for small capitals in print is indicated in manuscript by
underscoring the specified words "with
two lines.
For purposes of emphasis
or display the small capitals have been
rated as superior to italic, but this superiority is not apparent. In regular fonts the small capitals are no taller than the round letters of the lowercase, are on a narrower set and usually of a lighter face, and are
In
obscured by more connecting lines.
many fonts they are really the weakest and
least distinct of the five correlated series
(reman
capitals, lower-case, and small capitals, italic capitals and lower-case) furnished as a
complete font
For this reason small capitals are of book type. for any division of the book for selected seldom or emphasis is desired. distinctness more which 146
:
Small capitals following the initial
146
They are freely used for the side-headings of short articles or separate paragraphs, for running titles, and for the catch-lines of title-pages, not so much for the purpose of display as for the making of a change in the monotony of a text of all large They would be more capitals or all lower-case. useful if the characters were taller and wider. Small capitals are often selected for the
first
word after a blank line and for the first word of a
new chapter.
w
fiSTOEY recommends itself as the
most profitable of aU studies.
Long quotations of poetry introduced into the text are sometimes treated in a similar manner, but
short quotations of poetry or prose seldom begin The medieval practice was with small capitals. to put a very large capital after the initial; then
came letters in smaller capitals, and after these the regular text letter. This method is obsolete the letters of the first word that follow an initial are now set in capitals of uniform size.
D
,Omine labia mea aperies. E Etos
t^omine
labia
AJ aperies.
mea
B Et os
meum annunciabit laud- meum annunciabit laudMedievaL
Modem.
When the first word of a chapter has only one or two letters, the characteristics of the small-capital style are not readily discerned, and it then seems
Should truly line ivith the initial
147
necessary to use small capitals for the second word to make the attempted distinction apparent. IT came to pass that £ ^onsolatob optime, SoAucassin departed. V^ Dulcis hospes anima?
When a chapter begins with the proper name of a person, each part of the name of two or more words
must be put in capitals or small capitals.
When
small capitals have been selected, the first letter of
each word in this name should be in larger capitals to give the name the required distinction.
H
ENBY Wadsworth Longfellow, most admired of recent American poets, is
When a large initial three or more lines high has been selected for the first letter of a new chapter, large capitals are occasionally used, but they sometimes meet with the old objection that they savor too much of the style of the short adver-
tisement of newspapers.
When this initial is an
ordinary two-line letter, it should be selected of a height that gives to it exact alignment with the small capitals of the upper Une as well as with the lower line of the text letter.
PROVIDENCE made Mendelssohn a hunchback in order to teach the rabble in a very strik-
ing manner that men are not to be judged by outer appearance, but by inner worth. Initial of proper height.
148
Small capitals for tables of contents
The initial is badly chosen when it leaves a high gap of white, as appears in the following exhibit.
TTeinrich; Heixe justifies his gay trifling in these words: Life is in reality so ter-
would be insupportable without a union of the pathetic and the comic, as our poets well know. ribly serious that it
SUMMARIES OF CHAPTERS Summaries of chapters under the regular chapter heading are sometimes set in long paragraphs of small capitals of the text tj-pe, but they are not so readable as they would be in lower-case letters on a smaller body. The dull monotony of compact characters without letters ascending above or descending below the line becomes wearisome when protracted in three or more lines.
The density of
the small capital may be made less unpleasing by hair-spacing and «'ide leading, but these are ex-
pedients not practicable in solid and compact composition.
The paragraph of many lines of small made more read-
capitals on a small body can be
able by the occasional use of large capitals at the
beginning of important words, but the change so made is seldom pleasing. Tables of contents, often set as two or more pages of small capitals, may be wide leaded and have fuU capitals for important words, when it can be done, to their great improvement. The size selected should be one or
Ineffective when used in a mass
149
two sizes smaller than that of the text type.
If
set in the small capitals of the text letter or larger,
the page will have a coarse, job-like appearance.
FOEMS OF LETTERS— PHENICIAN LETTERS, AND THEIR DERIVATIVES— PELASGIC LETTERS, AND THEIR DERIVATIVESROMAN LETTERS, AND THOSE DERIVED FROM THEM— SPECIMENS OF ANCIENT ALPHABETS AND WRITING.
The old method of setting summaries. This is a fair imitation of a summary in Astle's Origin and Progress of Writing, etc. 4to, London, 1803. The small capitals were on a wide set or were hair-spaced.
Of the Librarii, Notarii, and Antiquarii — Of Illuminators— Of Paintings and Ornaments — Of Materials for Writing upon — Of Instruments for Writing with — Of Inks.
A modern method of setting summaries. A new school of typography requires all the capital letters, except those of proper names, or those that begin a sentence, to be put in lower-case.
SUBHEADINGS IN SMALL CAPITALS Subheadings in small capitals produce the best effect when they do not make more than two lines. As small capitals have no ascending or descending letters, the space between the lines of composition seems greater than the space between those of a lower-case text. When it can be done, the effect of uniformity in leading may be made by a change of leads.
For three or more lines of a subheading,
or for the preferable. 10
summary of a chapter, lower-case is
150
Small capitals for names of authors
The signature of the writer or editor, or the credit given to an author at the end of an article or a paragraph, is frequently put in capitals and small capitals.
The engagement occurred on August 5, 1864, and lasted four hours.
Editor.
If thou wilt receive profit, read with humUity, sim-
phcity, and faith, and seek not the fame of being
learned.
Thomas a Kempis.
A style more approved now is to set these credits at the end of the matter in italic lower-case, and to
omit the em dash often used to connect the name of the writer with the remark or quotation.
When two or more quotations appear as mottos, the name of the author may be set in small capitals,
but in a separate line.
When small capitals
name, italic may be employed for the name of the book, and a smaller are selected for the author's
roman type for the specification of the occasion. It appears to us a self-evident truth that, whatever the gospel is designed to destroy at any period
of the world, being contrary to it, ought now to be
abandoned.
William Lloyd Gaebison, in the Declaration of Sentiments of the Pea«e Convention at Boston, September 18-20, 1838.
In short, I did what I could for the redemption of the human race.
William Lloyd Gaeeison to Henry C. Wright, August 23, 1840.
;
Small capitals for running titles
151
The signatures of numerous persons to a document or memorial, when arranged in columns, are often set in capitals and small capitals. Pull capitals of the text are always found much too large.
DEDICATIONS AND RUNNING TITLES
The dedication of a book is generally in small capThe usual requirement of the writer that particular words or phrases be set in one line only may compel the unwise selection of too small a size. As the dedication occupies an entire page,
itals only.
have wide leading always. Small capitals stiU find some favor as one of the approved styles for the running titles of pages, but they should not be selected for this use when the words are few. Capitals of full size are more
it should
effective.
The small capitals of twelve- or four-
teen-point body are suf&ciently distinct, but those of nine-point and smaller sizes are dense and not
easUy read. This indistinctness can be ameliorated
by a hair-spacing of letters, but this is not always practicable.
In their exposed positions as lines at
the head of the page they receive too much wear their shallow counters are too soon choked with ink.
As a safeguard against undue wear, capitals
of the
monotone or of a hght-faced antique are
sometimes selected for books frequently reprinted in which the running titles have to endure much wear in a very exposed position.
152
The spacing of small capitals
The new fashion of spacing all running titles with
em quads or wider quadrats until they reach the full width of the measure (putting the folio figure
at the foot) has a
few admirers, but it is too un-
couth for long life.
Attractive as this oddity may
be for an advertising pamphlet, overspaced letters for running titles are a blemish in any serious book.
FRENCH SMALL CAPITALS French type-founders are now making for their
new faces of roman letter small capitals of greater height and width.
Others put their small capitals
on a wider set, so that they seem hair-spaced.
So
treated, the small -capital series is more readable,
and can be used more effectively. Capitals and small capitals continue in favor as an approved style of type for side-headings and French printers make good use for subheadings. of their new style of broad small capitals, without
the employment of a large capital, for the names of characters in plays.
It is a pleasing change.
MADAME DE TRANSPOE. — II a dcs dents de loup, ce petit Fred !
.
.
.
LA DUCHESSE. — Comment trouves-tu Mademoiselle de Beauval ? Prom Monsieur Fred, by Gyp. .
.
12mo, Paris, 1891.
The em dash at the end of a side-heading or before a signature is an unnecessary addition, for the change
Letter headings in small capitals
153
enough to show separation of This needless use of the dash probably began with the copying of a similar dash unthink-
in style of type is subject.
ingly put in his copy by the author.
LETTER HEADINGS IN SMALL CAPITALS In reprinting
letters,
the
name of the town or
city in which the letter was written,
and of the person or firm to whom the letter was addressed, as well as the signature of the writer, are often put and small capitals. The name of the month and the day and date, although oftenest by in capitals
the side of the place, are put in lower-ease of the This is the rule in the composition of text letter.
job-work and advertising pamphlets, but it is not a good rule for newspapers or books. In the bookhouse small capitals should be considered as a letter of modified display, to be used only when demanded
by words that need special distinction. The complimentary salutation of Dear Sir or Gentlemen does not need small capitals. When the printed heading of a letter is unusually long, as it is in the following examples, lower-case is preferable. Office
of
Bramhall, Abernethy
& Sullivan,
No. 140 Independence Square, Philadelphia. Office of the Society for the
Improvement of
the Condition of the Poor, No. 761 United Charities Building, New York.
154
Needless use of small capitals
It is impracticable to strait-jacket these
words in
separate lines of symmetry, or to try to show the relative value of each clause by alternating lines in
plain roman lower-ease, italic,
and small capitals. The job-printer may do it with his greater variety of styles of type, but the book compositor cannot. The reader is not helped, but is bewildered, by the artificial arrangement and by the mixing of types.
OF SMALL VALUE IN LETTER HEADINGS Although the extravagant use of small capitals gives undue distinction to many words, there are readers accustomed to this style who find the more extended use of roman lower-case equally offensive for its alleged monotony and want of display.
At-
tempt is sometimes made to avoid this presumed fault
by the use of small capitals two or three
sizes smaller than that of the text, which will allow
many words to be put in the desired single line. This method is not an improvement, for it makes
a needless feebleness in places where some clearIf the name of the person or firm addressed is composed in small capitals, and the
ness is needed.
signature of the writer is put in the same style or in italic, the letter should have point enough from
the typographical standpoint.
AH else may be in
"When there is no specification of name or address, and the complimentary salutation is only that of Dear Sir, Gentlemen,
lower-case with propriety.
Small capitals for proper names
155
or Fellow-citizens, italic lower-case may be used, with a colon (but no dash) at the end. In doubleleaded matter the salutation may be put in a separate line.
The distinction sought by the use of the name is weakened when
small capitals for any
the small capitals are used too freely elsewhere.
Small capitals, usually selected for the reprinting of formal inscriptions on tablets, are often in-
Care should be taken to maintain a good relief of white space between the closed in a rule border.
border line and the type. In the Bible and hymn-books the words Lord and God, when specifying the Almighty, are often set in capitals and small capitals. Following this of showing veneration, many printers of an earlier period put the names of all magnates, spiritual and temporal, in capitals and small capiNor is this fashion entirely obsolete. There tals. are journals of our own time that require the names of all persons, even when they are of small distinction, to be so emphasized. This treatment of names is rare in book-work, and should never be attempted without special order. The old custom of putting a list of the names of the members of or subscribers to an association in lined columns of capitals and small (|ppitals is Italic still observed, but the fashion is declining. lower-case has preference for signatures and plain
method
roman lower-case for lists in the text. Small capitals have been found much too weak
156
Small capitals in hook-work
and The lighter faces of antique lower-case, of title letter, and other styles of plain for side-headings in dictionaries, catalogues,
educational books.
type are
now preferred even in books intended SmaU capitals
to have the severest simplicity.
are rarely used to indicate the emphatic words of
a text.
The taste which forbids the too free use
of italic is equally severe on small capitals.
Type-
setting machines of old form, which are without
any provision for italic or small capitals, are a stUl more effective agency for their suppression. Readers have been slowly and somewhat unwillingly taught that the emphasis of italic and the modified display of small capitals are not really
needed for the comprehension of printed matter. Yet it is not probable that small capitals or italic will ever go out of use. Of small service for display within a text, they are of real value when used with discretion in diflferentiating some of the difiEerent divisions or features of a book.
IX
EXTRACTS AND LETTERS 5T IS CUSTOMARY for the publisher of a proposed book to determine the length and width of its page and the size and style of its type before he gives the copy
He decides at that time
to the printer.
also whether the text shall be leaded or solid, so
that it may occupy a prescribed number of pages.
There he often stops. Definite orders are rarely given concerning types for extracts, letters, documents, notes, tables, preface, appendix, and index. It is unwisely assumed that the selection of proper type for these parts of the book may be left to the discretion of the compositors.
The running title, chapter headings, and other parts of minor importance, which are set usually by
one maker-up, are sure to be uniform in style, but this uniformity cannot be safely predicted coneern157
158
The need for graduated sizes of type
ing the irregular adjuncts before mentioned, that
have to be set by many compositors. Without precise instruction, each compositor will set irregular divisions of a new book to suit his own notions of
One may use a larger and another a smaller tj-pe, and perhaps they will be of different faces and in different forms of indention. propriety.
THE DETERMINATION OP SIZE OP TYPE This neglect to provide for uniformity in minor details is damaging to the appearance of a book.
To have the relative value of each part easily discerned, the book of many parts should be planned
before copy is given to the compositors, so that each part may be set in a proper size of type and with uniformity of style. It is understood by all parties that the text should be set in the larger and the adjimcts in smaller sizes of tj-pe, and that the size selected for each different part should be so graduated that the reader can determine at a
glance its relative value, and that parts of equal importance should be, for the most part, of similar size
and stj'le of t\-pe.i
1 This suggestion should not be construed as an insistence on
absolute uniformity. There are tables of figures and words which
positor to get them in on that page. There are extracts that should be set in black-letter, and old letters that do not properly
must appear on predetermined show old-style mannerisms unpages, and six-point may be com- less they appear in old-style type, pulsory for one and eight-point with the capitals, italic, and abfor another to enable the com-
breviations of the originaL
Types should he of the same style
159
Before this selection of face and exact grading of the sizes of type can be properly determined in a
book that has to be kept within a prescribed number of pages, some calculation should be made (not of necessity minutely exact) of the space that will be
taken up by each part.
UNIFORMITY NEEDED IN PAGES OF TYPE
The style of type that has been determined for the text should regulate that of all its minor parts.
A
text in old style should have its extracts and foot-
notes in smaller sizes of the same face or family of old style.
Extracts in the Elzevir face, or even in
the Caslon face, when inserted in a text of modernized' old style, are as
discordant as they would be
for a text set in modern-cut letter.
Foot-notes in
bold-face of modern cut under a page of light-face
make another unpleasing discord. All subheadings, side-headings, and running titles should text
also be in agreement with the types of the text.
They may be and often must be more conspicuous, as is imperative in the side-headings of dictionaries and gazetteers, but they need not be so dense
and black as to make painful contrast. The impropriety of putting together types of radically different styles on the same page is generally acknowledged, but
it is
not so well under-
stood that types of the same style, but of different shape or form (as they are when bold forms oppose
160 light,
Suggestions for graduating sizes
and condensed forms oppose broad), should
not be put in opposition on the same page. Even the uncritical reader will note the discord. Print is
most pleasing when types of different size " hang together," to employ the artist's phrase, and are not of unrelated families.
SUGGESTIONS FOR GRADUATING SIZES Extracts, letters, or documents made a part of the
page should be so composed that the reader will discern at a glance that they are not a part of the text proper. When the added matter is of high importance and is made the subject of comment, it may be set in the text type and inclosed in the ordinary marks of quotation. This treatment has the disadvantage, in many instances, of unduly increasing the size of the book. It is a commoner practice to set extraneous matter in a type one size smaller than that of the text. When the insert is long and of minor importance, and it is desirable to economize space, a type two sizes smaller is often selected, but the old practice of setting extracts or documents in eight- or seven-point for the text in twelve-point is not in present favor. The reduced size which is proper in the foot-note is not proper at all in the extract, for it cheapens and seriously degrades the workmanship of the page. Authors object to this treatment; they say that the subject-matter of extracts
is
often as important as
Abuse of marks of quotation
161
that of text-matter, and should have nearly equal
prominence.
Readers are always better pleased
when the printer puts these inserts in a type that is easily readable. The small type for inserts is not always an exhibit of the bad taste of the printer. When the publisher has predetermined that the intended book shall come within a specified number of pages, the use of small type may be unavoidable.
WHEN MARKS OF QUOTATION ABE NOT NEEDED
When the insert has to be set in a type of smaller body than that of the text, quotation-marks are not needed at the beginning of every paragraph. The change in size of type is enough to show that the The too insert is not the writing of the author. free use of quotation-marks impairs their value in
the places where they are actually needed.
It is
only when the author requires the insert to be set in the type of the text that these quotation-marks are needed.
The old method of differentiating the
extract from the text was to put double quotation-
marks at the beginning of every paragraph. When this treatment did not seem to give distinction enough, double quotes were put before every line, but not to advantage. In a reprinted letter containing many short or broken lines a succession of bristles before every line makes a sorry sight, needless as well as irritating, as will be more clearly seen in the reprint on the next page.
162
Extracts identified by indention
" Philad* July 5, 1775. " Mr Strahan, " You are a Member of Parliament, and one " of that Majority which has doomed my Country to de" struction, You have begun to burn our Towns and
—
— —
—
They Look upon your Hands! " are stained with the Blood of your Relations! You and " I were long Friends: You are now my Enemy, and "murder our People,
—
—
"I am, " Yours,
" B. Franklin." INDENTION AND INITIALS FOR INSERTS
The modern method of treating a short extract measure by indenting it one em on each side in every line. So treated, the quotation-marks may be omitted at the beginning and the end of paragraphs: the change of indention should be enough to denote quoted matter. For an extract that fills less than two pages this method of indention is satisfactory, but when the extract exceeds two facing pages the distinction made by special indention is not perceptible. Under ordinary conditions, extracts, letters, and documents that make more than two pages are most pleasing to author and reader in in the type of the text is to narrow the
the appendiK.
Another method of presenting the extract is to indent it two or more ems at the left, in the style of motto indention, making aU lines of full width at the right.
This makes the page lopsided.
Mannerisms of letter-writers
163
John Baskerville of Birmingham thinks proper to give notice that having now finished his edition of Virgil in
one Volume, Quarto, it will be published the lat-
ter end
of next month, price one guinea, in sheets.
He therefore desires that such gentlemen who intend to favour him with their names, will be pleased to send
them either to himself at Birmingham, or to R. and J.
Dodsley in Pall Mall, in order that they may be
inserted in the list of his encouragers.
[1757.]
From Eeed's Old English Letter Foundries, p. 272.
A document in the text is made distinguishable and more impressive by setting it in type one size smaller than the text type, beginning
it
with a
plain two-line letter and omitting quotation-marks. •
order Benjamin Harris BYto print the Acts and — Laws made by the Great
HIS Excellency.
I
and General Court, or Assembly of their Majesties Province of Massachusetts-Bay in New England, that we the People may be informed thereof Boston, December 16, 1692. William Phipps.
Nor do extracts in the form of letters need quotation-marks when set in a smaller size of type. It is a needless affectation of precision to insert quotation-marks at the beginning of each separate line or paragraph, when it is unmistakably apparent
that the letter is an insertion.
MANNERISMS OF LETTER -WEITEES In the reprinting of a letter it has been customary to imitate the letter- writer's arrangement of words
:
164
Letter headings do not need display
and lines.
The name of tlie society, department,
or business firm, and the name of the place, are usually set in capitals and small capitals, as they are more fully exhibited in the following example.
The name of the person addressed is often put in small capitals. Other portions of the heading, and sometimes the address, are set in roman or italic lower-case letters of the same body. This method of setting the letter wastes space and makes useless display of words that do not require display.
Department op the Interior, Census Office,
Washington, D.C, January 5, 1901.
Henry W. Pexfield, Philadelphia.
Dear Sir
When the heading and the address consist of few words and make short lines, it is not difficult to imitate the style of the letter-writer, but is imita-
The selection of small capitals for four lines, and of italic for one line, with a generous allowance of space about six broken lines, is tion needed?
of questionable propriety in the narrow columns of
a magazine or a duodecimo page. Why should the heading of a note that may be relatively of slight importance have more display and more space than are given to the regular subheadings of the text?
:
Roman lower-case a preferable substitute
165
The difficulty of closely imitating the mannerisms of letter-writers is aggravated when the heading and the address are long and fill many lines. The Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Astlum Society, Amsterdam Avenue, near 136th Street. Office, 22 Bible House,
New York, December 6, 1900. To the Superintendent of the Clara de Hirsch Home for Working Girls. Dear Madam
To put this heading in type line for line as written or printed, the compositor will have to select a type of smaller size than that of the text of the letter,
and this selection may break lines awkwardly or make them insignificant in any narrow measure. Name, location, and date may be unimportant in some letters, but in others they need prominence.
AVOIDANCE OF LETTER-WRITERS' METHODS In the narrow columns of a magazine or newspaper, or in any form of compact composition, this imitation of the mannerisms of the
penman who
writes upon a broad quarto leaf will be found unsightly even when it is not impracticable.
Three
distinct series of characters for words that need no
display make useless breaks in the harmony of com-
The matter in the heading above would be presented in a more orderly manner, and be position.
11
:
166
:
Small capitals wasteful of space
quite as intelligible, if
it were
set in
a hanging
indention after this form
The Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum Society, Amsterdam Avenue, near 136th Street. Office, 22 Bible House. New York, December 6, 1900.
To the Superintendent of the Clara de Hirsch Home for Working Girls.
Dear Madam
SMALL CAPITALS NEEDLESSLY PREFERRED Capitals and small capitals continue to be employed for addresses, date-lines, and signatures, but there is
an increasing tendency toward the curtailment
of display in ordinary matter that does not require distinction for
any part.
Readers of daily news-
papers are now reconciled to the exclusion of itaUe
and small capitals, and it is possible that readers of books will be equally content vdth plain roman
lower-case characters in all places where display is
not of real service.
When there are many words in the heading and address of an official letter no attempt shotdd be
made to crowd the words in one line or to spread them over many lines, or to arrange them in any arbitrary form for which the types of the text are plainly unfitted. For solid composition the hanging and diagonal indentions of the preceding ex-
ample will be preferred by all publishers who wish to confine the printed matter within a prescribed
Customary methods of setting letters limit.
Italic is
167
not advised for the date-line, in
which upright figures have to stand side by side with inclined characters.
To those who are accustomed to old methods the composition of a letter heading in lower-case,
without display and in hanging indention, may not be pleasing, but the simpler treatment is gaining in favor and should have a respectful consideration. The tendency of modern typography is toward simplicity and the avoidance of all impracticable imitations. Job-printers try no longer to follow the styles of lithographers and copperplateprinters they abandon ornamental types, curved lines, and many laborious methods of type-setting. Indeed, they often go too far in the opposite extreme of needless coarseness, but the spirit that recognizes typography as a distinct branch of the graphic arts, not dependent on any other for its models of style, and able to stand on its own feet and originate its own models, is a spirit to be commended. The mannerisms of the modern letter-writer, and those of the medieval copyist, do not deserve imitation in ordinary book composition. ;
To those who prefer to continue the old fashions of composing letters these suggestions are offered.
CUSTOMARY METHODS OF SETTING LETTERS The full name of the person or society issuing the letters may be in capitals and small capitals of the
;
168
Customary methods of setting letters
shown in the next iUnstration. The appears ia a centred and separate line of lower-case the date (preceded by the name of the city ia small capitals in another line of lower-case text, as is .street
:
,
at or near the end of the measure.
The name of
the firm or person addressed begins another line without indention the place or office of the person ;
addressed follows in another line with much indenNever abbreviate an address to save a line tion. if it is too long, .set it in two Unes of unequal length.
When it can be done, leave a broad blank at the end of the line or lines of address.
The Tspothetje of the Citt of New York, 106 and 108 Fiilton Street,
New York. October 12, 1S97. Dear Sirs: The committee appointed by this Typothetse to confer with a similar committee from TypograpMeal Union No. 6 concerning the proj)osed day of nine hours will meet, as has been matnafly agreed, in these rooms on Thursday, October 14, at 4 o'clock p.m. Yonr punctual attendance is respectfully requested. Yours very truly. E. Pabke Cobt,
Secretary.
Messrs. SAiiTEL B. Dosxellt, president
W
tt.t.tam FEBGrsoN, secretary, and
other members of the Committee of
Typographical Union No. 6.
The complimentary salutation of Dear Sir or Gentlemen, or any other phrase, should be in a
The composition of long salutations separate line, if space will allow.
169
When the com-
position is solid and more space cannot be allowed,
run the salutation in the first paragraph as a sideheading, making it a part of the first Une of the letter. Put a colon after the salutation, but never follow it with the dash, which is not needed, for this dash has no value and is but the unthinking
mark of a writer who is undecided concerning the point that is proper, and who uses the dash at a venture.
This salutation is usually set in italic,
although it is never so italicized by the writer, and does not need that distinction in type. The roman lower-case is always to be preferred.
HOW TO TREAT LONG SALUTATIONS When the address is very long, as it is in a formal petition to a legislature or a municipality, and is not followed by any complimentary phrase, italic lower-case may be used for all words in the address. When the address makes more than one line, the
second and third lines should be in hanging indenThe paragraphs of a letter set solid or single-leaded in roman or italic are best presented with the ordinary indention of one or two ems. tion.
The wide paragraph indention sometimes made by penmen is tolerable only in script or in any character which has the long ascenders and descenders that make wide spaces between lines. One signature, set in small capitals, is usually
:
170
Diagonal indention for addresses
indented at its end one em from the right, but it a better method to use the italic lower-case of
is
If there are two or more signatures, all them should be set to line at their beginning.
the text.' of
When the address is underwritten at the end of the letter, as is sometimes done in a formal corre-
spondence, this address, which frequently consists of two or more lines, may have, if the space will
permit, a diagonal indention in this fashion
To Mr. Henry R. Braithwaite, President of the Society for Microscopical Research,
New York City.
When space has to be filled and attempt is made at
an open display of a letter which is addressed
to many persons, each name should have a separate line, but all
the
names should line at the begin-
ning, as has been suggested for the composition of signatures.
The specification in separate lines of
honorary titles or of any other particular should be always in the lower-case of the type of the text. 1
The portions of the printed writer who does not wish to have
letter heading that need not be
copied cannot be determined by the compositor. To be a proper legal exhibit all words should be copied, but there is often in these headings an amount of verbiage not required by a reader. The
copied a long list of society officials or directors and the nnmbers of the rooms in an office building, with other irrelevant matter, should have this needless matter erased in the copy before it goes to the printer.
NOTES OTES are a hindrance in composition and making-up. When they have to be affixed to a page that has engravings,
or when they are many in number or are of unusual length, the maker-up is j^ long note may have its referencemark on the last line of the page, and the following page or pages may have other notes that can-
perplexed.!
not be shown complete in the proper place, but One of many excessively an-
cliand],4to,a,LaHaye,1740. The text is set in type of about fourteen-point body; the foot-notes
parenthetical reference iigures and letters of roman and italic, and spaced small capitals are profusely used, with sprinklings of Greek. Page 10 has but two lines and pages 11 12, and 13 have but one line of text type,
are set ia eight- and nine-point, in half-measure the notes to notes in six-point, broad measure side-notes in seven-point.
the greater part of each page being filled with notes set in different measures. The composition and making-up of this matter
1
notated books Is the Histoire de I'origine et des premiers progr^s de I'imprimerie [by Prosper Mar-
;
;
Italic,
,
,,
DE L'IMPRIMERIE.
23
A CETTE premiere Eklition, deux habilcs Critiques en joignent nnefeconde, dont perfonne qu'eux neparle; favoir, une premiere fans ua.K,d\xCatholicon JohanEdition en Caradercs mobiles,
&
Nis Januensis(N).
Et w^i hoUe MifTalia fofent imprini ( 123 ]. Weither donnenc ces Carafleres pour fimcruvliu plemcnt fafoimez au Couceau : Wiacrda les donnc comm? anc^rieurs A laDdcouverte dcs Poinf ons dcs Matricea par Schoiffer (124); & le Pr^fidenc Coiifin pr^Ecnd t <iue cecce Edition n'eft falce qu'avcc dcs Planches de Bois gravies (125J: mau^ ils fe trompenc tous ^galement. Chbvillibk remarque avcc raifon , qoe, fuoipi'il n'y ait plut aucun EKcmpIaire de eeite Bible , an
frandlari ,
&
&
doit paurtatit tut aceorder
Is prttaier
Rang entre toutts
lej Bibles (126)1 & meme encre tous les Livrcs imprlme^ , pou7oic-il ajoater : & Ton peut bien s'imagiBcr, qu'unc pareille Edition eft d'un? Rarcci! cxtr£ine. Cependanc, Mr. d'Uffenbach, Magiftrac dc Francfort fur le Mcin , fe flattoic d'en poJn^der un Excmplaire t void li Notice qu'il dous en a donntfc.
&
iatinorum BibUorum Editio vetuflijftmaj duohni conftans yoluminihut in folio.
vQ un magniiique Exemplaire dc
de Sbe Gennevievc dc Paris, I'une dcs plus confide dcs micux fournics de cctte grandc Ville. rabies Altera (12S), difcnt-ils , ex Arte Typograpbicd tun perfeRd , tamen idifque Numeris , Signaturis , Rectamationibut , Anno , Loco , Nomine Ty['Otbeta tdfque Litteris etiam initialibus , qua emnes ^dita (^ piQa : quam Mogunlite prodilje cenjiciunt. Exflat ejufce Exemplar Parifiis f in Ctnovefind [BibHotbecd} Jalio taaximo CbnrtA Regid (129). Except ft Clievillicr . qui paroit indiquer c<!ttc Edition finguUete en ces Tcrmes , yen at v6 une iris ancienne fans Date (130) , ils font i Ii vt'dttf les fculs qui aicnt jamais parlii dc cetce Edition: mais ils font n bons Connomcurs en cc Genre, ils ont fi bien fi judicicufcnient drcHS la Biblioiheque de Icur Ordre , que leur Tf'molgnagc doit toujours £trc de tr^s grand Poids, i moins qu'il nc fe trouvc CX' prcfTi^nicnt infirm£ , ou d^'truit , par dcs AutoriteK
&
-,
,
tiV Typoeraphica Invtntoribut eet ac
I'austo Typir txfcripta.
Quamvis
eniin
intlla
& pontivcs.
Bien loin dc - J
ip/tt At-
Guttemsergjo fciti-
&
&
formcllcs
V I D E T u R omnium prima ff Moguntia ah
ccite Edition rare
& inconnue dans la ISibliotheque dc I'Abbaife Ro'ialc
1
:
voici dc quoi le confirmcr. J'al
jnoi-memc une Edition tout-i-fait fcmblable d ccllc qu'ils dOciiycnt ;
& jc la crois d'autant plus rdellc-
Temporis , Loci atqiie Typegrapberum Mentio fiat , evintamen id Typerum in/ignis * tun omni tamen Elegantid earensy Riiditai; (^ ex ipfd bae RudUateJiid cla-
nient dcs trois premiers Imprimcurs , Guttemberg, Fuft , SchoifTer , que le Caraflcrc , 1 quelque pcu
Linearnm ac ipfa-
dc la Bible Latine impnmiJc par Fuji £5' Scbciffer en 1462; 8c que le Papier, fur lequcl cllc eft faitc.porte prccifeinent Us ir.cmcs Marques que celui fur IcqueL touccs Icurs Editions font imprimccs(i3lJ.Cct Excni-
,
cit
rijfitne (lucent
veiieranda Antiquitar,
rum Litterarum feu Typorum Jnaqtialitat , vtajiifcularum
&
Manu, quidem fa3a AdpicMinio etiamubivis addita hUerpunSionet , inftgnis
ac inltialium Litterarum tto,
denique Cbatta Crafftties , Albedo , ac Nitar , quibur vetuflijfimi Libriy cmniumque prima Editiones trecentiorer fioflrat omnino anteceliunt
C127).
(N) Dtux babilei Critiques parlent d" une Edition fans Date ^uCatholicon JokannisJanuemsis.] Ces deux habilcs Critiques font les Peres Jaqucs Quetif Ic Jaques EchaEd , Domioicaijis , qui aiTurcnt avoir
&
de GrolTcur pri-s , en eft touc-a-fait femblahle i celiii
nlairc n autrefois apparccnu a la ^ommunaut£ dcs Clercs d'EmerJc , i laqucllc il avoit 6ti I6ga6 parGi!xard d? Bruno , Chanoinc de Dcvciiccr. II eft parfai* cement bien confcrvd, relit- en Bois, couvert dr Peau dc Truic. Il eft , de plus , antique fur Tranche , lav£ regie, non feulcmcnc H I'ordinairc autour dc chaciuc Page , mais cxtnordinairemcnc audcffbus dc
&
&
&
ctTa-
(iij) Chronic. Colon, tfmd Mallmkrot . fj^, (7.
f 114) Sinivil Initod. ptg. $17.
Wmhn.f^i. i. WixriU
f«j. ii- f lif) JooriSfi.ftg. 114. ( iifi J Chevillin, p^gx.t BSl det Savjnt, 7^. Malaiiui, Caulngi C«hu]ko(um S. Snip*. Iflierpmum , W.jt fAutuT dsU SttyJcnde. overwinnemle, en triumphcteiide W^cihciJ , impr. a Anvtu , in i6i.f. Cup, I, Liftnii Diblinil). ThMil- /WF. i{|: Beughem.Inc.Typoer. "l vfii&divni 4UiTti fani ituii ; dtHnm Je latmt U ftimiit Rttni a ctut BiHt : (r il tfi biia tiintimt , au It i|i , fait nm ftultmint rct,udie tammt ituttuf* *ia tammt r»>i SmfU E/fai , mail raimt I'ait- rtfur, K Long, Dibliolh. Sacrx fat. x\q til ummt faujfi . 6- qut Mr. Maittaift nc fait fiini admift dani 'fti Anrulei.' ZJvh. Conr. ( 1 17 ) Uffenbiili . Biblioch. Uffinbachiad* Tern. i. ftp i&i. Ok mil 911M j (» a un aau Extmplairi dam DiUiftbtjut du Barn dt Craff,,* a Unt. Vi.ii\. It Thepphili Sinccii Simmlun^ von jartnBuchein./fdKt.JMi-i* .-*-'* CataloRUi Libioc. ratioi. Vofii.fa^. it{ ij8,«W'*b mfaiiltiCataaiuidtBih&mt.
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titiu&tMrmUftrvi,qu-inW»ieXXXVII,itja Poiiain Cireulum in Anitiu loU, aaliim 4'in Nwibui. (ii3J /// vrntimt di parltf JstEdititHdt ri numi Uvri,failt avte diiPlanchti'gravrti, & dAiiii ci-dtfui Rtmarjat (H ), (iij) Qatiif te Etiiard SuipioffJ Ord, Ptxdicaioipm Kwnliii, T*m. r, ;«f.4fii.
XI, Pdraitapbt Lm Papin & fu Maniuei.
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ChevJlitt.Orig. del'lmpr.ile Piii*. wg. ij.
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(iii)/ VimJ ti'dilRui U AOiu \
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Reduced facsimile of a page of Marchand's Histoire de Torigine et des premiers progr^s de Fimprimerie.
:
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liet audiri psocuraloi qni fibt airiimplit curalionem vcl fe afltnt p:ocuratOKin (joc ipfo mrpeciuaeft.i Ita femper remouereiur lieKario.fr.eo.lt pipcDratozein.tTreni raiam ir.eo.que omni. .ieciiefiljocDicltpJocuratoj ^abe. nc fa cifdatio lie multofo^tiiis littere re vt Anenota fufpcionisreinoneaoir. vt.Upjc uocaone.Sedquaresicitpon lit. conteCm" dicta que omnia. nuinir a contrario feiiin.qi ante (i. contella. a CT Uel.pto «.aIlao requeretor i contra/' fioiTer rciiocatto fieri etiam ignozante liidice rio:quod f\ r<uccatic> ad alterum penienif// veladiicriario.z qp necelTe no lit fignlficare fet : valtret qS cfieo factn elTet (j n5 eft vep. iiidtci vel adiierfario.fic videtur loquibecre. DOninlulle. CrSeicfuntoictapnnci'
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ff U\i.
Reduced facsimile of a page of the Decretals.
m!4'
Leads needed for notes and text
174
split and put in piecemeal on other advanced pages. To take back or to drive out notes heedlessly planned seems equally impracticable.^
must be
SMAIiL TYPES PREFERRED FOR ALL NOTES
To diminish the annoyance made by notes, publishers and printers
have agreed on the policy of
setting them in small type and crowding them in
the smallest space.
A text in twelve-point leaded
may have its notes in eight- or seven-point soUd. So treated, the density of the small type and the openness of the large type are in violent contrast and make a forbidding page. When leading can be permitted it is better practice to lead both text
and note, always giving to the text the thicker and to the note the thinner lead. A quarto or an octavo in single-leaded type on twelve-point body
may have its notes in eight- or seven-point, with sixto-pica leads for the text and but ten-to-pica for the
notes.
A duodecimo in ten-point may have notes
in six-point, with a similar discrimination in the selection of appropriate leads for each body. 1 The reduced facsimile on must have been an afBiction to be avoided by the compositors, page 172 (one of the few which In his preface Marchand apolo- could be intelligibly produced)
gizes for its delayed publication, caused by the idleness [?] and dissipation of the printers, which he says is a fresh confirmation of an old complaint of men of letters against the abuses of printing.
gives but an imjrerfect presentation of the complications met in
the maldng-up of this book, Immediately following (page 173) is the facsimile of a page from the Decretals of Gratianus,
Befiyoices for foot-notes
175
t
When the inserts put in a text are set in smaller type it is desirable to make clear to the reader, by the use of still smaller type, the relatively inferior value of the notes but the inserts and the notes should be of the same face as that of the text (un;
less for
an attempted facsimile in black-letter or
old style), and should further show their mutual relationship by a graduated diminution in the thick-
ness of leads.
To lead notes with the thick lead
selected for the text is always a blemish.
OLD SIGNS OF REFERENCE DISUSED The signs that were selected for many years to refer to notes, * t J § and U, and are still made ||
a part of every font of book type, are now rated Superior letters as disfigurements to the page. or figures are preferred as more sightly and not so obtrusive, but when these references are made by
the use of letters or figures upon a body one half that of the text they may be as objectionable by
reason of their pettiness as are signs by their obThe regular superior figures made trusiveness. a book of 1400 pages, printed at Venice in 1498 by Andrew Toresani, the successor oi Nicolas Jenson, and the father-in-law of Aldus Manutius, who became, in
tum, his successor. Every page of text (some of a few lines only) is surrounded on each side by notes. More time must have
been spent in overrunning type to adapt notes to text and text to notes than was given to the first composition. It is another exhibit of the frequent abbreviations and narrow measures that had to be adopted by early compositors to keep together the notes and the text.
176
Notes should he kept apart
by the founders for this purpose are more satisfactory, and are most frequently used.
123456789
123456789
FoQT-point figarea.
Eegular anperior figures.
In mathematical work, however, the old signs may be used instead of superior figures to distinguish note references from powers of numbers, letters, etc.
NOTES IN BROAD MEASURE
When notes are few and short it is customary to set them as regular
paragraphs to the full width
same indention as that Wherever it is practicable, the reference-mark should be separated by a space from the first letter of the note. Notes are always unsightly when they consist mainly of abbreviated of the measure, with the
of paragraphs of text.
citations of books, which in
many cases overrun
one or two words on the second line, thereby making needless and wasteful gaps of white space. (See page 58.) The old method of closing the gaps by allowing note 2 to follow note 1, and making all the notes one solid paragraph (as appears in the subnotes on page 172 of this book), is no longer allowed. As a rule, the author wants a separate paragraph or line for €ach note, but separate paragraphs may make unsightly blanks when their last lines have but a few letters. When there is but one note to the page, and that
—
Notes do not need dividing rules
177
note is short and does not fill the line, it may be set in the centre of the line.
When there are two
or more short notes to the page, they may be put in half measure, if each note has enough of white
space at the end of every paragraph -to make readily distinguishable as a separate note.
it
(See
page 28.)
The old-fashioned paragraph indention (which is objectionable in a succession of short notes in full
measure that make wide blanks at the ends of the second lines) can be avoided, when there is only one note to the page, by centring the second line. When the only note on a page makes more than one line, and overruns a few words on the second line, centre both lines after this fashion The second line of this note should be centred and nearly as long as the first line.
If there are not words enough to make a fair show-
ing of the second line, shorten the first line by equal indention on each side.
DIVIDING-RULES OUT OF FAVOE It
was an
old fashion to separate the note from
the text by a hair-line rule that extended the full width of the measure. Some printers used a short rule in the centre or at the left of the measure for the
same purpose.
These fashions now find few imi-
tators, for there is no need of a cross-rule in a book
of text and notes only.
When extracts in the text
178
Notes in half measure to he preferred
are in types but little larger than the note type, a cross-rule
may be of sei-viee in separating notes
from extracts.
"When notes are in half measure
the cross-rule is not needed. The liair-Une rule over the note or under the rimnlng title is often of thin brass, with its face out to a sharp angle. This face, easily bent or gapped, is electrotyped with difficulty, and it may appear in print with the defects of gaps or crookedness, or thick at one end of the line and thin at the other. It is rare to find in any book hair-line rules printed with perfect unUormlty.
NOTES IN HALF MEASURE
When small type is selected for foot-notes that may be of unequal length, the notes may be put in The space between the two columns should not be wider than the em quad of the type
half measure.
of the note, and may be still narrower.
The half-
measure note saves space in turned-over lines, and presents a neater appearance than that made by the straggling lines of the broad measure, with its frequent gaps of white produced by short lines that sometimes contain one syllable only. The note in half measure may broad measure) is not so oifenshow an uneven number of lines sive in the half measure, for by in the two parallel columns, but that treatment the blank must the gap of white space at the end be less than that of some over(sometlmes nine tenths of the
turns of a broad measure.
The use of half measure for notes gives to them a distinction that they do not have when set in a broaxi measure, and it differentiates them from the
Usual widths for side-notes extracts in a much clearer manner.
179
This method
will be found of service in giving a neater appear-
ance to the page, especially when the notes are mainly made up of short citations, for they can be kept apart much better than when they have been set to appear in broad measure. 1 Note 1 is distinct, for it stands apartinitsowncolumn, and does not seem a part of note 2.
2 Note 2 is equally distinct It stands apart from note 1, and ;
cannot be confused with it.
Half measure should not be used for long lines of poetry, nor for the only note on a page when that note makes but two nearly full lines; but three lines will justify the use of half measure.
When long lines of verse are put in a note it is injudicious to break these lines in the middle to
accommodate them to the half measure.^ better practice to use the broad measure
;
It is a but when
the verse will not be broken, the half measure will
be found more acceptable.^
SIDE-NOTES Side-notes, which
add to the expense of composi-
tion, are not used as much as they were fifty years
ago.
The widths oftenest selected are one broad
quotation (eight ems of six-point) and two narrow quotations (twelve ems of six-point). Types larger
than six-point are seldom selected for explanatory matter in these narrow measures. 1 See notes
on page 110.
2 See note on page 52.
Types used for cut-in notes
180
Italic lower-case, frequently approved by
thors, is not a good selection
;
many au-
for italic has kerns
which are easily broken, and its inclined letters contrast badly with the upright arable figures that have to be used to specify dates, pages, or years.
When permitted, use roman for side-notes. CUT-IN NOTES Cut-in notes, more troublesome than side-notes, are
usually set in roman lower-case at least three sizes smaller than the type of the text.
They need less
space than subheadings. of goodfonnt
When set
with a broad and clearly defined white line
around each note they have dis-
tinction enough to compel the notice of a student.
A short square of white space in the text is an unusual form which attracts attention, but it does offend the eye, as does any kind School-book ^^^ note in light of bold jobbing type, which spots the antique type, p^ge like a blot of ink. Request is often made by publishers, who wish to give to cutin notes the boldness of subheadings, for types of
a bolder face, like antique or condensed title-letter. These bold types are not wisely chosen . , ^. Idfrertiser S ^^^ ^^^, standard book. They may be -used in school-books, but they carry with them the suggestion of the overbold display ,
of the advertising pamphlet.
Italic is objection-
able not only for its frailty, but for its weaken-
Centre- and shoulder-notes
181
ing of the emphasis that may be more needed for the words or phrases of italic in the text. This objection applies with equal force to the selection of italic for side-notes.
CENTRE-NOTES Centre-notes are rarely used, although they are unavoidable in pocket editions of the Scriptures, for
which pearl or diamond types are required, with stUl smaller characters in roman and italic for the signs to indicate the references. For this purpose superior letters are preferred to superior figures.
SHOULDER-NOTE is
the name given to the note that appears in the
upper and outer corner only of the page. They are used in law work to define sections or chapor for special purposes of cross-reference, as
ters,
well as in historical work to specify dates.
The words SECTION rv. in the upper right-hand corner of the facsimile from Marchand (page 172) show the position and style of the old-fashioned shouldernote.
12
XI
INDENTION )
RINTED WORDS need the reUef of a
surroimding blank as much as figures need background or contrast, perspective or atmosphere. Even in a book of solid composition more white than black on the is invariably there it may be in the margin, but the Much of page. amount of white put between the lines and within each letter is greater than is supposed. It is not merely by the selection of suitable tj-pes, but by the graduation of blank space about its lines, that in a landscape
a title-page is made attractive or repelling.
When
these blanks have been removed from a properly
spaced title-page, and the lines are huddled, the effect produced will be as unpleasiag as that of a
squeezed theatrical advertisement in a newspaper.
On the contrarj', too much relief of white space 182
Types need relief of blank space
may be as unpleasing as too little.
183
If the blanks
of the title are too wide, so that the coherence of
straggling lines is not apparent at first glance, the effect of good composition is destroyed.
What is of value for the title-page is of value White space is required
also for the page of text.
to make printing comprehensible.
A new chapter
is identified at once by a larger allowance of blank
A change of importance
at the top of that page.
in the subject-matter of the text, like that of a
document, extract, or letter, is more plainly indicated by putting a full blank line before and after the insert. A change of minor importance is indicated by putting a small square of white, known as the em quadrat, at the beginning of a new para-
graph.
This petty square of white makes a break
in the regular outline of the
page which arrests
attention almost as plainly and more neatly than
^
which were the paragraph-marks of the early printers.^ Much m.ore might be said about the importance of suitable blanks for title-pages and chapter headings, but the relief of white space produced by the quadrats which are most used in the composition of book texts is all that can be considered under this
was done by the t| or
1
The repetition of these tru- Ing methods of huddling words
isms may be of small value to compositors who have had experience in type-setting, but it seems to he sorely needed by the amateurs and the young compositors who are servilely imitat
which deservedly have heen discarded for centuries. For an illustration of the old methods of pinching space and huddling words, see facsimiles on pages 34 and 173 of this hook.
184 heading.
Indentions of one em preferred
The quadrats are enough to enable the
compositor to make the forms of indention known as regular paragraph, hanging, motto, lozenge or diamond, half-diamond, squared, and diagonal.
PARAGRAPH INDENTION The one-em indention for the regular paragraph is most frequent, but indention changes with varied forms of composition. For solid matter, one em at the beginning of a paragraph is enough to give the intended distinction of a change of subject.
When the matter is wide leaded or white-lined, and the white space between lines is thereby made larger, two- or three-em quadrats are often used.
These wide indentions are striking, but they have disadvantages. If the preceding paragraph ends with a single syllable, it is practically separated from its following paragraph by a full white line of irregular shape, which makes an awkward gap. part of a paragraph ending with the overran word so.
The overrun of the word so and the wide indention practically make an awkward white hne between the two paragraphs, where it is not needed.
To prevent this disfigurement the closing lines of the first paragraph are often overrun and more widely spaced, so that the last word shall pass beyond the indention, of the second paragraph. This hides the blemish of an irregular white line, but it makes objectionably uneven spacing.
Deep indentions wasteful of space
185
The very wide indentions made by penmen, who sometimes begin a new paragraph in or near the centre of the sheet, should not be imitated in print.
They are unpleasing even in script type. There are some kinds of composition for which the indention of one em only is insufficient.
In all
dialogue matter of many short paragraphs, some
them beginning with marks of quotation and some without, the indention of one em and two thick spaces is sometimes used for unquoted paragraphs, and of one em only for paragraphs with quotationmarks. As the two quotation-marks and a following thin space (about the thickness of two thick spaces) occupy but a small portion of the type body, and give but little added blackness to the print, they do not apparently diminish the white space produced by the broader indention of the unquoted of
paragraphs.^
An indention of one em for quoted
and of one and two-third ems for unquoted paragraphs keeps the capitals in a vertical line, to the
improvement of the composition.
When the same
indention is made for all paragraphs the capitals will be noticeably out of Une.
Indentions of three ems or more in a narrow measure are almost as wasteful of space as a full
white line. A pleasing appearance can be given to open composition by one-em indention and fuU white lines between the paragraphs. The object of indention, the leading of the eye to a noticeable 1 See illustrations on page 224.
'
186
Paragraph indention lad for display
white space that indicates a break in the discourse or writing, is defeated when that blank is raade too wide, compelling the turning over of too many
The proper adjustinent of indention and of breaks at the ends of paragraphs is as important as even leading and even spacing. short lines.
WHEN PARAGRAPH INDENTION IS NOT NEEDED The first hue of any new chapter, even when that line
does not begin with a large initial letter, or
any first line of type following the white line usually put at the end of an extract or insert, needs no indention: the white line above the print is sufficient indication of a change in subject-matter. Xor is the one-em indention required under a short line of subheading, but if the heading fills the measure the one-em indention is proper.
FOR CmCULAE LETTERS
FOR CIRCULAR LETTERS
Type-write your letter or circular on a prepared stencU sheet just as you would write it on paper. Then putthe sten-
Type-write your letter or circular on a prepared
cil in
THE NEW MULTIGRAPH and print
600 COPIES AN HOUR with ease and accuracy.
stencil sheet just as you would write it on paper. Then put the stencil in
THE NEW MULTIGRAPH AiT) PRIST
600 COPIES AN HOUR with ease and accuracy.
The regular paragraph indention should never be used for a few lines of text in any form of displayed composition. These few lines may be set the full width of the measure when the last line fills
The hanging indention marks a change
187
that measure, but they can be narrowed or half-
diamonded with better effect.
Display is damaged when there is much unbalanced irregulai'ity in the blanks.
When short lines are centred, displayed
lines have the desired prominence, and the composition is made more symmetrical.
When two or more sizes of type are used on the same page, the paragraph indention of each size should be of uniform width. Foot-notes may be excepted when they are in half measure.
When a
foot-note in broad measure is a citation of authority not exceeding two lines, the first line may be full
or nearly full, but the following line should be centred.
The turning over in a separate line of the
last syllable or of a few figures should be avoided
by thin spacing when it is possible to do so.
HANGING INDENTION
When the first paragraph in a book is preceded by a summary of its contents or by a long text or motto under the chapter heading, or when a long rule or proposition within the text is followed by extended comment, the types and the indention of this specialized matter should be perceptibly change in style as well as in size of different.
A
type is needed to show a distinction in subjectmatter. For this purpose preference is often given to the
hanging indention, which makes the first
line the full width of the measure and indents one
188
Hanging indention for summaries
or more ems on the left all the lines following. When space will allow, the matter so treated may be preceded and followed by a full white Une.
For unleaded composition, even in the broadest measure, the one-em indention of the lines following the first line is enough to give the matter dis-
For leaded matter an indention of one and a half ems is common, and two or more ems tinction.
may be used for a summary in very small type but ;
two ems may be found too much for widely leaded lines of large type.
A three-em indention in open
matter makes composition lopsided and unsightly. The slight projection of the first line and the slight recession
enough to Summaries of contents tuider a
of the following lines are
arrest attention.
CHAPITEE n. Son s^joiir en Italie.— Simon de Villeneuve. — Jean dn Bellay. Langey. — Amours avee une V^nitienne. — Son talent comme poete latin. — Opinion de Buchanan et de Scaliger Ji cet ^ard. Bonlmier, Egtienne Dolet.
chapter heading, which are usually set in small type, may receive indention of the same width as
that used for the regular paragraphs of the text.
Indexes, directories, dictionaries, and aU similar forms of composition abounding in short paragraphs, each beginning with a word intended to arrest attention, should have the first line of each paragraph the full width of the measure, and all following hnes of that paragraph indented. With small type the indention of one en is enough.
Usefulness of half-diamond indention
189
A mill paper-mill (pa.'p6r-mil), n. in which paper is manutactured. paper-mulberry (pa'p6r-mul'''ber-i), n.
See Broussonetia.
paper-muslin (pa'p6r-muz"liii), «. A glazed muslin used for dress-linings
In circulars or advertisements consisting almost entirely of concise paragraphs, often of two and never exceeding three lines, the hanging indention should be preferred. When set in usual paragraph style the projecting syllable of the second line is first seen, while the more important first word
of
the paragraph is not so noticeable.
Composition with projecting second lines that often end with a broad blank always has a ragged and incoherent appearance.
Dialogue matter in a book wiU not be improved by the use of hanging indention, for it will be at variance with the regular indention of other paragraphs, and win destroy the uniformity which is of greater importance.
The distinction of a hang-
ing indention should be given only to a paragraph which has some marked peculiarity in its subjectmatter. The bad turnovers that may happen in short paragraphs of dialogue matter do not warrant the change to a hanging indention.
HALF-DIAMOND INDENTION This is a pleasing mannerism of the early printers, who used it not only for the title-pages of books,
Good effect of half-diamond indention
190
but for the endings of chapters. The reader was notified by a gradual narrowing of lines that the paragraph so treated was hastening to a point and The half-diamond form prevented the to its end. lopsided appearance always presented when the last line had few words and showed great waste of white
space.
It was often used with
title-pages of Pickering,
good effect in the and it has been revived
to advantage, not only for title-pages, but for other
forms of displayed composition. It gives prominence to display lines, whether they are long or short, and symmetrically distributes the relief of white space that is needed for the display of type.
Cftat tfjou magest tje %omx antr eafipe? fpnlie (mofle gentle %m^n) ti^n tl)e name of anp pe?fane o? anp otbe? goolJ ntattie? contemeD in
ti)i£i
boofee, 91
l)aue i)e?e aDtetr a la^ge ant plaine
Cable afte^ tbe (nW of ti)e ^. "B. C.letouttoitbti)enoum=
b^e of tbe leafe, tobe^e
tboufbaltfpnlieanp <uri)e tbpng ag tbouHesp^efl to
baue in.
Limitations of lozenge indention
191
The half -diamond and the lozenge-shaped indentions are unwisely neglected in open display work.
Compositors frequently use paragraph indention for sentences of two or three lines, even when the
ends in a turnover of five letters. It is always a blemish to allow an irregular white line at the end of a line of text and over a line of display. In the title-pages of books half-diamond indention can be used with good effect for all groups of words that do not need special display. It prevents
last line
the useless display of many lines, with their space-
wasting catch-lines, and makes a pleasing variation in the composition by its systematic irregularity of outline.
It is not a favored style for dedications,
in which words are seldom found that will allow of this treatment without the making of bad spacing
or of divisions that are equally offensive.
LOZENGE INDENTION This form of indention is troublesome, for it requires some preliminary calculation of the number of words to be so treated.
The compositor begins
the work by setting one word in the centre of the
measure, and gradually increases the number of words in each succeeding line until the measure is filled. The indention in all following lines is increased until the matter closes in the last line with
one word only. The lines may have to be repeatedly reset and justified before the proper shape is
192
The motto indention rarely used
produced.
When lozenge indention can be made
without uneven spacing or bad divisions, the effect
A TREATISE ON THE PROCESSES OP TYPE-MAKING, THE POINT SYSTEM, THE NAMES, SIZES, STYLES, AND PRICES OF PRINTDSIG-TYPES. pleasing, but it is unwisely attempted within a narrow measure and with capital letters only.
is
MOTTO INDENTION This form of indention is largely used by French printers for the mottos of title-pages and for para-
graphs that caU for special attention. To make the compositor fills up one half or more of the measure at the left with quadrats, and sets the motto in small type, so that print shall appear on the right it
On ne peut ae flgurer I'impresslon produite par la mort du jeune Napoleon J'almgme vu pleurerde Henri Heine. jeunes r^publicains. .
.
.
.
.
.
Motto of Roatand'H L*AigIon.
It is a form used in England and America almost exclusively for some forms of law work in which the mannerisms of early Norman
half of the title-page.
copyists are
still
maintained.
It gives
a marked
prominence to subject-matter, but the composition so treated is always unsymmetrical.
Becent methods of indenting matter
193
NO INDENTION
A
new school of typographj' disapproves of the old-fashioned method of indenting paragraphs, and advises that the
first letter
in the first line of a
paragraph be set flush with the measure, without the preliminary em quadrat. No objection can be
made to this method when this first line has a full white line over it, as is usual at the beginning of a chapter, for the white line is an indication of a new
subject as well as of the new paragraph. When matter is set solid, without any white line between paragraphs, the no-indention method is not to be
commended.
It
does not help the reader, and it
may confuse him.
If the last line of a preceding
paragraph fills the measure, as sometimes happens, distinction between that paragraph and the one following is destroyed. Without the needed break of white between, the two paragraphs are made one.
SQUARED INDENTION This name is given to the squared and centred composition of short indented lines (often of capitals only) now in favor for undisplayed parts of a title-
page. Every line is set with a wide indention on each side, and with first and last lines always of the full width of the narrowed measure, so that they will take the form of a symmetrical square. This method is one form
of rebellion against the old displayed
194
Limitations of the squared indention
title-page whicli separated
of unequal length,
words in many lines
making some absurdly large
and others (catch-Hnes) unduly smaU, much to the waste of the white space reaUy needed for a proper The new fashion relief to the few lines of display. the old, much more troublesome, and sometimes more unsightly. To make perfect all the lines of a squared paragraph of capital letters in a narrow measure, the words in some lines may have to be spaced between the letters in other is as artificial as
;
OBSERVATIONS CONCERNING SPELLING,
ABBREVIATIONS,
COMPOUND WORDS,
ITALIC,
FIGURES, NUMERALS, SMALLCAPITAL AND CAPITAL LETTERS, DIVISION OP WORDS, EXTRACTS, LETTERS, NOTES, INDENTION, EVEN SPACING. In thlB illustration of Bqaaring, tlie letters are not hair-spaced, bnt the spaces between the words are objectionably nneven. Jadicioos hair-spacing is needed to lessen the gape in the second, tliird, and eighth lines.
lines the words may have to be separated by spaces
which are too thick or too thin. When this uneven spacing has been made, the letters in some lines seem to belong to different fonts. The spacing of letters changes the color of the lines some words will seem too light and others too dark, and the ;
general effect will be as disagreeable to a critical eye as that which would be produced by double or triple leading
between some lines and the entire
omission of leads between other lines.
:
Irregular indention for extracts and letters 195
DIAGONAL INDENTION
When two or more words intended for display in a poster or an advertisement are of nearly the same length, and are of equal value, but cannot be set in one line properly, and cannot be put in separate
and full lines without making a display too bold for the occasion, nor centred without awkwardness of effect, they may be arranged diagonally in this
fashion
COURIER GAZETTE TRIBUNE This can be done with a better effect when there is ample space for the use of leads to separate lines,
but the triangular gaps of white do not favor easy composition on the side. Advertisers often fill the blanks with small type. In a circular of plain and undisplayed type, the diagonal indention is wisely used for the address of corporations or societies which have titles too long to be arranged in one or two lines. It is the proper method for composing type in imitation of the superscription of the address on an envelope.
lEBEGULAE INDENTION Extracts inserted in the body of the text are often
indented evenly with one em or two ems on each
System needed in irregular indentions
196
side of the full measure.
Another metliod indents
the extracts two or more ems at the left and allows all lines to be flush at the right.^
Date-Hnes and signature-lines are habitually indented one em at the right end of the line. When there are many signatures to a document, each name must begin evenly at an arbitrarily fixed point on the left, regardless of the space made at the ending. An address to a person or corporation at the
beginning of a letter needs no indention for its first line, but the formal complimentary salutation of Dear Sir or Gentlemen, which is intended to follow the name of the person or the firm, should be indented one em.
The complimentary conclusion of Yours truly and similar phrases should be in a separate line, and indented, when it can be done, so that the last letter of the
preceding line shall be at a regular
distance from the beginning of the following line.
There are other forms of irregular composition for which set rules cannot be given, but this general rule may be observed to give needed prominence to lines, space should be as evenly distributed as the nature of the work will allow. Nor can arbitrary rules be given for the indention of poetry. It is customary to give similar indention to the lines that lime, but there are authors who insist on their own treatment of indention, :
1
See chapters on Small Capitals, Extracts and Letters,
and Subheadings for fnller illnstration.
;
Irregular indention of poems
which is sometimes notably irregular.
!
197 Reprints
of the sonnets of the seventeenth century should
preserve the indention of their first editions. Since honour from the honourer proceeds,
How well do they deserve, that memorize And leave in books for all posterities The names of worthies and their virtuous deeds When aU their glory else, hke water- weeds Without their element, presently dies.
And aU their greatness quite forgotten hes, And when and how they flourished no man heeds
How poor remembrances are statues, tombs. And other monuments that men erect To princes, which remain in closed rooms Where but few behold them, in respect Of books, that to the universal eye Show how they hved; the other where they he! John Fhrio, 1615.
As a collection of poems in different measures must have lines of unequal length, it is impracticable to give rules for absolute uniformity, but care should
be taken to regulate the indention so that lines will not turli over unnecessarily. Odes with lines of uneven length must be indented irregularly, to keep the body of the text matter as nearly as possible in the middle of the page.
When odes are set in
narrow measure, it is better to turn over an occasional long line rather than print most of the lines out of centre. 13
XII
SPACING COMPOSITION is made more pleasingwhen the spaces between words seem to be of the same width in all lines on
the page.
A reader is repelled by print
in which words have been separated, as they may be occasionally,
by two three-to-em and by five-to-em spaces in the next line. Quite as unsightly are lines that have been thick-spaced at one side and thin-spaced at the other. Spacing of either kind, as is shown in it is a this paragraph, is a disgrace to the printer fault for which there is seldom acceptable excuse. Even spacing is not easily secured. Whether the measure is narrow or wide, whether the type is fat or lean, the compositor has to put in type the words He must divide words on as set down in his copy. but some syllables and some words syllables only spaces in the
first
;
;
Irregular letters make irregular spacing 199
have many letters and may not be divided at all. He cannot compress the types, or abbreviate a long word, as was the prevailing practice in the early days of type-setting. He often faces the dilemma of a bad division to prevent wide spacing in one line and thin spacing in the next line. To avoid either fault he may have to overrun and respace preceding lines so that he can take in or drive out the clumsy word that threatens uneven spacing or wrong division. In an ordinary measure, twenty ems or more wide, the threatened blemish may be prevented by overrunning, but there may be narrow measures in which this expedient is impracticable. Even in a broad measure he will find indivisible words, proper names, and large amounts in arable figures, which are great hindrances to even spacing. It follows that absolute uniformity in
impossible.
spacing
is
When we insist upon the division of
words on syllables only, we must tolerate some unevenness in spacing, and be content with approximations to an ideal but unreached standard.
LETTERS NEED SPACES OF UNEQUAL WIDTH
To make spacing seem even, the spaces between words must not be of the same width. Allowance must be made for some irregularities in the shape of difEerent characters letters like o and e occupy — but one half of the type body points like :
'
.
;
much less than one half
;
,
ascending or descending
;
200
How to vary the spacing of words
letters, like d, b, g, y, and the capitals, about three
fourths
;
others, like j and Q, nearly the full height
of the type body.
Some are upright, like I and H
others are angled, like
A and L, or Y and W. When
a word ends with the letter d, and the next word
begins with the letter h or H, the space between
Qdpse-,'HYMLj them may be wider than it is between a word ending with e and the next word beginning with o.
On the contrary, a word ending with y when followed by another word beginning with should have a thinner space between them. Short letters like o, e, s, c, at ends and beginnings of words
W
take thin spaces.
Irregular characters, like
.
,
',
that fill but a small portion of the body, and angled characters, like y, w. A, L, Y, V, etc., at the ending
and beginning of words, should have the bits of blanks made by their irregularities reckoned as a part of the spacing.
It is not practicable to make
these distinctions with small types, but a discrimination in the selection of spaces is desirable and
even necessary with types larger than twelve-poiut. These niceties are possible in hand composition only. In the work of automatic type-setting and justifying machines a special adjustment of spaces between words in the same line is impossible. In
Faults of wide and narroiv spacing
201
newspaper work with type on six- or seven-point body, unevenness in spacing is held of but slight importance, but unevenness is not allowed in good book-work from hand composition with large type. In the display lines of title-pages and even of many subheadings, an intelligent discrimination in the selection of spaces is of great importance.
TOO WIDE AND TOO NAEKOW SPACING For solid composition in ordinary lower-ease letters of standard width the space most used is the three-to-em space. For wide-leaded matter the en quadrat is frequently substituted, and this is wide The enough for most open composition. "pigeonholing" of matter produced by the use of two thick spaces or of em quadrats between words in wide-leaded matter, as is shown in these lines, was once in fashion, but
it
is
now
generally
disapproved.
Five-to-em- or hair-spacing of lines of text may be passed occasionally in solid composition when
ordered on the final revised proof of an author, but it is offensive in leaded matter. It must be tolerated when it prevents the turning over of a syllable in a line of poetry, yet it is unsightly.
The hair-spacing of solid composition, sometimes unavoidable in the final correction of hurried proofs, is
shown in two lines of this sentence, and may be found in good work, but it is always a misfortune.
Spacing of fat and lean types
202
Uneven spacing in the same line is witliout excuse.
When three-to-em spaces do not fill the measure they must be supplanted with en quadrats or two When three-to-em spaces are five -to -em spaces. too much they should be changed for four -to -em or five-to-em spaces. In composition by hand this change of spaces should be evenly done between all words as far as the irregular forms of meeting letters will allow.
It is
always desirable to have a little blank at
the end of a paragraph to show more plainly the
ending of the last line of that paragraph, but this last line should not be spaced closer or wider than
the preceding line.
LEAN AND FAT TYPES NOT SPACED ALIKE
A fat letter of fifteen or more ems to the alphabet will bear much wider spacing than a thin letter of
twelve ems or less.
Condensed letter, on the eon-
This form of conieDseil type should ie spaced with five-to-em spaces
For expanded, type use en quadrat trary, should be thin-spaced invariably.
The proper
space between words in any type is fairly indicated
by the blanks between the stems of the letters m and n of that type, which will be wide in fat and narrow in lean type, and should be a safe guide for the determination of correct spacing.
203
Capitals need a wider spacing
SPACING OF CAPITAL LETTERS
The composition of capital letters only, which are generally twice as high and twice as wide as the round letters of the lower-case series, needs spaces twice as wide as those between lower-case words,
and leads twice as thick as those between lowerThe en quadrat is the least permissible space between words set in capitals two three-to-
case lines.
;
cm spaces are better, but the em quadrat may be allowed in a head-line of two-line letter when it is
surrounded by much open space.
IN THESE LINES OF CAPITALS THE WORDS IN THE LINES ARE
HUDDLED AND HARD TO READ THE WIDER SPACING AND THE i
THICKER LEADING OF THESE LINES MAKE EASIER READING Capital letters in all lines of large display often require unequal spacing, for characters like A, Y, L, J, P, V,
W are of irregular form, and when two
1 Thin spacing is practised ty several eminent disciples of the fifteenth-century school of typography, apparently on these grounds As the early printers made exclusive use of one thin space, we should use the thin space only. It is held that this :
thin space is wide enough to separate words and even sentences,
The em quadrat "between sentences and the three-to-em space between words are rated as waste white space, and are a vexation to one who admires the mannerisms of medieval copyists. If a sentence ends within the line, omit all space after it let the capital letter of the new press on the period of the last sentence. ;
Spacing of upright letters
204
or more meet in one word, and are preceded by
upright regular letters, the irregular letters show too much of white between their stems or thick
The unpleasant contrast between regular and irregular characters can be diminished by putting a thin space between all the upright letters. strokes.
When capitals with upright stems are thin-spaced and meet letters of iiregular form not spaced, aU will seem to be apart at uniform distance.
HEMINGWAY HEMINGWAY When there is much white space on the page or about one or more lines of capital letters printed thereon, single capital letters may be wide-spaced with propriety, providing that the spacing be made apparently uniform in aU lines, and will not produce unsightly divisions of some syllables. If single letters are spaced, the ordinary spacing between words should be proportionately increased. In no case, however, should the space between single letters be greater than that between adjacent lines. It is a sad disfigurement to a title-page to have two picas between the letters of a bold display line and but one pica of blank between the proximate lines.
SPACING AFFECTED BY PUNCTUATION Quote-marks should have hair-spaces put between
them and the quoted matter in every place where
Spacing modified by punctuation
205
they abut or interfere with upright letters.
The
capital A, with its broad-angled shoulder, does not
need this intervening hair-space, nor is4t needed in a closing quote that follows a period or comma,
but it is needed in every place where the tail of the quote touches the stem of a letter. French printers give more distinctness to the quote-marks by the use of the thick space before and often after all quotations that do not end with points.
"These quote-marks are too close to the letters" " These quote-marks set off with proper space."
Dashes used as marks of punctuation should be separated from their adjoining text letters by the hair-space or the flve-to-em space.
When a comma
(rarely needed) precedes the dash, the space may be
omitted, for the blank above the comma is enough to prevent its interference.
In electrotype work the
f at the end or the j at the beginning of a line, if
kerned, should have that kern kept within the line of the page by a protecting thin space, for the kern
may be broken ofE in moulding.
This remark ap-
plies to all characters projecting beyond the page.
If it is possible to do so without uneven spacing,
avoid placing an em dash at the beginning or at the end of a line. The dash makes a gap in the regular outline of the page. Dashes of two ems or more should not be used to mark a break. For an ellipsis make use of three periods two spaces apart.
;
206
Spacing of black-letter and script SPACING OF LETTERS
In the narrow measure of eight ems or less, as is usual in side-notes, or in text matter led down the „* AA -i^ Slue-note
side of illustrations,' there must be some
unwisely
irregularity of spacing.
It often hap-
spaced out.
^^^^ ^-^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^jy. ^^^ ^^ ^^j. -^ ^ line, and that this word will not fill the measure but no attempt should be made to close it entirely A side-note ^^ Spacing the letters of that word, for imspaccd, this Spacing of letters alters the charact)ut proper.
^^^ ^^^ ^-j^q eolor of the composition, and makes a much more unpleasing blemish. The unavoidability of the short line is apparent, and no attempt need be made to remedy unavoidable fault.
SPACING OF BLACK-LETTER AND LOWER-CASE Black-letter should always be thin-spaced between
words, and thin-leaded, if leaded at aU, but it will
be more pleasing when set solid. Its letters should never be spaced, for the spirit of all black-letter forms is based upon their compression and compactness, and a widening of the set or of the space between letters destroys the true spirit of the style.
aintoise spacing of t)lack=letter 91t Its best tot)en letters ate unspacet
Script type should never be wide-spaced in any position.
When capital letters used as abbrevia-
Spacing of lower-case letters
207
tions follow one another, as in N.Y. or S.C., there
need be no space between these letters.
Lower-case characters, always of irregular shape, filling from one fourth to three fourths of the type body, are made more irregular or more sprawling by putting spaces between the letters. The effect first produced by the spacing of lower-case letters is that of incoherence the next is that of a too apparent striving after quaintness or eccentricity. ;
The Eve of St. Agnes The Eve of St. Agnes which should be unpleasing to any reader.
When
the type selected is not large enough to occupy the measure, use type of a larger size. If this cannot be done, leave the letters unspaced.i 1 These suggestions are flatly contradicted by the teaching and the practice of a new school of typography, which directs that all lines must fill the measure, The order must be enforced for the shortest word in the broadest
The space to be put between letters may be an en measure.
quadrat or a three-em quadrat, I have seen the date of 1900 at
the foot of a title-page so widely spaced, with six or more em quadrats separating the digits, that
;
208
Even spacing requires watchfulness
Leaded poetry may be spaced with the en quadrat, especially when it is double-leaded or white-lined
but the en quadrat does not improve the appearance of poetry set solid, however wide the measure. Many compound words in one line may make overwide spacing between words. This blemish can be amended by putting a thin space on each side of the hyphen. Compositors on time, and piece-hands who make alterations on time, have no excuse for the neglect Piece-compositors who have to of even spacing. take back and overrun for more even spacing should claim pay (even before first proof) for the time so spent. The proof-reader who passes uneven spacing to keep his own reputation he should is in fault ;
discipline compositors who are slovens in spacing. its significance was not
compre-
hensible at first glance. This new fashion began with the recent revival of the mannerisms of medieval illuminators, who, to give the desired prominence to a large andhighly ornamented initial letter, ordered the copyists to sprawl dislocated letters to fill vacant space by the side of or over the initial. The proper coherence of letters and words had to be sacrificed; the blank space had to be filled whether it did or did not justify lettering. Another warrajit for too wide spacing is to be found in the uncouth title-pages of some English printers of the seventeenth
century who had scant supply of quadrats and had to fudge for needed sorts. Every compositor who has had experience in any petty printing-house of 1845 may recall the expedients he had to resort to in composing lines of large types destitute of quadrats and spaces. If the first and last letters of the line to be displayed were placed at the ends of the
measure, he could fill that line with spaces or quadrats of any smaller body. To a printer who has had this experience, it is not a little amusing to remark that all these imitations of scamped workmanship are now paraded
as evidences of superior taste.
XIII
QUOTATION-MARKS UOTATION-MARKS of commas only, put in the outei* margin, were used by Morel of Paris before 1557. Menage's marks, made a century later, were of this form
:
« )).
They were put in the
centre of the type body, so that they could be re-
versed and printed in pairs for the beginning and the ending of a quotation. They were not common in books of the eighteenth century. When
English printers did decide to mark quotations, they refused the French form, and made a very
awkward substitute by inverting two commas for the beginning and using two apostrophes for the
ending of the quotation. The quote-marks so sub" " are what Moxon calls a makeshift device, for these signs, wrested from their first purpose, are not symmetrical mates: the apostrophe stituted
209
Hackneyed phrases not to he quoted
210
on the flve-to-em body is made thinner than the comma on the four-to-em body, and their knobby endings are not in true line.
Unlike other charac-
ters in the font, they occupy the upper part of the
body, and leave an unsightly blank below, often to the detriment of even spacing.
Wben a mark of quotation has to appear before a two-line letter at the beginning of a chapter, the
turned commas used for that purpose should be of the type of the text, and be justified in at the side or over the head of the two-line letter. It is a serious blemish to any page to select commas to mate with the large initial used in the first paragraph.
WHEN QUOTE-MARKS ARE NOT NEEDED The purpose of quote-marks within the text is toinclose the exact words of another writer, so that
the reader at a glance can difiEerentiate the words
quoted from those of the author. When used with discretion quote-marks are helpful too lavishly used, they disfigure print and really degrade the There are phrases in the Bible, style of the writer. ;
in Shakspere, Milton, and other
famous authors, which by their terseness have become what may be called verbal coins in the English language, and their origin and value should be known to every reader.
To fence
like these
in
with quote-marks phrases
— not of an age, but for all time
knell of parting day
;
;
the
the observed of all observers j
Methods of using quote-marks
211
—
manner born implies on the part of the author a low estimate of the reader's knowledge to the
of literature. It is an intimation that he has not read these phrases and knows little or nothing of
the writings of good authors.
This remark may be
applied to all trite proverbs and hackneyed sayings,
which do not need quote-marks any more than they need foot-notes citing author, book, and page. No fixed line can be drawn between the proper and the improper use of quote-marks, which may be proper on one occasion and not on another. The author, not the compositor, must avoid the imputation of filching the language of another writer
by omitting the quote-marks, as well as that of a pedantic precision by inserting them where they are not needed and may be a positive offence. The compositor has no choice he must follow copy. When a sentence or a long extract from another writer is incorporated in the type of the text, two ;
turned
commas are usually placed at the begin-
ning and two apostrophes at the end of the incorporated matter. If the extract consists of two or more paragraphs, the turned commas should be used at the beginning of every paragraph, but the doubled, apostrophes appear only at the end of the quotation.
There have been authors who held that quote-
marks at the beginning and the end of an extract extending over one or more pages were not emphatic enough to catch the eye of a casual reader.
212
Insignificance of single quotes
To prevent any misunderstanding as to the limit of the quotation, doubled commas were inserted at the beginning of every line by many printers of the first half
of the nineteenth century.^
Nor is this
doubled commas at the beginning of lines are used occasionally in legal documents and in the columns of newspapers, but this style is out of fashion in good book- work. The long quotation or extract is specially indented or is shown in a smaller type, with equal clearness to the reader and with better effect in the print,^ but when double quotes are clearly marked in copy, the compositor must insert them without question. When an author objects to quote-marks at the beginning of every line of a long extract or document, but insists on its appearance in the type of fashion entirely obsolete
;
the text, the distinction desired for this extract may be made by indenting all the lines one em on
each side or by a deeper indention on the left.
SINGLE QUOTES British printers sometimes use single instead of double quotes, but not with advantage to the print
or help to the reader.
The single quote-mark, a
feeble sign at its best, and especially feeble when the tails of the characters are worn, should be re-
served for the quote within a quote, as wiU be shown in following illustrations. 1 See letter on page 162.
2 See extract on page 163.
:
Dialogue intelligible without quotes
:
213,
When special attention is invited to any word, it is customary to inclose it in single quote-marks, as
By
'
experiment
'
is
meant the process of altering
the arrangements presented by nature.
In this illustration the single quote-mark is the ac-
cepted substitute for the old fashion of putting the
word experiment in italic or beginning it with a capital. The single quote is of real service when it identifies unmistakably the exact word used by a speaker or writer, but it wiU prove an irritating precision when it is repeated too often in subsequent citations of that word.
QUOTE-MARKS NOT USED IN THE BIBLE It has been said that the conversation of different
speakers would be unintelligible or confused if the words of each speaker were not inclosed in quotecareful reading of the following diamarks.
A
logue, as presented in the authorized version of the Bible, will show that quote-marks are not needed
as much as is commonly supposed to distinguish
the words of different speakers.
And lie came unto his father, and said. My father and he said, Here am I who art thou, my son And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first:
;
born
;
I have
.
done according as thou badest me
arise, I pray thee, sit
and eat of my venison, that
thy soul may bless me. 14
"?
'
:
When to use or omit quotes
214
And Isaac said unto his son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son ? And he said, Because the Loed thy God brought it to me. And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I be
may feel thee, my son, whether thou
my very son Esau or not.
Genesis, xxvii, 18-21.
QUOTE-MARKS NOT NEEDED FOR SMALLER TYPE The quotation or extract whicli is set in smaller type and is made a separate paragraph needs no quote-marks. Change of size is enough to show that it is not a part of the text.
When the name
of the writer of the extract is given in the text, or in a credit or foot-note, quote-marks are a useless
formality.!
General Denvers said There may have been individual guards who were rude, but rudeness
was rare.
The officer could
scarcely ever visit the prisoners.
But when the quotation or extract is made a part of the paragraph, the quote-marks must be used. In his testimony Mr. Wyeth said that "two men, for an infringement, were compelled to ' mark time for more than an hour."
As there we stood, on me the Mantuan faced His eyes, and thus he spake " Both fires, my son, The temporal and the eternal, thou hast seen." :
Virgil's farewell to Dante. 1
See page 163.
When to use or omit quotes
215
When a compositor is uncertain as to the proper use of quotation-marks in copy not systematically prepared, he should use quote-marks for the exact "words only of the writer or speaker. This was his written promise to me " I agree to pay you one hundred dollars on the first day of :
June, 1896."
But there should be no quotation-marks when the statement is worded after this manner:
He advised me by letter that he would, on the first day of June, 1896, pay me one hundred dollars. Quotation-marks are frequently used in editorial
comment to stigmatize objectionable quoted words. His fondness for the big or unusual words and* phrases " empyrean," " nadir,'' " capriecio," " cui bono," " coup d'etat," shows that he has been to a feast of languages and stolen the scraps.
When a compositor finds these marks in his copy he must follow copy, even if he doubts, as does the writer, whether the quote-marks add anything to the force bf the comment. When a word or phrase has been made the subject of special and caustic criticism, this word or phrase is usually inclosed in quotes when it first appears in the comment; but if the quoted word or phrase has to be frequently reprinted, the quotation-marks may be suppressed in the repetitions.
"
:
216
:
Proper spacing of quotations
PUNCTUATION BEFORE AND AFTER QUOTE-MAEKS Quotations of isolated words or phrases, as in the last example, do not need a dash, comma, or colon after the introductory clause. Nor is a point always
needed when the quoted words are long enough to make an independent sentence, as in Cobbett's remark, that " the apostrophe ought to be called the mark, not of elision, but of laziness and vulgarity, ^^ is as true now as it was then.
In this example the flow of thought and expression is continuous there is no break in language, and a point is not needed after the word that. ;
When the quotation is long, or when it is introduced in a formal manner, it is usually preceded
by a colon, as In describing the influence of a great orator over
an audience, Sheridan says " Notwithstanding the diversity of minds in such a multitude, by the hghtning of eloquence they are melted into one mass; the whole assembly, actuated in one and the same way, become, as it were, but one man, and have but one voice. The universal cry is. Let us march against Phihp let us fight for our hberties let us conquer or die :
!
!
!
Quotation-marks should be separated by a thin space from adjacent or abutting letters when they
When a closing quote is a clause or sentence that also ends
press them too closely. at the end of
Quoted matter only to he inclosed
217
with a period or comma, the thin space may be omitted, for the blank over the period or comma
enough to show the separation. When a dash used to mark broken or interrupted speech, the quote may come close after the dash.
is
is
When words are purposely omitted in a quotation, this omission
should be marked by the use
of three periods about two spaces apart.
There is an old but unwritten rule, fairly observed by many compositors, that the closing marks of quotation always should be put after the comma or the period in all places where these points are needed. This practice, proper enough in many instances, seems to have warranted the frequent but
erroneous insertion of these marks after every point of punctuation and even after a final parenthesis. The proper place of the closing marks of quotation should be determined by the quoted words only; they must inclose these words, and no more
;
they
may be before or after the points, according to the construction of the sentence.
When the quotation
makes a complete sentence, put the quotation-marks after the period at the end of that sentence when ;
the quotation is at the end of but a portion of this
sentence which terminates with a colon, semicolon, or any other point, then put the marks before the point. The mark of punctuation intended to define the construction of the completed sentence should not be made a portion of the fragmentary quoted matter.
""
218
Quotes within quotes
It was presented as a "substitute" for a previous' motion to substitute the minority for the majority report (i. e. to strike out the majority proposal for " a brief summary of the reformed faith").
"I It was the baker's chance, and he took it. played The Heart Bowed Down under his window, and he sent word for me to come and play it again in the kitchen. Ah, that is a good song, The Heart Bowed Down .
'
.
.
'
!
'
'
QUOTES WITHIN QUOTES It often happens that a quoted word or phrase in
the body of a much longer quotation must be dis-
tinguished by another series of quote-marks, as is
shown in the example: " If the physician sees you eat anything that is not
good for you, he says, It is poison If the divine sees you do anything that is hurtful to your soul, he says, It is dauMiable !
'
'
'
!
'
The interior quotation is usually made with one inverted comma and one closing apostrophe, and is
known as a single quote.
Some printers reverse
the order, using the single quote for the long and the double quote for the short quotation.
Drew
does not object to this practice,^ but it is not common in America.
A third series of quote-marks may be ordered by the author to appear within the second series 1 Pens and Types, p. 119.
:
:
Abuse of quotation-marks
219
As this second quotation
as an interior quotation.
usually defined by single quotes, the third quo-
is
tation really requires a new set of signs.
Bigelow
advises that this third quotation be inclosed with
double quotes, as is customary with the first quotation, but recommends that the marking of this third
quotation be " avoided if possible, especially when the three series of quote-marks the close." ^
come together at
If the author insists, the inclosure of
a third quotation cannot be avoided, but two inverted periods might be enough to give the slight distinction demanded.
Five series of quote-marks
in a row at the end of a sentence, with unavoidable
bad spacing, are highly objectionable.^ They do not clarify but really muddle the meaning, as the following example will clearly show. In the Gospel according to John (x, 34) is this verse Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said. Ye are gods 1
Without any quotation-mark this verse is entirely Assuming that it is part of a longer
intelligible.
As might he supposed, the plac-
1 Punctuation, p. 42.
2 I hare seen a manuscript
in
which the author had tried to use five distinct series of quote-
marks. After a descriptive text, which was but a preface, came 1
The confession or narration,
2 Letters explanatory.
3 Letters within letters. 4 Dialogue matter. 5 Quotations within dialogue,
ing of quote-marks was not consistent in the manuscript. When the author saw in the proof of the first chapter the had effect of these fivefold markings, he had to confess that the reader would understand the subject more clearly if the use of quotemarks were confined to two series only.
"
'':
:
Too many quote-marks confuse
220
sentence from a modem author, and applying to it old rules of punctuation, it should be so rendered " In the New Testament we have the following words Jesus answered them, " Is it not written in your '
law,
'
I said, "
Ye are gods "
'
"'
?
Here are five quotations. These absurd repetitions of turned commas and apostrophes are the logical application of an old rule carried much beyond its legitimate purpose.^ It is but a step from the sublime to the ridicu-
lous, and from clearness to confusion.
NEEDLESS USE OF QUOTE-MARKS
A notable example of the needless use of single quote-marks may be seen in the English Past and Present of Richard Chenevix Trench.^ There are in every language a vast number of words which are indistinguishable to the ear, but are at once distinguishable to the eye by the spelling. I will only mention such as are the same parts ot speech thus sun and son reign,' rain,' and rein ; hair and hare plate and plait moat and * mote pair and pear ; 'air' and 'heir;' 'ark' and 'arc;' 'mite' and might ; ' pour and ' pore ; ' veil and ' vale knight and night ' knave and nave ; ' pier '
;
'
'
'
;
'
'
'
'
;
'
'
'
'
'
;
'
'
'
;
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
'
;
'
'
'
'
'
'
;
'
'
'
'
1 Wilson, Prmctuation, p. 160.
noted that these closing quotes
2 Edition
are wrongly placed after the semicolons. They should be before them.
of Redfield, p. 179.
Pages 106-111 of this book swarm with single quotes. It should be
'
Quote-marks divert the eye
221
and peer rite and right site and sight aisle and isle concent and consent signet and cygnet.' '
'
'
;
'
'
'
;
'
'
; '
'
'
;
'
'
'
'
'
;
'
'
'
'
had been omitted the illusThe eye is unavoidably diverted from the words to the points; the mind is confused by the repetition of undesired signs. If every quote-mark
trations would be clearer.
To read line after line bristling with these points is as irritating as a
walk through brier-bushes.
The following extract is another exhibit of a needless use of the marks of quotation. If every one had been suppressed the matter would be more The use of a capital letter easily comprehended. for the first word in each title is enough to show its separation from titles preceding and following. Here is a partial list of works, very infrequently heard nowadays, of which
I have preserved a record " Rienzi," " Nero," " The Barber of Bagdad," " The Taming of the Shrew," "Hernando Cortez," " Merlin," " Mireille," " Masaniello," " Le Pre aux Clercs," " Dinorah," " L'JStoUe du Nord," " Robert le Diable," " Si j'6tais Roi," " Le PostUlon de Lonjumeau," " Le Voyage en Chine," " Les :
Dragons de VUlars," "Paul
et
Virginie,"
"Die
Weisse Dame " {" La Dame Blanche "), " Les Contes
d'Hoffmann" (Offenbach's only serious opera), "Don Pasquale,'' "Lucrezia Borgia," "L'Elisir d'Amore," " Crispin© e la Comare," " I Puritani," " La Gazza Ladra," " Un Ballo in Maschera," " La
Forza del Destino," " I Lombard!," " Luisa Miller," " lone," and " II Guarany."
French method for quoted words
222
QUOTE-MARKS FOR FOREIGN WORDS Occasional words and phrases in foreign languages are often set in italic
but when these words make
;
one or more sentences of the paragraph they are more frequently put in roman with quote-marks. Quotation-marks are rarely needed to inclose a foreign word, phrase, or sentence in italic. Occasions may arise, but these occasions are exception-
Use one or the other, but do not use the two together unless the two are positively ordered by the author. The compositor must foUow copy, but the author should be reminded by the proofreader that this double emphasizing savors too much of the methods of an advertisement writer. ally rare.
FRENCH METHOD OF USING QUOTE-MARKS The French method of using quote-marks is much simpler than ours, as will be seen in this extract
from Le Nabab,^ by Alphonse Daudet. «
Vous avez lu ?
— C'est eponvantable. — Croyez-vous la chose possible — Je n'en rien. En tout cas, prefere ne pas amener ma femme. — comine vous Un homme pent aller partont sans se compromettre — Certainement Tandis qu'une femme ...» ?
sais
J'ai
j'ai
fait
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
1 Edition of Charpentier, Paris, 1877, 12mo, p. 288.
French method makes quotations plainer 223 There are two speakers in this dialogue, but the words of each speaker are sufficiently distinguished by the new paragraph and its forewarning dash. Quote-marks are used at the beginning and at the ending only of the entire dialogue, and are they not enough ? They ai"e sparingly employed in the paragraphs of French dialogue matter even when the speech is broken and explanatory words are added to the sentences of dialogue matter.
«
Faites,
faites
.... Au point oh. nous en
sommes, je puis travaiHer sans vous.
— Oh oui, dit !
prfes
le
docteur, I'oeuvre est k
pen
terminee. » ^
According to American and English usage, closing quotes should be inserted after oui, and beginning quotes before I'ceuvre. Are they really demanded ? Can there be a reader so obtuse as to need more
quote-marks to show that the words dit le docteur were not spoken by the doctor ? The French quote-marks for the beginning as well as for the ending of the quotation are more distinguishable than ours as to form, and are distinctly set off from the inclosed words by a thick So treated, the quote-marks are quickly space. recognized.
Our method huddles the marks too
close to the quoted matter, as if they were signs to
be ashamed of and to be reduced to insignificance. 1
Ibid., p. 125.
224
Quotations in poet/ry
QUOTE-MARKS IN POETRY Quote-marks disturb the regularity of indention in Two turned commas and the following space are nearly as wide as the em quadrat of indention. Feeble as marks, when reckoned as part of the blank they defeat the purpose of indention.
poetry.
" And everybody praised the duke
Who this great fight did win." " But what good came of it at last ? " Quoth Uttle PeterTrin. " Why, that I cannot tell," said he ; " But 't was a famous victory."
The second and fourth lines, made to rime, are indented in other stanzas of this poem, and so they are here, yet they do not seem to be indented at all. When quote-marks begin one of two adjacent lines not made to rime, the regular (so-called) in-
dention makes decided irregularities.
He holds him with his skinny hand. " There was a ship," quoth he. " Hold off, unhand me, grey-beard loon
!
''
Eftsoons his hand dropt he.
Indention could be made apparently uniform by indenting unevenly to keep the capitals in vertical Hue, but this method is often forbidden.
A sym-
metrical arrangement of composition is not possible
when quote-marks are rated as integral parts
(which they are not) of the sentence.
Different methods of giving titles
225
QUOTE-MARKS FOR TITLES OF BOOKS The titles of books and periodicals and of plays and operas are sometimes set in italic and sometimes inclosed in quote-marks. ^
Italic is preferred
by
bookish men, but quote-marks (easily set by the compositor) are more common. Every attempt to enforce the rule of italic only or of quotes only for the names of books will have No writer thinks to encounter many exceptions. it wise to italicize or put in quote-marks the Bible, the Odyssey or the lUad, the Inferno or Paradise Lost, for it is to be supposed that these books are well known by name. If we do not fence in these titles with quote-marks, shoiild we use them for Hiawatha or Marmion, for the New York Herald or for the Edinburgh Review ? The compositor or the proof-reader who tries to maintain uniformity in specifying titles does not find it easy to direct where the quotes should or should not be used. Bibliographers have not changed the practice of specifying with italic the titles of books men1 *' In
examining Th^ Atlantic,
JS'ation, ScHbner's Monthly, Ear-
per^s. Magazine of American History, LippincoU's, Popular Science Monthly, International Me-
New
Englander, London British Quarterly, Westminster Review, Edinburgh Seview, Contemporary Review,
vieiv.
Quarterly,
The Fortnightly Bevieio, we find that thirteen of these use quota-
tion-marks and four use italics referring to the titles of books; eleven use italics and six use quotation-marks in referring to magazines and papers." W. J. Cocker, Punctuation, p. 45. (In this list but fifteen periodiin
A
similar irregularity of practice may be noted in periodicals of more recent date. cals are specified.)
226
Exactness in citing titles
tioned in the text, and their practice is preferable in all books about books.^
Italic makes the title
plainer to the reader, but the quote-marks are
more convenient to the printer.
When it is supposed that the exact words of the title of a book
may not be well known to the general
reader, its title, when mentioned in a text, may be
quoted, but care should be taken to give with pre-
To cite any printed title from memory is always unsafe there is a probability that the writer will add or omit some words. Gibbon's " History of the Roman Empire " is here wrongly quoted it should read, " The Decline and cision the exact words.
;
;
A long title like need not be put at length in the text; it is
Fall of the Roman Empire." this
better practice to give the full title in a foot-note, in which position it does not need italic or quota-
tion-marks.
A reference to Fronde's History or
Parkman's History is a very inexact citation, for Froude and Parkman have written many histories.
An early copy of George Kennan's " Siberia and the ExUe System" was sent to Emperor William of
Germany, at Ms own request. Sir Noel Paton perhaps profited more by his " Pursuit of Pleasure," which sold for £2000, than by aU
his early religious paintings. I Italic, however, is not often used for the titles of books in foot-notes, but it should be used, as is done in some notes on pre-
vious pages of this work, in any extract intended to present the exact words and the style of the
quoted writer.
227
Quotation-marks for characters
CHAEACTEKS IN PLAYS AND NOVELS In comments on plays, the names of the characters are usually put in italic, and the name of the play in roman inclosed in marks of quotation.
The in-
tent is to prevent possible confusion in the mind of
a reader between the real men of history and the
heroes of fiction.
Julius Caesar as a character of
Shakspere should be in italic " Julius Caesar " as a play must have marks of quotation Julius Caesar as author or statesman must be in plain roman, and take no special badge for identification. These ;
;
are nice distinctions, easily made and useful for
ordinary cases, but not so easily observed when the proof-reader is expected to particularize with typo-
graphic badges the persons of classical history or mythology. Some editors refuse these distinctions, putting only the names of characters in quotationmarks, as in the following example. In " Othello " Salvini found a part wherein all the passion of his southern, blood had free course and was glorified. Though he played "lago" more than once, the cold villainy of that character was less acceptable to his impulsive art than the love
and jealous anger of the Moor.
There are other editors who will not accept the quotation-marks for the characters in novels, nor are they really needed in the specifications of
names in the following paragraphs.
228
Quote-marks for names of vessels
Dickens derived his mirth from the old giants of English fun. Mr. Squeers and Sam Weller, Mrs. Gamp and all the Pickwickian s, Dowler and John Browdie, will live while there is a laugh among us.
Take the indignation of Alceste, the self-deception of Tartufe, the blasphemy of Don Juan
— who
beside Moli^re ever combined such humor, such wit, such irrepressible mirth ?
NAMES OF VESSELS Quote-marks are used by some writers to inclose the names of vessels, but others put the words in There may be occasions for which it is expeitalic. dient to distinguish the names of vessels from the places that gave them name, to prevent confusion in the mind of the reader, but these occasions are rare. This extract from Bigelow ^ should be enough to show that quote-marks for this purpose are not needed in ordinary descriptions.
A coUision took place on the Sound on Friday night between the steamers Stonington and Narragansett. The Narragansett soon began to sink, and immediately took fire. The steamer City of New York sent boats to their assistance, and took a large number of passengers off the vessel. During Saturday the steamer ReUef of the Coast Wrecking Company, arrived at the scene of the disaster. The schooner Report still Ues alongside. metaUie life-boat was picked up about five miles from the wreck, containing a number of life-preservers marked " Narragansett." ,
A
1 Pnnctaation,
and Other Typographical Matters, p. 41.
Modern practice avoids display
229
Why the last word was inclosed in quotes is not to be explained.
The desire to make written language clear to the reader is to be respected, but some of the methods
now in general use are unsatisfactory and will not
A hundred years ago was the duty of the printer to begin every noun with a capital letter and to compose in itaUe every word that needed or seemed to need emphasis. It was hoped that capitals and italic would help the stand critical examination.
it
reader to a better comprehension of the subject,
but they were used too profusely and reaUy made trouble for the reader.
Experience has proved that readers do not need these crutches, and that ordinary matter can be
made readable and inteUigible without them. It is probable that the next generation will put
greater restrictions on the use of quotation-marks.
They will never go entirely out of use, for they are of real importance in many forms of literary work, but they will be used with more discretion and only in the places where they are really needed.
15
XIV
SUBHEADINGS CAPITAL LETTERS of the text type are used with propriety in leaded matter for subheadings of one word or of two or three words that make less than one line, but they will seem bold, coarse, and sprawling in every subheading of words that must occupy two or more lines. As subheadings of the same class should be uniform, a size of capital should be selected that wiU enable the greater number of words to come in one line. When subheadings are frequent and make more than one line, the small capitals of the text type are preferred for solid and often for leaded matter. If the text type is of small body, the small capitals of that text may be found too compact and relatively insignificant. To give the desired distinction, publishers of school-books sometimes select light-faced
Faces preferred for subheadings
231
antiques or gothics of small sizes for subheadings. Judiciously selected, the change in face may be acceptable, but the temptation to make subheadings prominent by the use of large and thick-faced types should be resisted. There are but few occasions in which job type of large size is tolerable in a good book, which is materially degraded when it imitates the typographic mannerisms of a trade pamphlet or a newspaper advertisement. Italic lower-case of the text is preferable as a substitute for job type. It has the merit of compactness with clearness, for it wiU take in more letters to the line than is practicable with ordinary It is always preferred for the long headcapitals. ings of tables and tabular matter. When greater prominence is desired for any special subheading, an italic of larger size than that of the text may be selected with propriety.^ Roman lower-case three sizes smaller than the type of the text is often used for subheadings by the book-printers of France. The display of large
type is purposely avoided as savoring too plainly It is supposed that the of advertising methods. attentive reader will not need large or bold type for a subheading any moi-e than he needs it in a side-note. 1
The following subheading in brevier
These remarks can apply to
Subheadings lower-case only. set in italic capitals are seldom pleasing, for the inclined and kerned characters of italic are
rarely fitted with accuracy and symmetry upon the square body, Awkward junctions in the combinations of letters are common In many faces of italic.
232
Subheadings need surrounding blcmks
(over a text in small-pica) is from a book printed at the Imperial Printing Honse at Paris
^ :
J 8 Par qui et en quelle vUle furent iinpriin6es les
6difdons anonymes du Speculum.
SPACE NEEDED FOR SUBHEADINGS
White space is needed more than staring type to give distinction to subheadings. The subheading in small capitals of text type which has a broad blank above it and a narrower one below it always has more prominence and a neater appearance than the subheading in bold type forced in a too narrow blank space. The relief of white is required as well at the sides. The heading should be arranged to avoid a crowded appearance when it occupies two or more lines. first line of full
A
HEADINGS ABE UNPLEASING WHEN TOO FAR ABOVE THE TEXT
width and a too short second line violate this rule. Such a subheading may huddle to comparative indistinctness the words in the first line, and produce ungainly white gaps at each end of the second Mne, while needlessly separating the text from the subheading. When a subheading makes more than one line, it is not needful that its first line should fill the measure. If its second line is made short by 1 Bernard, De I'origine et des d^uts de rimprimerie, tome i, p. 55.
Belated words should he kept together
233
the turnover of one word or syllable, the first line
should be shortened to turn over more words, so HEADINGS ARE MORE PLEASING WHEN PUT NEARER TO THE TEXT BELOW as more evenly to distribute the blank space.
For
the reader's convenience (the object most deserving of consideration), it is of no consequence whether
the first line is short and the second line long, or
but it is of consequence that the words most clearly related in sense should be kept together and that the blank space about the heading should be evenly distributed. A first line should never be full over a second line of one syllable.
vice versa
;
.AN ILLUSTRATION OF A SUBHEADING DIVIDED AWKWARD-
LY
two lines of a verbose subheading or legend are of the same length, do not attempt, by a hairIf
spacing of letters or a wide spacing of the words, to change their position or their length. It is admitted that they produce an unpleasing effect when of the
same length, but not so unpleasing as they would line should be full and the second line short, with a needless gap of white space below.
if the first
Lieutenant James Calhoun, commander of Troop L, one of the officers who died with general custer
The white space about an illustration in the text and about headings and subheadings should be
;
234
Division of words to be avoided
graduated to some extent by the margins and by the closeness or openness of the text matter.
It
should be more in leaded and less in solid composition. It is an offensive impropriety to try to save space by the use of solid type and narrow margins, and then to waste that space in useless blanks.
A
FOOT-BALL, GOLF, HOCKEY, AND OTHER OUTDOOR
AMUSEMENTS large margin calls for wide leads and more whites
a smaller margin for thinner leads and narrower white lines. When the subheading, or the legend line under a woodcut, makes more than one line, put together
FOOT-BALL, GOLF, HOCKEY,
AND OTHER OUTDOOR AMUSEMENTS in each line, where it can be done with propriety,
the words most clearly related in sense.
Never divide a word at the end of a subhead line, the division can be avoided by shortening the line and carrying over the word to the next line. When small capitals are' used for running titles or for subheadings, the wide shoulder on the small capitals should be reckoned as a part of the blank. If it is not so reckoned, the blank that follows may seem too wide. On six-point type the shoulder may be too small to be noticed, but on twelve- or fourteen-point the shoulder must be reckoned as a lead. if
235
Types selected for legend lines 'illustrations and their legends
The full-page illustration usually has
its
legend
line in larger capitals than those selected for illus-
trations in the text.
Some publishers prefer mono-
tone or light-faced antique or gothic, but the plain
roman capital is in the greatest favor.
When the
legend line is very long, small capitals are often used, but sometimes they are so small that they cannot be clearly printed and easily read. Hairline gothic in capital or lower-case series is fre-
quently selected for its freedom from serifs and its supposedly greater perspicuity but it is not any ;
clearer, for the absence of serifs makes the letters
more compact and quite as hard to read. FBAYSER'S FARM-HOUSE, FROM THE QUAKER OR CHURCH ROAD, LOOKING TOWARD THE SOUTH. PROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY E. S. ANDERSON, 1885. FRAYSER'S FARM-HOUSE. FROM THE QUAKER OR CHURCH ROAD, LOOKING TOWARD THE SOUTH. FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY E. S. ANDERSON, 1886.
Small capitals are preferred for the legend lines of illustrations, large or small, because they are not so liable to alteration as lower-case, in which the capitalization of the first letters of words may be changed capriciously by author or editor. Lowerease of plain roman two or three sizes smaller than that of the text type is now selected for the legend line by many prominent printers here and abroad.
236
White space needed for illustrations
These legend lines are treated in the same manner as the running title, by using capital letters only for the first letter of the line and for proper names that reaUy reqtiire the capital. It is obviously intended in this style to avoid the display of picked words, as is common in posters, and to trust to the intelligence of the reader for their entire compre-
hension.
Italic lower-ease is
sometimes used for
the legend lines, and those lines, instead of being
put in the centre, as has been customary, are often put capriciously on one side. General W. H. C. Whiting, C. S. Army. a photograph by Van Orsdell.
From
General W. H. C. Whiting, C. S. Army. From a photograph by Van Orsdell.
The amount of white space to be put around an illustration in the text
shoidd be determined to
some extent by the openness or closeness oi the composition much in leaded and but little in solid matter.! The disciples of the Kelmscott school of :
typography prefer to have the tjrpe very close to all cuts, initials, and borders, but this is not the prevailing practice. It is the general behef that an illustration, especially in leaded matter, is seriously
belittled when it is pressed too closely by type. 1 A similar treatment should be given to borders about pages, or to type set in panels of brass rule. When that border or rule
presses too closely on the type, the composition has a mean and
pinched appearance, which implies a
want of forethought.
Treatment of explanatory descriptions 237
Legend lines are often followed by explanations, wliich are usually set in very small type.
It is a
common practice to inclose these explanations in brackets, but the brackets should be selected only
when it is necessary to distinguish the matter so inclosed as an interpolation in the text. [This house was used as General Sumner's headquarters and as a hospital during the battle. The fighting took place from half to three quarters of a mile to the right or westward. Editor.]
Without a special order to the contrary, do not use the brackets to inclose the extended description
of an illustration, or the oflce or the name of the writer.
The change in the size of type, with the
specification of the name or office of the writer at
the ending of the paragraph, should be enough to
show that the words of the note are not those of the writer of the text matter.
Remains of Iguanodon. 1.
Eight side of lower jaw. 2. a,. Two upper molars, external view; &, same, internal view; c, external view of mature lower molar d. Internal view of same. 3. Fang. 4. Horn. ;
Winterberry {Ilex verticillata). 1,
flowering branch of the male plant plant, with fruit
;
;
2,
branch of the female
a, single fruit on larger scale.
Explanatory descriptions in small type, immediately following the legend line of an illustration in the text, -when of three lines or over, may be in hanging indention. When they make two short
:
238 Avoid needless points in descriptions lines
only,
put them in the centre.
Paragraph
indention for one paragraph only is not a good choice.
The iUustrations in many educational works are covered with engraved letters or figures that refer to descriptions in the small type below the legend line.
These characters of reference when repeated
in type are too often made obscure by inelosure in
parentheses, or by the insertion of useless periods
and em dashes, which do not help but really bewilder the reader, as in this example
— sclerotic — choroid — ciliary nerves d. — retina a.
a sclerotic
b.
b choroid
c.
c ciliary nerves d retina e vitreous body t crystalline
e. t.
— vitreous body — crystalline
The explanations are quite as clear and the print is more sightly without the points and dashes.
It is a good general rule in typography not to use any point or character that does not make the sense clearer or the print more readable. The periods, dashes, and parentheses about marks of reference noticeable in some manuscripts were seldom made
to be repeated
;
they are reaUy scratches made im-
thinkingly by the writer without a foreknowledge of their effect in print.
The rule follow copy (rarely
to be disobeyed) may be put aside when it is evident
to the compositor or proof-reader that the superfluous signs are a disfigurement to the printed page,
and are not at all helpful to the reader.
Arrangement of text about initials
239
Take special pains to avoid the use of dashes in legend Unes. Do not insert them after Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc.,
when they refer to engraved letters in the The points, and even the word Fig.,
illustration.
do not help the reader
;
they do disfigure the line.
WADY OLIiAKBE.— ANCIENT ARAB CASTLE. WADY OLLAKEB. ANCIENT ARAB CASTLE. FIG.
7 FIG.
8
— THE PULL MOON. THE FULL MOON.
7.
8.— GLASS GLOBE, CRACKED. GLASS GLOBE, CRACKED.
The word Fig. before and the fuU point after the numeral are equally superfluous the figure alone makes a clearer reference mark. (See remarks on ;
the abuse of the dash, in Chapter xv.)
In a close text of solid matter brackets and parentheses are chiefly needed to separate words or clauses that may have been interjected but are not really vital to the sense.
In open composition, and
in special paragraphs in small type, the brackets
and parentheses are not needed. In the composition of pages in two columns, in
which a very large initial letter or initial cut compels the temporary use of full, broad measure, do not make composition in broad measure extend below the cut or the initial. Return to the use of half measure as soon as you have passed the cut.
240
Types selected for side^headings SIDE-HEADINGS
When mach matter has to be crowded in a small space, side-headings are preferred.
In dictionaries
and similar books of reference, types of bold face are usually selected.
The old-fashioned fat-face or title lethad the greatest favor, but it is slowly It does not wear well, and becomes indistinct when its hair-lines are gapped and ter once
passing out of use. serifs blunted.
A clean-cut antique of a lighter face
is
more
distinct and gives promise of better service.
Coth ic lower-case is not a good choice, for the absence of serifs in a condensed type may huddle some letters to their confusion.
Expanded,
type of any style does not produce acceptable side-headings. moderately compressed plain display letter which lines with the
A
roman of the text is more satisfactory.
Lower-
case forms are always to be preferred.
SjiaUj capitals of the text are largely used for side-headings.
In this position the large capitals
of a text^type of small size may be selected with pro-
priety for the initials of the more important words. Italic loicer-case is more generally serviceable for
side-headings than any other face of type.
Eccentric forms of lettering should never be used for the side-heading.
They do not make reading
easier, and their peculiarities do annoy the reader.
XV
PUNCTUATION N apology may be demanded for a new essay on punctuation.
Every English
grammar has a chapter on this subject, and there are many books of authority that treat of punctuation exclusively.
Why shoidd any one add to the number
?
The treatises we now have, written to instruct undisciplined writers in the punctuation of their
own writiugs, give but little help to the compositor, whose first business it is to copj', and not to write. He is enjoined strictly to follow the copy and never to change the punctuation of any author who is precise and systematic but he is also required to ;
punctuate the writings of all authors who are not careful, and to make written expression intelligible
in the proof.
When to follow copy, and when not
to follow, is not taught in any treatise on grammar.
242
Limitations of didactic teaching
Compositors who begin the study of grammar to learn a system of punctuation are often repelled at
To under-
the outset by its scientific phraseology.
stand the grammatical rules a compositor should have (which he may not) some previous knowledge of the subject, but he soon finds that there are too many rules and exceptions to be memorized. Nor can the rules of punctuation that he may acquire
be adapted to unlike writings.
A year's experience
at type-setting teaches him that poems and bibli-
ographies, sermons and market reports, cannot be punctuated by the same code. Different systems of pointing prevail in different houses authors, editors, and proof-readers have opinions of their own, and do not always defer to the grammarians, and the compositor has to accept their ridings as It follows that compositors are inclined to final. neglect the study of rules that cannot be generally applied. To write on a subject that has met with continued disregard is hazardous, but the writer believes that the attention of the young compositor, who most needs instruction, may be secured by giving to him less of rule and more of example, and by trying to point out where he may and where he must not deviate from the punctuation :
of copy.
Even
in this restricted field didactic
teaching has its limitations. The question of the compositor. Shall I correct the punctuation of my copy, which I consider is faulty ? is rarely answered to the satisfaction of all
Imperfect preparation of copy the parties interested.
If the
243
copy is neatly pre-
pared, obviously the work of a disciplined writer who points with system and is mindful of detail, his
pointing should not be altered by any person, even if it does violate the rules of the house. It is the author's right to use his own system, and the com-
positor must neither make nor suggest any change. If the proof-reader thinks that the author's system
of pointing will confuse the reader, he may (but it
requires tact to do so) invite the attention of the
There his duty ends. He Meddling with an educated author's punctuation is always injudicious, and may be regarded as impertinent. Conditions are altered when copy is pointed unauthor to its vagueness.
must accept the author's decision.
evenly, badly, or not at all.
A reader will find more
fault with the printer than with the author if the
text is confused by bad punctuation, for it is generally understood that punctuation is the duty of
the printer.
This belief is not always just, but the
printer has to conform for the sake of his reputation, and has to require the compositor to give his
aid when the copy has been hastily prepared. is
his interest to do so.
It
Copy comes into every
printing-house in which the commas and periods are omitted, the colons and semicolons are inter-
changed unwisely, and the too handy dash is made For to serve as a substitute for the right point. the compositor to follow copy badly prepared is to postpone an easy correction in the stick for a
244
Close pointing is sometimes needed
more troublesome correction on the stone.
In aU
printing-houses it is the duty of the compositor to try to make composition intelligible, so far as it can be done,
by the proper use of points.
CLOSE AND OPEN PUNCTUATION
Two systems of punctuation are in use.
One may
be called the close or stiff, and the other the open or easy system. For all ordinary descriptive writing the open or easy system, which teaches that points be used sparingly, is in most favor, but the It is of close or stiff system cannot be discarded.
importance in the composition of laws, legal and ecclesiastical formularies, and in precise compositions of every description. Even the omission of the hyphen ia words meant to be compounded may make a serious error. ^ Close pointing is obligatory also in blank verse of inverted construction, and in all kinds of writ1 The importance of a hyphen was clearly shown by its absence
in a printed enactment of Congress, which enactment specified certain articles free of customs duty. In this specification appeared the words " fruit, seeds," as they are here printed. Importers of fruit claimed that fruit meant fruit of all kinds, and seeds meant seeds of all kinds, But the collector decided that
the comma was a typographical error, that it was the intent of
the legislators to nse the compoand word fniit- seeds, that fruit qualified seeds, and that the seeds only of fruit were free of duty. On appeal it was deeided that the enactment must be construed strictly by the official print. Fruits as well as seeds were made free of duty, The thoughtless insertion of a comma instead of a hyphen deprived the United States of duties amounting to many thou-
sands of dollars.
:
Points have small elocutionary value 245 ing in which many distinct statements are welded together in one long sentence.
Complicated sen-
tences are not quickly comprehended, whether they
have few or many points, but many authors believe that the understanding wiU be assisted if points are liberally used. This is a serious mistake, but compositors must conform to the author's wish. The proper use of points is largely governed by construction; points may be scant in direct but must be frequent in indirect statements. Yet this remark does not always hold. To understand and punctuate properly the words of a clear thinker and ready writer who expresses his thoughts curtly may be difficult, even in short sentences of simple construction.
A statement too tersely expressed
must have points to make it intelligible. Without points the two sentences folloAving are unmeaning I said and and not or.
That that is is that that is not is not. I said and, and not or.
That that is, is
;
that that is not, is not.
The function of points is to make expression inPunctuation tries to do this by separating the words that are not closely related, and by telligible.
keeping together those that are related. Incidentally points justify rules of grammar, but the demonstration of these rules is not their first purpose. Points have small elocutionary value. The old teachings that there should be one pause in the 16
246
Belation ofpumctuation to grammar
voice after a comma, two pauses after a semicolon, three pauses after a colon, and four pauses after a period, are now generally condemned.
The dash,
interrogation, exclamation, and parenthesis are the
only points that can be made generally useful as guides for the voice.
Before attempting to show prevailing usage concerning points, it is well to begin with the admission that punctuation is not included in the exact It is not even an established system, for
sciences.
and so does the same teacher. Nor can the rules of any system be applied to aU the rules of its teachers
differ,
practice of scholars taught by the
books.
Points may be omitted or inserted in a
directory in a manner that woidd not be tolerated
The writings of Pope and Macaulay may be punctuated by rules that are not properly applied to those of Swift or Browning. Punctuation is a system of much flexibility, for
in the ordinary book.
its
points are made to serve different purposes, as
will be shown on following pages.
A knowledge of grammar is of great value in enabling a compositor to punctuate properly.
He
who has been taught to parse and to dissect construction should be qualified to separate a complex
sentence into its component parts. It is not within the scope of this essay to treat of grammar, but it is
proper here to show that the different parts of a complex sentence are not unlike the different parts of a book.
Its division into chapters, paragraphs,
:
Component parts of a sentence
247
and sentences shows at a glance the relative value of each part. A broad blank at the ending and at the beginning of each chapter, an occasional white line between two paragraphs, and smaller type for
extracts and notes, are other aids. The marks of punctuation serve a similar purpose, for they sub-
divide the sentence so that the reader can more
quickly catch its meaning.
GRAMMATICAL NAMES The grammatical names of the component parts of a long sentence are the particle, the phrase, and the clause or member, which are thus defined in the Century dictionary Particle, a part of speech that is considered of
miaor consequence, especially conjunctions, prepositions, and primitive adverbs. The term is loose and unscientific. Plirase, a brief expression two or more words expressing what is practically a single notion. any unit or division that can be Member, .
.
.
;
.
,
.
.
.
.
considered separately as part of a total. Clause, one of the lesser sentences which united and modified form a compound or complex senclause differs from a phrase in containtence.
A
ing both a subject and its predicate, while a phrase is a group of two or more words not containing both these essential elements of a simple sentence.
Sentence, a form of words having grammatical completeness ; a number of words constituting a whole.
:
Definitions of grammatical names
248
A sentence that makes a direct statement with one subject, one verb, and one object needs no comma.
^
John went to the city. Columbus discovered America.
When these simple sentences are amplified by added words, one or more commas may be used, as in John, James, and Charles went to the city. If a comma is not put after John the reader may
understand John James to be one person. In the example, John and James ivent to the city, the comma is not needed but if it is omitted after James, in the third example, the impression may be made that James and Charles were travellers with each other and not fellows with John. The omission of the comma before the word and, in every nominative that specifies three or more persons or things, is an error often made by rapid ;
1
These are Goold
Brown's
defimtions and illustrations
be thirsty, give him water to drink."
A Phrase is two or more words
The terms claitse and member which express some relation of in grammar appear to have been different ideas, but no entire generally used as words syproposition; as, *' By the means nonymous; but some authors appointed." " To be plain with have thought it convenient to " Having loved his discriminate them, as having you."
—
—
own."
A Clmise, or Member, is a suba compound sentence ; and is itself a sentence, either simple or compound as, "If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; if he division of
:
different senses. Hiley says, " Those parts of a sentence
which are separated by commas, are called clauses and those sep;
arated by semicolons, are called
members." G^rammar of Engliah Grammars, p. 458.
:
Construction and punctuation
249
writers, but the comma should be inserted by the
compositor unless forbidden by the proof-reader. Christopher Columbus, an Italian by birth, discovered America.
The addition of aw Italian by birth, which breaks the directness of the statement, requires this phrase to be separated by commas. It is
said that Christopher Columbus,
an ItaUan
by birth, discovered America. In this position the preliminary phrase it is said does not break the directness of the statement.
When this sentence is expanded by the addition of the following words
it
becomes a compound
sentence, for it makes many statements and needs
many points It is said that Christopher Columbus, an Itahan by birth, discovered America, but he saw its out-
lying islands only ; the honor of the discovery of the mainland being surrendered to Vespuoius, although there is some warrant for the behef that the northern part of America had been visited by Norsemen in the twelfth century.
The words on each side of the semicolon make two distinct statements, and are known as members or clauses of the sentence. The example wiU show that punctuation depends largely on the construction of words. The two members of the sentence in the example could be put properly
:
:
250
Components of the long sentence
in two sentences, if the word being were changed to
the word is.
The statements could be put in three
sentences, if the word although had been omitted,
but the use of the words being and although makes the latter statements dependent on the former. Language can be constructed so that the clause of one sentence will be the phrase in another, and two connected members can be framed as independent sentences. The preceding example (with
others to follow) shoidd be sufficient to define the different parts of a long sentence, and to show the importance of points. From them the compositor should frame these general rules A sentence makes, or is intended to make, complete sense. In ordinary description it begins with a capital and usually ends with a period. A member does not make complete sense for the want of a word or words expressed or implied
in a previous or following member.
It is defined
usually by a semicolon or colon.
The phrase, always incomplete as to sense, may be defined by the comma, dash, or parenthesis. The particle, usually one word, limits, enlarges, or quaUfles the meaning of a phrase or clause, as It remains, pertaps, to be said . . It IS, therefore, an objection .
In law, and, indeed, in ethics
.
.
.
.
.
The words perhaps, therefore, and, indeed, are particles, which in stiff punctuation are fenced in with
:
Simple and complex sentences
:
251
commas, but in the easy or open style of punctuation the commas are frequently and wisely omitted. Sentences are simple or complex. The simple sentence of direct statement needs no semicolon, but it may need many commas, as in this example George Washington, elected the first president of the United States of America, was inaugurated at
New York, in the presence of the two Houses of Congress, on the thirtieth day of April in the year 1789.
The compound sentence makes two or more statements which could be separated into two or more sentences by a slight change of words. It may consist of few words, as in the following illustration To err is human
;
to forgive divine.
These statements could, be put in two sentences
To err is human.
To forgive is divine.
But the two statements are more forcibly presented in one sentence.
THE COMPLEX SENTENCE In the illustration that follows is a complex sentence which could be divided into two or more independent sentences, but the writer believed that his thought could be more clearly expressed in one
sentence.
The colon, semicolon, quote-marks, and
parentheses are really needed to enable the reader
;
252
Complex sentences need many points
to discern the relation of the dififerent parts of the
sentence to one another. It is an old and veritable saying that, " whoever would bring home with Viim the wealth of the Indies must first take out with him the wealth of the Indies " which, as to lexicographers, may be thus paraphrased whoever would undertake to reform the orthography of a language (which orthography was acceptable to the masters of the language from the days of Johnson to the day of such reformer), must bring to the task something more than the quaUties ;
:
of a patient, ddigent student.'
In the first illustration, to err is human; to forgive divine, there are two members, one on each side of the semicolon, but no phrase or particle. According to old rules, a comma should follow the words err and forgive; but commas are not needed, for the statement can be understood without them. In the illustration above the words before the semicolon constitute one member of the sentence the words between semicolon and colon make another member the words after the colon two more members the words inclosed in parentheses are a ;
;
long parenthetical clause it is an old and veritable saying is a long phrase and as to lexicographers is a shorter phrase. These examples should lead to these rules the semicolon or colon separates the members of the ;
;
:
I Gotild's
Good English, p. 141.
His punctuation.
Comma as a mark of separation sentence
;
253
the comma separates phrases, particles,
When a member is long, with quotations or other irregularities, it may be necessary (to prevent the too frequent repetition of the comma) to make occasional use of parentheses. and sometimes clauses.
THE COMMA The chief purpose of the comma is to define the particles and minor clauses of a sentence.
•
Reversed, and often in pairs, commas mark the
beginning of a quotation.
Used singly and re-
versed, the comma marks the abbreviation of Mac in Scotch names, as in M'Cartney (not M'Cartney).
In numerical statements it separates arable figures by triplets in classes of hundreds. In table-work reversed commas badly serve as a sign for ditto. The comma is not needed in the simple sentence with one nominative, one verb, and one object but ;
needed when its simplicity and directness are broken by the addition or repetition of nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs that do not qualify
it
is
the words that directly follow. Ulysses was wise, eloquent, cautious, and intrepid, as was requisite in a leader of men. Ease, indulgence, luxury, and sloth are causes of misery.
He shot, hanged, imprisoned, or exiled the insurgents, and offered amnesty to non-combatants.
;
Comma for words in pairs
254
When the words are in pairs, connected by the word and, or disconnected by the word or, the comma is needed only at the end of each pair. Ulysses was wise and eloquent, cautious and intrepid, as was requisite in a leader of men.
Ease and indulgence, luxury and sloth, are causes of misery.
He shot or hanged, imprisoned or exiled, the insurgents, and offered amnesty to non-combatants.
When the words are not in pairs, the comma must be used, even if or frequently intervenes. O'er bog, o'er steep, through strait, rough, dense, or rare,
With head, hands, wings, or feet, pursues his way.
And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies.
An obsolete rule of punctuation ordered that the comma should be used at the slight pauses of the voice usually made in reading aloud, and as a substitute for defective but implied words.
From law arises security from security, inquiry ;
from inquiry, knowledge.
The modem practice of punctuation retains the two semicolons in this illustration and discards the
commas
;
but if a compositor finds these commas
in copy he should follow that copy.
The comma should not be used between words
when these words directly qualify other words and the object and immediately precede that object.
A lady's enamelled gold hunting watch.
Comma a suhstitute for implied words
255
But if the naun begins the sentence, as is usual in catalogues, then the commas are needed.
Watch, lady's hunting, enamelled gold.
The comma is used as a substitute for defective words in specifying addresses of persons.
He lives at Hudson, Columbia County, New York. These commas are practically the substitutes for in Columbia County and in the State of New York.
A salutation or an explanatory phrase, not reallj' needed to perfect the meaning, but incorporated in the body of the sentence, should be separated from the context by commas. The correct practice of punctuation, John, is not acquired without thought or study.
Go, flatterer, go thy way. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, was martyred. I am,
my dear sir, your obedient servant.
Hear me, friends, for my cause.
The address or explanation is a break in directness, and consequently needs separation. It is practically parenthetical, but is of too slight importance to deserve inclosure in parentheses.
Breaks like the following may be short or long, but they are usually separated by the comma.
He told me, cordially, that I had his approval. He told me, in the most courteous and complimentary manner, that I had his approval.
256
Comma used to separate pa/rticles
The clause that begins a sentence with a limiting word like if, when, where, whenever, etc., should be kept separate by a comma, even when the statement so made may seem to be direct.
When English printers did decide to use quotemarks, they refused the French form. In this example the use of the comma is justified
by the need of two subjects and two verbs. When two statements, each with its own subject, verb, and object, are put in one sentence, the comma should be used to show their distinctiveness, even
when the sentence is very short. John saw WiUiam, and WUHam saw Susan.
A particle at the beginning of any sentence that implies its relation to a previous sentence should
be separated from its context by a comma. Moreover, he called Prince John a villain. Lastly, what lay you to their charge ?
When the particle or parenthetical phrase is in the text of the sentence, it is usually but not invariably
preceded as well as followed by a comma.
You may, perhaps, ask me why I ride. He is, it is said, a man of great learning. The comma is not always needed at the transition point of comparison or antithetical statement, but
when it appears in a quotation, as from the Bible or other classic, the comma must be repeated.
;
;
Comma frequently misused
257
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.
When each clause is a distinct statement with its own verb and implied nominative, use the comma. Damn with faint praise, assent with civil leer, And without sneering teach the rest to sneer Willing to wound, and yet afraid to strike Just hint a fault, and hesitate dislike.
As a general rule, the direct statement which contains a very long nominative without parenthetical
clause need not have a comma to separate it from
the verb, but the comma is often used.
To be constantly employed in laudable pursuits is characteristic of a good man.
That the governor of this great state of Illinois should make this unworthy appeal to the passions and prejudices of the foreign-born citizens of the nation must always be a cause of mortification to every lover of his country.
This long sentence does not require a comma, but if the comma appears in copy after the word nation, the compositor should insert it in type. The comma is needlessly used at the beginning of formal resolutions in the phrases Whereas, It
appears
.
.
.
Resolved, That
.
.
.
Ordered, That
.
.
.
If these first words appeared in the middle of any
long paragraph they would not have the attached comma or be followed by a capital letter.
258
Involved sentences hard to pwnctuate
When construction is inverted, and the objective precedes the nominative, a comma is much needed.
To the good, old age is the time of content.
Omit the comma, and good would seem to qualify Whenever it is necessary to prevent confusion, the comma should be used between words old age.
not directly connected in sense, even when it does separate the verb from the nominative.
An involved construction of the sentence always When three or more
makes punctuation difficult.
distinct statements are welded together in one sen-
tence, and each one of its members is loaded with
parenthetical phrases which moderate, connect, or
explain an apparent discord in other members of that sentence, the
commas omitted by the author
may have to be inserted in places where they would not be allowed in a sentence of simple construction.^
Phrases like it is said, however this may he, to he candid, etc. the conjunctions and, hut, or; the relative pronouns which, that ; and the aAverhs perhaps, notivithstanding, moreover, may require a following comma, but this comma is often inserted where it ;
1 The most important principie for practical use is to avoid
overburdeningmatter with commas. Almost inexplicable confusion is sometimes introduced in the attempt to make the meaning of a sentence clear by pointing off every separable word or clause. The involved style of a writer can rarely be
overcome by the multiplicatioii of commas. In the following example the superfluous com-
mas are inclosed in parentheses: It remains (,) perhaps (,) to be said {^) that, if any lesson at (,) as to these delicate matters (,) is needed (,) in this period, it is not so much a leason, . Teall, Punetuation, p. 11. all
.
.
:
Study of good editions heVpjkl muddles the sense.
259
The compositor often has to
read the sentence twice or thrice before he can discern its meaning. As the compositor has no right to alter the construction, he usually follows the rules that prevail in most printing-houses and incloses in commas the disjunctive words and quali-
fying phrases. Editors of experience put severe restrictions on the use of the comma for particles, marking them
out unsparingly in statements like these
He was, indeed, a good man. This, also, was an error.
Yet it often happens that the commas marked out by the editor wiU be reinserted by the author. The most useful rules are those that the compositor wUl make for himself after a careful study of punctuation in good editions of good writers. For a study of close pointing, the common version of the Bible, on which many editors and revisers have been lavish of care, is an excellent text-book. Blackstone's Commentaries on Law is equally valuable for its precision. Shakspere will show the widest range of expression from the stateliest diction to the commonest colloquialisms. Nor should writers so tinlike as Dr. Johnson and Sterne, Macaulay and Carlyle, be overlooked. Milton is not to be recommended, for the latinized style and the long, involved sentences of his Paradise Lost wiU confuse more than they will enlighten.
260
Subject-matter must be imderstood
While a study of the punctuation of good books is of great value, the compositor must not overlook
that of newspapers, magazines, directories, cata^ logues, advertisements, circulars, and other
of commercial work.
forms
Different methods of punc-
tuation are required for these different forms of
printed work.
These methods are not always in-
terchangeable, nor can they be formulated by fixed
The compositor who hopes for clean proofs must study also the rules of punctuation prevailing rule.
in the house in which he is employed.
Rides are of value, whether they are found in
grammars or are taught by proof-readers, but they can never take the place of an understanding of " An ounce of understanding is subject-matter. worth a ton of memory," wisely remarked William Cobbett. Here is an illustration— a short sentence which can be made to convey contrary meanings by the insertion or omission of two commas.' The prisoner said the witness was a convicted thief. The prisoner, said the witness, was a convicted thief. Useful as the comma is as a helper in exact expression, it can be greatly misused. The antiquated teaching that the comma must be used to indicate
pauses of the voice in impressive reading aloud is responsible for much of the misuse.
The memo-
rizing and stolid application of old rules without
a proper understanding of the subject-matter I
Wiy we Punctuate, by a Journalist, p. 30.
is
:
Dean Alford on commas
261
another contributory cause, as may be seen in the following passage from a book by Dean Alford
From speaking of the forms of words, we will come I remember when I
to punctuation, or stopping.
was young in printing, once correcting the punctuation of a proof-sheet, and complaining of the hberties which had been taken with
my manuscript. The
publisher quietly answered me, that punctuation
was always left to the compositors. And a precious mess they make of it. The great enemies to understanding anything printed in our language are the commas. And these are inserted by the compositors, without the slightest compunction, on every possible occasion. Many words are by rule always hitched off with two commas one before and one behind nursed, as the Omnibus Company would call it. " Too " is one of these words " /iow;
;
;
ewr," another; "a?so," another; the sense in almost
every such case being disturbed, if not destroyed by the process. I remember beginning a sentence " However true this may be." When it with
—
came in proof, the inevitable comma was after the " however" thus of course making nonsense of my unfortunate sentence. I have some satisfaction in reflecting, that, in the course of editing the
Greek text of the New Testament, I believe I have destroyed more than a thousand commas, which prevented the text being properly understood.^
To correct wrongly pointed copy the compositor should cogitate and understand each sentence, and 1
A Plea for the Queen's English, pp. 98, 99.
Alf ord's punctuation.
The last comma in this extract is superfluous. 17
^
262
Uses of the semicolon
mentally determine the points needed before he sets the first word. "When he has not digested the complete sentence, and puts in commas at the end of each clause as he sets it, without understanding the relation that one clause bears to other clauses, he will point unwisely. Unfortunately, there is a
wide-spread belief that it is better to use too many
than too few commas. Use commas only where they will be of service in unfolding the sense. In case of douM, omit the comma. Points must be selected to aid the reader; they should not be used as practical demonstrations of the rules of grammarians or of elocutionists.^
THE SEMICOLON Semi (half) holon (colon) distinctly explains the proper function of this point. It prevents the repetition of the comma, and keeps apart 1
This remark is often made
in the composing-room: "Put in commas enough. Let Smarty [the slang name for the proofreader] mark 'em out. It's easier to puU out than to put in." This It reinforces the is bad advice. false teachings of old grammarians, who fenced in the adverbs
9
period only, and
it was afterward used to show a separation
between huddled words, or as the mark of abbreviation. The early printers used a period at the end of sentences, the colon, and sometimes the slanting /for the
comma. The interrogation was awkwardly made with a reversed
The marks of punctuation, we use them, are relatively of recent invention. The earli-
semicolon. Wynkin de Worde, writing in 1509, says he used five points: the comma, the semicoIon, the parenthesis, the period, and the "interrogative." The dash, apostrophe, exclamation,
est lettering on stone shows the
andquote-marksareof laterdate.
and conjunctions of a long sentence until it fairly bristled with
commas. 2
as
;
;
Semicolon separates members the more important members of the sentence.
; :
263 It is
most used in long sentences, but it may be needed in a short sentence, as in the following example I eat to live
;
you live to eat.
The semicolon should be used in aU sentences that contain two or more members, when each member makes a distinct statement, with some dependence on statements in the other member or members.
Wisdom hath biiilded her house; she hath hewn out her seven pillars ; she hath killed her beasts she hath mingled her wine ; she hath furnished her table.
Some place their bhss in action, some in ease Those call it pleasure, and contentment these.
In the first example the semicolon is needed because each member of the sentence is nearly com-
Remove the words she hath in aU. members after the first, and they will become clauses or amplifications of statement, which need commas
plete in sense.
only for their separation; but the statements so treated would lose much of their force. Sit thou a patient looker-on
Judge not the play before the play be done. Her plot has many changes every day Speaks a new scene. The last act crowns the play. ;
As there is no point of an intermediate importance between the semicolon and the comma, the semi-
;
Example showing semicolon
264
colon has to be occasionally used to prevent the too
frequent repetition of the comma in the amplified This clauses of a long or a complex nominative.
use of the semicolon is most satisfactory when the object of the long nominative is briefly stated.
For a nominative and an objective that are very composed of many members, and each
long, each
apparently requiring the use of a semicolon, the distinction sought may be
more clearly made by
the occasional use of the dash or the parenthesis.^ It needs no effort of imagination to conceive what the sensations of an isolated set of scholars (almost all either clergymen or professors) must have been, in the presence of this big-boned, black-browed, brawny stranger, with his great flashing eyes, who, having forced his way among them from the plough-tail, at a single stride, manifested in the whole strain of his bearing and conversation, a most thorough conviction that in. the society of the most eminent men of his nation, he was exactly where he was entitled to be ; hardly deigned to flatter them by exhibiting even an occasional,
symptom of being
flattered
by their notice; by
turns calmly measured himself against the most cultivated understanding of his time in discussion overpowered the ton mots of the most celebrated convivialists by broad floods of merriment, impregnated with all the burning life of genius astounded bosoms habitually enveloped in the thrice-pUed ;
folds of
tremble, 1
social reserve,
by compeUrng them to
— nay, to tremble
visibly,
— beneath the
For a too free use of the dash, see the third example on page 271.
;;
Example showing semicolon
265
and all this without indicating the smallest willingness to be ranked among those professional ministers of excitement, Who are content to be paid in money and smiles for doing what the spectators and auditors would be ashamed of doing in their own persons, even if they had the power of doing it and last, and probably worst of all, who was known to be in the habit of enlivening societies which they would have scorned to approach, still more frequently than their own, with eloquence no less magnificent with wit, in all likelihood still more daring often enough, as the superiors whom he fronted without alarm might hav^ guessed from the beginning, and had, ere long, no occasion to guess, with wit LocJchart on Burns. pointed at themselves. fearless touch of natural pathos
;
;
;
India and its inhabitants were ... to him . a real country and a real people. The burning sun ; the strange vegetation of the palm and the cocoa-tree ; the rice-field and the tank ; the huge trees, older than the Mogul Empire, under which the village crowds assemble ; the thatched roof of the peasant's hut, and the rich tracery of the mosque, where the imaum prayed with his face to Mecca the drums, and banners, and gaudy idols the devotee swinging in the air; the graceful maiden, with the pitcher on her head, descending the steps to the river-side ; the black faces, the long beards, the yellow streaks of sect ; the turbans and the flowing robes the spears and the silver maces ; the elephants with their canopies of state the gorgeous palanquin of the prince, and the close all those things were to litter of the noble lady him as the objects amidst which his own life had as the objects which lay on the road been passed between Beaconsfleld and St. James's Street. Macaulay on Burke. .
;
;
—
—
.
:
266
Examples of the need of a colon
Unlike most of the other points, the semicolon has this merit
it
:
cannot be perverted to any use but
that of a mark of punctuation.
THE COLON Nearly every long sentence which consists of many members has its place of transition in construction or statement, for which place the
colon is the proper mark.
• ^
It is the joint or hinge
which unites the members of the nominative and the objective, which would seem to be disconnected if the colon were omitted. Art has been to me its own exceeding great reward has soothed my afflictions; it has refined my enjoyments ; it has endeared solitude ; and it has given me the habit of wishing to discover the good and the beautiful in aU that surrounds me. it
I have neither the scholar's melancholy, which is
emulation nor the musician's, which is fantastinor the courtier's, which is proud; nor the soldier's, which is ambitious nor the lawyer's, which is politic ; nor the lady's, which is nice ; nor the lover's, which is all these but it is a melancholy of my own, compounded of many simples; extracted from many objects and, indeed, the sundry contemplation of my travels ; which, by often rumination, wraps me in a sweet harmonious sadness. ;
cal;
;
:
;
In these examples the sense is incompletely stated by the words that precede the colon, and it is this
:
:
:
:
267
Other uses of the colon
incompleteness that calls for its employment. No other point would serve as well. A period in place of the colon would leave the first expression but
half defined, and a foDowing new sentence would
be too abrupt for want of a connecting particle. A semicolon in place of a colon would confuse the reader, for it would not show the point of transition between the leading members. The dash would indicate a sudden change of thought, and not the logical sequence intended.
A quotation incorporated in the text of a sentence is
usually preceded by a colon and
it
may begin
with a capital letter. Nothing can be more sopMstical than this aphorism from Pope Whatever is, is right. :
It is customary to put a colon after the compli-
mentary salutation in a letter or an address, as Dear Sir
Ladies and Gentlemen
:
The quotation, whether short or long, that does not
make complete sense in itself, rarely needs a colon before it, or a beginning capital letter. The colon is used after the particles or phrases that serve as introductory words to another statement, as in to mt viz for example :
:
The colon has been employed in the imprints on the title-pages of books, as
New York Harper & Brothers, 1880 :
The 'period an overworked point
268
This employment of the colon is traditional, and its pertinence in the position cannot be explained.
The colon has been selected instead of the period from minutes, and in abbrevia-
to separate hours
tions of proper names, but this usage is not generally approved.
(See chapter on Abbreviations.)
No rule can be laid down for limiting the number of the commas, semicolons, dashes, or even periods (as
abbreviating marks) in a long and involved
sentence, but there is rarely any necessity for more
than one colon in any sentence. Exception may be made for the colon that precedes a long quotation iu which another colon appears.^
THE PERIOD The period marks the end of a completed sentence. It is also employed in abbreviations of proper names and of foreign phrases, as in Mr. J. B.
Smith, i.e., q.v., etc.
^
It separates hours from
minutes, and whole numbers from their decimal fractions.
It is largely employed in frequent repe-
tition as a leader line to connect words or figures
arranged in separate columns.^ The period is now omitted at the termination of 1 Paradise Lost provides us with another notable exception, In one sentence only a sen-
—
tence of forty -three lines (book Ti, lines 219-261, Baskerville edition)
—
I
count five colons.
2 Por additional
remarks on
the proper use of the period, see chapters on Ahbreviations and Figures and Niunerals, in which many examples are presented of its manifold application.
Objections to the dash as a point
269
displayed lines in title-pages, in running titles and
subheadings, and generally at the end of aU lines that are followed by blank space.
Lists of names
set up in columns or in directories, and the endings
of paragraphs of index matter, are without final periods. is
In these forms of composition the period
not needed to indicate the end of the sentence.
As it is the feeblest of all the points, and least able to withstand wear,
it
should not be needlessly
placed in any exposed position.
THE DASH The dash is sometimes substituted for nearly It was once used as the all the other points.
^M
proper mark to indicate suppressed words. Sometimes it serves as a ditto-mark in catalogue work. It is employed to connect a side-heading with the text that follows, or to connect the end of that
name of the writer. Writers who do not clearly know what point is needed always make the dash serve as its acceptable equivalent. It has been so much overworked that one author text with the
has called for its abolition. Those who have thought proper, like Mr. Lindley Murray, to place the dash amongst the grammatical points, ought to give us some rule relative to its different longitudinal dimensions in different cases.
The inch, the three-quarter-inch, the half-inch, the quarter-inch; these
would be something determi-
:
Examples showing need of dashes
270
nate but, the dash,'' without measure, must be a most perilous thing for a young grammarian to handle. In short, the dash ' is a cover for ignorance as to the use of points, and it can answer no ;
'
'
other purpose.!
a grammar, as Cobbett has done, without using the dash, but the dash has been a useful mark of punctuation in Great Britain It is practicable to write
and America for at least two centuries.
That it
has been misapplied and made the cover for ignorance as to the use of points is undeniable, but the assertion that "it can answer no other purpose"
cannot be accepted.
Sentences are frequently con-
structed which would not be intelligibly expressed,
and might be entirely unintelligible, if they were not punctuated with the dash.
The dash should be selected wherever there is an abrupt change in a statement, as
—
Here lies the great false marble Nothing but sordid dust lies here. Thus the plot thickens
!
where ?
— but weary you. I
" The decision was in your favor, but
— " Here the
speaker was ordered to stop.
The dash is often used to give additional point to language in which there is an anticlimax. Thou, great Anna, whom three States obey, Who sometimes counsel takes — and sometimes tea. 1 Cobbett,
Grammar of the English Language, sec. 156.
—
;
:
The dash used in amplifications
:
271
Good people all, with one accord, Lament for Madame Blaize,
Who never wanted a good word — From those who spoke her praise. They will steal anything, and call it
— purchase.
The dash was much used by authors of a century or more ago to express in one sentence great contrariety of action, as appears in this extract from Sterne, which is a close reprint of his punctuation Nature instantly ebbed again
;
— the film returned
— the ptdse fluttered, — stopped, went on, — throbbed, — stopped again, — moved, to its
place;
stopped,
Shah I go on ?
No.
The insertion of the comma before the dash, as appears in the quotation from Sterne, would now, except in rare cases, be regarded as unnecessary.
—
— they — they die Pursue they faint — they
they break They yield The victory is won.
fall
!
Oh stay
fly
!
the work is done.
The dash is also used to separate the repetition or different amplifications of the same statement.
— —
the The infinite importance of what he has to do the goading conviction that it must be done dreadful combination in his mind of both the necesthe despair of crowding sity and the incapacity the imthe concerns of an age into a moment possibility of beginning a repentance which should of setting about a peace have been completed
—
—
—
272
Dashes for side-headings
—
of suing for which shoiild have been concluded all a pardon which should have been obtained
these complicated concerns intolerably
—
augment
the sufferings of the victims.
In this example dashes are used profusely. Semicolons would be better for all clauses but the last. The dash is often selected to amplify the details of a statement in a clause not parenthetical.
—
that are polluted with your lusts, Stained with the guiltless blood of innocents, Corrupt and tainted with a thousand vices Because you want the grace that others have,
But you
—
You judge it straight a thing impossible. The dash is much more visible as a mark than the comma or semicolon, and here serves a good purpose in guiding the eye of the reader to the unity of the sentence. It is of equal importance in legal pleadings that are prolix and complex, in which the
same statement is repeated in many forms and with great elaboration of detail, for commas and semicolons and sometimes parentheses are so frequently repeated that the relation of the clauses is obscured
and the unity of the sentence is temporarily lost. In any long sentence of this description a judicious employment of the dash may unwind an apparent entanglement of words. The dash is generally selected to connect a sideheading with the words of the paragraph, and these words with the authority cited at the end.
—
The dash and the parenthesis
273
A Cynical Remark. — In the misfortunes of our best friends we always find something that does not entirely displease us. Mochefoucauld.
Would not the entire paragraph be as intelligible and more sightly without the two dashes ? Dashes are used to specify a period of time by connecting extreme dates, as in 1860-1867. They serve also to define a reference to a passage in the Bible, as in Matt, ix, 1-6, or in the pages of
any
book, as pp. 17-23.
As the dash entirely fills the body sidewise, it should have before and after it a thin space to prevent its interference with adjoining characters. Sterne used dashes freely the em for a short •
—
and the two-em for a long break in narrative. French printers make the dash serve as a partial
substitute for quotation-marks in a dialogue.
For this purpose the quotation-marks are placed only at the beginning and at the end of the dialogue, even when it is protracted over many pages.
The dash that precedes each new paragraph is the only mark that indicates a new speaker.
THE PARENTHESIS
(The parenthesis, usually shown in pairs, V incloses the words added to a sentence
which would be complete as to its sense,
^
although deficient in clearness, without the new words. It is sometimes used singly, as well as
:
274
Parenthesis a point of value
in pairs, to inclose reference figures and letters at
the beginning of sentences.
The parenthesis is much neglected as a mark of punctuation.
As it occupies the full height of the
body, and is too often needlessly black and staring, it is frequently rated as too coarse and ungainly a
mark for a good book.
The dash is preferred by The
authors and printers, but not always wisely.
dash is the proper point to indicate abruptness, or to inclose clauses containing different phases or expansions of the same statement but the parenthesis is the only proper point to define an inter;
polation by the writer in that sentence.
The words
inclosed in the parentheses usually consist of an
explanation that could be constructed in an independent sentence to convey new information.
The Eg3rptiaii style of architecture (see Dr. Pocock not his discourses but his prints) was apparently
—
the mother of the Greek.
BJiow then this truth (enough for man to know) Virtue alone is happiness below. Left now to himself (malice could not wish ^im a worse adviser), he resolves on a desperate project.
He had two Latin words almost constantly in his mouth (how odd sounds Latin from an oilman's Ups), which my better knowledge since has enabled
me to correct.
An interrogation-point inclosed within parentheses and inserted in a sentence is a mark intended to
:
Parentheses needed for running comments 275 express a doubt of the truth of the statement.
In
a similar position the exclamation-point expresses surprise or contempt.
Parentheses are sometimes freely used in a text to inclose the of authorities.
names as well as the quoted words This is not a good method. Cita-
tions of the books or authorities appear to a better
advantage in foot-notes.
The parenthesis is used, sometimes singly but oftener in pairs, to inclose the reference letters or figures that divide and classify precise statements
or arguments, as (a) or a)
or
(1)
or i)
When a compositor finds copy so marked he must follow it
;
but he will wonder, as most readers do,
why the reference figure or letter is so small and why the inclosing parentheses are so large. He died
leaving four children (John, Charles,
Mary, Thomas) inheritors of his estate John married his cousin Lucy (daughter of James Boyle) and died without issue Charles was lost at sea (in the Arctic) ; Mary (dying unmarried) bequeathed her interest to Thomas, who is now sole owner of :
;
the estate.
These illustrations show the utility of the parenWhen a new statement, not necessary to
thesis.
its unity, is interpolated in a sentence by the writer,
that statement should be put in parentheses.
276
Italic parenthesis not approved
The curt style compels tlie use of the parenthesis y the diffuse style the dash. specification of dates or figures is sometimes
A
inclosed in parentheses.
During this year (1816, May 16) peace was concluded between the two warring nations.
Commas are often improperly selected to inclose a phrase that is strictly parenthetical. Parentheses seem to have been avoided because those provided
by the type-founder are too prominent.
When
properly made (as they are for this face of type),
they rarely will be found objectionable, and can be made useful in involved sentences as substitutes for the overworked comma and dash.
The old-fashioned form of parenthesis, always made too thick, may need a thin space between it and its adjoining character when it is placed too close to
any letter that nearly fills the body in The space may not be needed
height, as in (HaU).
when the proximate character has a shoulder, as in (Art), or when the parenthesis follows a period. Italic punctuation-marks are now provided for all
fonts of type.
For job-work and full display lines
they may be employed with propriety, but the italic
form of parenthesis is objectionable in good bookwork. Distinction is sought for the word in italic, and not for the parentheses inclosing that word.^ 1 This remark appKes to short phrases or citations only a sentence or paragraph exclusively ;
in italic should make use of any italic mark of punctuation that may he needed.
:
Brackets used hy reporters and editors
277
THE BRACKET
[The bracket
is also used in pairs within a
~i
sentence to mark interjected words of ex-
I
planation or comment (usually made by
I
author, reporter, or editor) that seem necessary to a better understanding of the subject.
The bracket
many sentences indicates passages of inferior importance that may be omitted, or that inclosing
need not be made a part of the text. It appears most frequently in newspaper reports of speeches, as in this example
We would have our Union to be a union of hearts, and we woxdd have our Constitution obeyed, not merely because force compels that obedience, but obeyed because the people love the principles of the Constitution [long-continued applause]; and to-day, lE I am called to the work to which Abra-
ham Lincoln was called sixteen years ago, it is under brighter skies and more favorable auspices. [Applause.]
These inclosures in brackets are obviously by the In every literal reprint of a misspelled or badly worded letter, its most indefensible errors are carefully pointed out by inclosing in brackets
reporter.
the corrections of the faults.
you to no [know] that I don't think you my boys ennythink [anything] about gramer or speling. I want
can't learn [teach] 18
278
Brackets for too many parentheses
Sometimes no attempt is made to correct the bad spelling the fault is sufficiently noted by putting ;
[sic]
or [so] after the faulty word.
The bracket is employed in legal or ecclesiastical papers where numerical words have to be changed to suit varying conditions, or where details have to be supplied, as in This is the first [second or third] time of asking.
The directors of this society shall be six in number, and shall remain in office [here state the time], and no longer.
One bracket is also used to inclose an ending word of a line of poetry that will not come within the measure, and must be turned over or taken back in the preceding short line.
Weary knife-grinder
!
httle think the proud ones.
Who in their coaches roll along the turnpike [and Road, what hard work 't is crying aU day, " Knives " Scissors to grind !
The bracketing in a previous line of a word too long for the line was common in old printing, but it is justifiable now only when it saves space. Sometimes the bracket is used to prevent the bewilderment of parentheses within parentheses. Sterne used them freely for this purpose. I know the banker I deal with, or the physician I
—
[There is no need, cned Dr. Slop (waking) to caU in any physician in this case] to be neither of them men of much rehgion.
usually caU in
—
Proper use of the interrogation
279
Compositors are sometimes at a loss when to use This general rule will apply in most instances Parentheses always inclose remarks apparently made by the writer of the text. Brackets inclose remarks certainly made by the editor or reporter
the parenthesis and when to use the bracket. :
of that text.
Reprints of passages in early manuscripts that
may be considered spurious, special amendments to statute law while under legislative consideration,
or any other portions of a text which need peculiar identification, are usually inclosed in brackets.
THE INTERROGATION The interrogation marks the end of a question that requires answer. It is not needed when the
<?
supposed question does not call for answer.
The Cyprians asked me why I wept. This is an assertion, for it does not ask a question. If put in interrogative form, as in the following example, the interrogation is needed.
The Cjrprians said, Why dost thou weep ?
He asked the question, WiU you go to-day, and met with refusal.
In the second example the words are descriptive, and not questioning. Many writers would put an
:
280
Interrogation to follow every question
interrogation after the word to-day, but
it is not In the first example the interrogation is needed, for an answer is invited.
needed.
Was the prisoner alone when he was arrested ? Was he drunk ? Is he known to the police ? Has he any regular business ?
What is his name ?
A compositor is sometimes perplexed by sentences that are clearly interrogative in form but exclam-
atory in spirit, as in this example
The " passing crowd " is a phrase coined in the spirit of indifference.
Yet, to a man of universal
sjrmpathies, and even to the plain, ordinary deni-
zens of the world, what can be more interesting than the "passing crowd " ?
This sentence properly closes with an iaterrogation, for a question is plainly asked, although an
answer may not be expected.
The interrogation should follow each and every separate question, however short these questions
may be.
It is often needed before the close of the
complete sentence.
Was the bruise in the flesh? or did it extend to Was it on the heel ? or on the toes ? or
the bone ?
on the instep ?
To divide these questions by commas or dashes would impair their force, and would not improve the appearance of the page.
!
!
!
!!
Varying uses of the exclamation
281
THE EXCLAMATION The exclamation marks a word or phrase intended to express great surprise or emotion.
W ^
What a piece of work is man! how noble in how infinite ia faculties in form and moving how express and admirable in action how like an angel in apprehension how like a
reason
!
!
!
!
god the beauty of the world animals !
!
the paragon of
Father of light and Jife thou God supreme O teach me what is good teach me thyself !
!
Look, my lord it comes Angels and ministers of grace, defend us !
Alas
!
!
poor Yorick.
The exclamation may be placed at the end of every exclamatory clause, without regard to the length Short ejaculations, whether of enthusiasm, as Bravo of the sentence or the number of clauses.
Hurrah! Good! or ot eonteiapt, as Get out ! Away! or of sorrow, as Alas! 0! always call for the exclamation.
The exclamation is sometimes marked in by editors after a word in a quotation, to express surprise
or dissent, or to emphasize an apparent absurdity.
The interrogation is similarly employed to express wonder and doubt. When so used, these marks should be inclosed in brackets. The distinction to be observed in the use of the
!
282
!
!
:
!!
!
Always at end of exclamatory phrase
exclamation and the interrogation will be plainly seen in the following example
Whither shall I turn? Wretch that I am! To what place shall I betake myself ? Shall I go to the Capitol ?
Alas
of my Mnsmen
!
!
it is overflowed with the blood
Or shall I return to my house ?
Tet there I behold my brother, plunged in misery, weeping, and despairing
The clauses framed to elicit answers are the only ones that need interrogations all those that are purely exclamatory, and express outbursts of feeling, are the ones requiring the exclamation-points. ;
The proper position of the exclamation is sometimes a question of doubt, but it should go at the end of the exclamatory phrase or address, which
may be at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the sentence. Alas for his family Alas
!
and did my Saviour bleed ?
Alas, my noble boy ! that thou shouldst die
Charge, Chester, charge
Give me hberty, or give me death
Daughter of Faith
!
awake
!
arise
In the first, fourth, and fifth examples the outburst of feeling is without break, and the exclamation should be at the end of the sentence; in all the other examples, where this outburst of feeling
!
Uses of the apostrophe is broken, the exclamation
283
should be put next to
the exclamatory phrase. It is rated an error to put an
exclamation after
every vocative 0.
O thou invisible spirit of wine
!
if
thou hast no
name to be known by, let us call thee devil.
man whosoever thou art.
Tremble,
!
Oh, indeed
!
Oh, yes
!
John
The exclamation-point, properly used, gives force and point to language improperly and profusely used, it degrades intended pathos and makes bomThe Book of Job and the Psalms show that bast. this point is most effective when sparingly used. The exclamation-point is sometimes used by job;
printers at the end of displayed lines, for no other
reason than its convenience in filling up an otherwise short line. This is a practice not to be commended put spaces between the letters or let the ;
line remain short.
THE APOSTROPHE The apostrophe, most used as a sign to mark the possessive case, as in the word John's, is also used to show the contraction of words and
tt
the omission of letters, as in tho' for though, Ja's for James, and the clippings of words in dialect. It is also used in single and double form to mark
the close of a quotation.
(See Quotation-marks.)
284
When used with possessive
The apostrophe for the possessive case should be attached to nouns only, and never be added to pronouns like his or hers, ours or theirs. For nouns in the singular number and nouns in the plural that end in any letter but s, the apostrophe must precede the s, as in president's house
dog's kennel
man's hat
men's meeting
child's shoes
children's room
For all nouns in the plural number that end in s, the apostrophe must follow this s, as in boys' games, horses' harness.
For nouns in the singular number that end in s, the possessive must be formed by adding the 's, as in James's book.
This rule about the nouns ending in s is not universally accepted, for the addition of another s
disagreeably prolongs the hissing sound of the s in Moses's hat
James's son
Francis's style
The princess's birthday
When the sound of a second s is given distinctly in correct pronunciation always insert this second s.
When it is made sUent in speech, as in the phrase for conscience' sake, in which the apostrophe is retained to show the possessive case, the s may be
omitted in print. Harrison's Landing and Garrison's Ferry need
the possessive 's, but when Landing and Ferry are
not added, and the places are written as Harrisons or Garrisons, omit the apostrophe.
285
Apostrophes not good for some plurals
The apostrophe indicates the omission of
letters
in dialect, in familiar dialogue, and in poetry, as in does n't for does not
I 'U for I will
was for it was
I 've for I have
't
'em for them
ne'er for never
When two words are practically made into one syllable a thin space may be put before the apostrophe,
as in I 've, I '11.
The phrases don't, can't, won't, and
shan't are exceptions, and are consolidated.
There
are many cases in which a separating space is needed to make more apparent the difference between the
possessive s and the contraction of is, as in
Where truth 's unknown and honor 's dead. Figures expressing dates are sometimes abbreviated, as in
The spirit of '76
The Argonauts of '49
These are slipshod forms of expression
;
the omit-
ted figures of the dates would present a neater ap-
pearance than the apostrophes. The apostrophe is sometimes written in copy to
make a plural for letters and figures, as in Mind your p's and q's. Cross your t's and dot your i's. Make 7's and 3's more distinct.
The apostrophe is not a proper mark for the expression of plurality.
Its use in print for this purpose is
but the repetition of an indefensible colloquialism.
;
!
286
Different applications of the hyphen
Copy so written must be followed, but the meaning would be clear without the apostrophe and final s; The apostrophe was lavishly used by poets of a bygone period to suppress the sound of e and to shorten the last syllable of participles ending in ed. Dropp'd from her nerveless grasp the shatter'd spear, Clos'd her bright eye, and cnrb'd her high career Hope for a season bade the world farewell, And Freedom shriek'd as Koscinsko fell.
This use of the apostrophe has been abandoned. It is supposed rightly that every reader does not need the apostrophe as a guide to correct pronunciation, but the practice is still maintained of using the grave e for the last syllable of past tenses and participles of verbs when that syllable should be distiactly pronounced.
Hence, loathed Melancholy
For other remarks on the apostrophe, showing where it may be properly used as a mark of contraction, and where the period is of better service, see chapter on Abbreviations.
THE HYPHEN The first function of the hyphen is to mark the division of a too long word at the end
^
of a line, but it serves also to connect com-
pounded words, as in round-shouldered.
It is also
used in repetition as a leader line to connect words
:
The function of the brace
287
or figures in different columns, as is shown in the
following table Weight in ounces of the points furnished by type-founders for a thousand-pound font of roman type ,
160
'
;
40
:
-
-
-
30
!
80
?
80
-
-
10
-
10
- 10
(
30
10
[
_
-
40
40
The period is more in favor as a leader line.
A
new school of typography rejects all leader lines. The new method is not to be commended, especially so in a table of two or more columns, in which the figures are put too far apart
from the words or
signs that they are intended to elucidate, and are
brought too near to the words or signs in another column with which they have no direct relation.
BRACES C"
Braces cannot be regarded as marks of
.
punctuation, but they were largely used
l_
inclose triple lines of rime.
"
by printers of the eighteenth century to
tice is no longer maintained
;
This prac-
I
but the brace is still
needed in law- work, table-work, and general jobwork to inclose two or more lines to be explained by a word or words at the central point of the brace. They are furnished by type-founders on two- and three-em bodies and in sections of rights, centres.
288
Eleven points a/re sufficient
and lefts; but the sectional braces do not agree witb the solid braces in form or color, and the two kinds shovdd never be used together.
SUMMARY
A Period marks the end of a sentence. A Colon is at the transition point of the sentence. A Semicolon separates different statements.^ A Comma separates clauses, phrases, and particles. A Dash marks abruptness or irregularity.
^
An Exclamation marks surprise. An Interrogation asks a question for answer. An Apostrophe marks elisions or possessive case. Quotation-marks define quoted words. Parentheses inclose interpolations in the sentence. Brackets inclose irregularities in the sentence.
Eleven characters should be quite ample to make clear the expression of thought in print but the late Francis Hart of New York thought otherwise, and had made a minute -mark for a new position to prevent the repetition of the comma in sentences with many consecutive nouns or adjectives, as in ;
Men/ women/ children/ horses/ and cattle were drowned.
He was strong/ bold/ tactful/ persevering, yet he failed.
The innovation was not approved.
The need of a minor point to separate particles in a compound 1 It serves to mark an equation of ideas, equivalent to ( ; : ) in a mathematical equation.
=
2 This
is
the case especially
when the statements are in the nature of a category.
Rejection ofpoints in title-pages
289
nominative or an involved sentence is sometimes painfully apparent but a new point for this purpose would not lessen but increase the difficulties ;
of punctuation.
The only new point or sign that is really needed (and that could not be misused) is a sign or mark for ditto in the catalogue matter of job-printers.
The inverted commas now in frequent use serve the they are out of true line and mislead or annoy the eye when they appear in solid composition between words, leaders, or figures. The sign << used by all penmen is preferable to
purpose badly
;
turned commas or to the abbreviation do.
TITLE-PAGES WITHOUT POINTS
Book titles are now set without points— a fashion introduced by Pickering of London about 1850. At that time it was customary to make one large display line of the leading words of the title, and to
put a comma or a semicolon at its end. Condensed two -line type, then an admired novelty with other
was preferred for lines of display. To make short words fill the line, the types of this printers,
condensed letter often had to be spaced, with the unavoidable result of throwing the line that ended with a point apparently out of centre and making To prevent this blemish the point at it lopsided. the end of the leading display line was omitted, as had been done for many years by job-printers in
290
Points may be wnwisely omitted
the display lines of posters and handbills. This rejection of the useless point was accepted as an
improvement; but the disciples of Pickering and Whittingham, not content with omitting points at the ends of display lines, rejected them in all lines,
and in most titles to their benefit typographically, but in some to the confusion of sense. When one Une, or even two or three adjacent and correlated lines, in
a title-page constitute a distinct member
of a sentence, a point is not required at the end of
A
change of size and style in the types each line. of a following line, and the intervening blank, are indications enough that this new line contains a
new clause. There is no need for a period at the end of a line like Illustrated, or Second Edition, or By
John Smith, nor for a colon after New York in an imprint. The conditions are altered when abbreviations have to be used to specify the honorary titles
that follow the name of the author: to omit the abbreviating periods makes confusion. "When the
imprint of the publisher particularizes two or more partners, as in Marston, Earl, Searle, & Rivington, the reader cannot know whether these words are or are not the names of two, three, or four persons unless commas have been inserted.
About these
niceties the compositor is never consulted.
When
he is directed to compose a title without any points, he must do as he is told, and leave the responsibility of its possible confusion of meaning with the author or publisher who has given the order.
:
The uselessness of double pointing
291
TWO POINTS TOGETHER
When
The doubling of points should be avoided.
an abbreviation precedes a colon, as in the particle viz the period may be omitted when it precedes a comma, the period is often inserted, but the appearance of the line is damaged and the sense is not bettered. In many instances the period should be :
;
retained and the comma omitted, as in this line
He was there at 6 p.m. but lie was too late. There is seldom any need of the comma, semicolon, or colon before the dash, as
,—
;—
:
—
.
The
dash is the boldest and most striking of the minor The points, and the greater should carry the less. dash after minor points can be safely used only in the sentence that is overstudded with commas,
and where it is selected as the equivalent of the parenthesis, for which it is an improper substitute.
A comma put before the first parenthesis is rarely needed it should go after the closing parenthesis When any complete sentence is if it is used at all. inclosed by parentheses, the period should be before the last parenthesis, but when these parentheses inclose a few words at the end of the sentence, the period should be after the last parenthesis. A common fault in double pointing is putting a full point before an apostrophe and the possesThe word Company may be sive 8, as in Oo.'s. abbreviated to Co. and in the possessive to Go's ;
292
Close pointing needed in law work
(although this should be tolerated only in a very
narrow measure), but Co.'s is superfluous. To some compositors these may seem needless niceties, but those who do not choose to observe them in composition will have to do so in proof, and to learn the art of punctuation, as the author of an old printers' grammar has wisely remarked, " by dint of a bodkin." In the composition of poetry from manuscript the compositor should follow the copy.
The cadence of
rhythmical words deceives the eye as well as the ear, and it may lead an inexpert to put points at the
ends of lines or in other places where they seem to be but are not needed. As a rule, the poet points his writing with nicety, and that compositor is unwise who alters or suggests alteration.
A comparison of the punctuation of early and late editions of English classics will show that the
tendency of modern editors is to a more sparing
The precise rules of older times are
use of points.
now set aside
:
every point that does not really aid
the reader to a better understanding of the subject is properly omitted.
This remark does not apply to legal documents, some of which fairly bristle with points. There are sentences in legal pleadings or papers that seem to defy all attempts to punctuate.
When a single
sentence contains more than two hundred words
which are amplifications of the same statement, the
The true function of points
293
comma, dash, and parenthesis must be repeated so frequently that they lose their value, and the
author may obscure the meaning still more by a reckless use of semicolons and colons.
The punctuation of a long extract from another book, or of a letter or document, should never be
changed without special order. It may be wrong, but it is an exhibit of the style of the writer or of his time, and the errors, or what seem to be errors, are evidences of the faithfulness of the reprint.
A working knowledge of punctuation is not to be acquired merely by learning rules
;
the understand-
ing of an author's meaning should be the earliest study. Next comes a knowledge of the elements of
grammar.
Careful reading of standard editions
of good authors is always helpful.
The compositor
should make his own rules, but he cannot do this until he can properly discriminate between the different parts of a sentence.
punctuation
is
to
The great object of
make clear to the reader the
meaning of the author.
Rules are of value, but
the unfolding of obscured sense is the object of
most importance.
19
XVI
PROOF-READING TO no branch of printing do methods and performance differ more than in that of In one printing-house one reader and his copy-holder may read for fifteen compositors who are engaged in setting type by hand on a plain reprint in another, that reader may find it difficult to keep up with the product of six compositors engaged on a troublesome and frequently revised and corrected manuscript. His performance is controlled by the proof-reading.
;
legibility of the copy, the
number of proofs, the
re-readings of repeatedly corrected author's proofs,
and other hindrances caused by correspondence and interviews with the author or publisher.
To these
delays may be added the time lost in searching or
consulting books of reference or authority for a verification of doubted dates and names. 294
Variable cost of proof-reading
295
Ordinary news work, for the most part, receives but one reading. Sometimes the errors marked on the first proof are revised on another proof, but this proof is not always re-read. Sometimes revising In the cheapest forms of huris done in the metal. ried auction-catalogue printing the composition is not even proved on paper the copy-holder reads aloud from the copy while the corrector follows him, reading from the type on the galley and correcting, as he proceeds, the grossest errors only. Reading so done is unavoidably imperfect, but the scamped method saves time and largely reduces cost. This is one way to produce cheap composition. Every book of reference or authority should be read on three or more proofs. When the author's proof has to be read by many experts, as is usual, duplicates are taken after each correction of the :
previous proof, and each duplicated proof receives an entirely new reading. The cost of reading and revising with this care is large, usually about one half as much as that of the first type-setting.
Some
pages will cost more than the first type-setting. The slighted catalogue reading which costs about
one tenth that of type-setting, and the careful dictionary reading which costs more than first typeThe cost setting, are the extremes of book-work. of the reading of the ordinary novel or descriptive
book cannot be fixed at any definite point between the extremes
:
it is small
when it is a strict reprint,
large when it is in manuscript and not entirely in
:
296
System needed in proof-reading
the full control of the printing-house. It must be assumed, however, that e%'ery thoughtfully treated
book calls for three and sometimes four readings, of which one or two are given by the author and two invariably by the printing-house. The manuscript that has been hastily prepared always should have three readings, for it is more liable to error.
THE ROUTINE OF BOOK READING It is unsafe to give but one reading to a book, and it is
equally unsafe to trust too much to the thor-
oughness of the author's reading. The two readings of the printing-house are most satisfactory when they have been done by different readers. The clean proof furnished to the second reader gives him a much better opportunity for the detection of errors, and he is or should be better qualified for critical reading.
The proof-reader should have before him written instructions defining the proper width and length of the page, the size and face of the type, the thickness of leads, the types to be selected for extracts, notes, chapter headings, and every other peculiarity.
These instructions shotdd be minute Before he begins the reading of
and thorough.
a new galley, or of the signature of a nety form, he should
make and satisfactorily answer these
queries concerning the proper connection of old
with new matter
Proofs should he properly prepared
297
Is this new composition the immediate continuation
of previous matter ?
Is the paging of the book or
the numbering of the galley consecutive ?
Are the running titles, chapter headings, blank spaces at the heads of chapters, type for titles, and the more prominent features of composition according to written instructions and in the same style as the preceding pages? Is the signature at the foot of the first page correct ? ^ If the proof shows that the new matter is not the proper continuation of matter preceding, or if
there is any important departure from the written instructions or from the style of preceding pages,
the reader should at once notify the foreman, who will tell him whether he may proceed with the reading, or whether he shall order the faults or errors
corrected before the reading. It will be safer to have the corrections made before reading, even if this added work causes what seems to be a waste of time.
The first proof of book matter is usually taken from the long galley on which the compositor puts his composition. The proof should be on thin and hard paper that will take a pen-mark. The print should be in tint more pale than dark, so that the reader can easUy discern an imperfect type. Corrections written on soft paper with a lead-pencil 1
A book or pamphlet form
of more than one sheet should have a proper signature in the place directed by the publisher
before the page reading. It is a mistake to read matter that has not been fully prepared, for one
neglect leads to another.
298
Beading by copy and collating
are always unsatisfactory and may be misleading. No attempt should be made to read a proof that is too pale or that is over-inked, or with margins too
scant for the marking of corrections.
Corrections
should be made in ink, but when the second reader follows the first on the same proof he should use ink of different color. Preferably, the reading should be done aloud by
by the The first reader marks all the errors made
the copy-holder, and not from the proof reader.
by the compositor in spelling, division, italic, points, and capitals, and every deviation from the copy or from the ofiice standard of style. " Outs," or omissions from copy, are detected by means of the trained copy-holder who reads aloud from the manuscript while the eye of the reader follows every spoken
word as it should appear in the proof. Wlien proper names and foreign or unusual words are met, the copy-bolder should speU them out letter by letter. This tedious and painstaking process must be observed to make sure of absolute accuracy. Some readers dispense with a copy-holder, and collate the proof with the copy by the tedious comparison of word for word and line for Une. Collating is a slower and more expensive method, but it should be more accurate than the commoner method of depending on the words spoken by the copy-holder, especiallj- when the copy-holder has not been fully trained.
The time to be spent and the care to be given
When correction is permissible
299
must be determined by its Ordinary composition should be made correct to copy with reasonable despatch, but writings of value should be read thoughtfully, with a view to the discovery of faults more serious than
to a piece of reading
importance.
those of spelling or punctuation.
When the reader meets with an unmistakable fault made by the writer through lapse of memory
or by negligence, he should correct it. He does so, however, at some peril. He must know and not suspect it to be an error, and must be prepared to defend his correction, not by his own belief, but by unquestionable authority. Whenever he feels
obliged to query a change in spelling or in statement, he must note this change on the author's proof.
In every writing of importance the reader
should query faulty construction, bad metaphor, inconsistent statement, the misuse of a word, and other errors of similar character but in no case should he correct these apparent faults when the author will revise what he has read he must stop :
;
with the query. The spelling, capitals, italicizing, and pointing of a systematic author should not be changed. If these features of correct composition are not consistently maintained in the copy, the reader should try to make them correct accord-
ing to what he believes is the author's neglected standard.
When copy has been negligently written by an undisciplined writer who cannot revise the reading.
300
First revision of the proof
the reader should correct the grosser errors accord-
ing to the standard of the editor or of the office, as he may be directed. But they must be indefensible errors. Bad spelling or grammar obviously made
through ignorance or carelessness must always be corrected, but this license will not apply to dialect, or to quotations intended to be literally exact. Strange proper names, of places or people, of history or fiction, should be verified by reference to the The reader is always adjudged office dictionary. in fault if he passes any misspelled word that can be rightly spelled. The same observation will apply to quotations from the Bible, hackneyed proverbs, phrases in foreign languages, and any of the scien-
words of dictionaries. While it is desirable to have accurate workman-
tific
should not forget that it is his He must not spend unnecessary time in consulting reference ship, the reader
first duty to correct, and not to edit.
books to make up the deficiencies of a careless writer. Nor should he annoy the author with any emendations that savor of pedantic nicety. When the first proof has been corrected, a new proof of the matter so corrected is taken, which is called the first revise. In most printing-houses the reviser is the copy-holder, who collates the marked proof with the first revise, and makes sure that no
correction has been overlooked.
When a correc-
tion in first proof has compelled the
of
overrunning
two or more lines, the reviser should re-read
Two proofs for the author from dictation the entire paragraph.
301
If any errors
in first proof have been uncorrected, or if any new
errors have been made in this first correction, they
and sent back to the compositor for re-correction. The proof to go to the author should be correct to copy in all its features, and have no marks on it but the queries made by the proof-reader, which should be transare re-marked on the revise
ferred from the first proof to the author's proof.
In some book-houses the corrected matter is not sent to the author in the shape of a galley proof,
but is made up in pages of the prescribed form. Proofs in pages are more readily handled by the author and offer him a generous margin for corrections but page proofs seriously add to the expense of the work when the author makes much alteration, for frequent alterations will compel an overrunning and remaking-up of many pages. Pages of type that have been tied up and piled on letterboards are more liable to be pied, or to suffer from dropped letters at the endings of lines, and conse;
quently require additional care in reading. It is a commoner practice to put the first author's proof in the form of a galley slip, and it is to his benefit
to read on the galley, for his alterations in the
proof are more quickly and cheaply made by the compositor on the galley than in the page. Two proofs are usually sent to the author. On the one returned the author marks the changes he desires, and he retains the other for possible future
;
302
Press proof or foundry proof
reference and as a reminder of every correction he ordered.
All the corrections desired by the author
should be naade by him upon his first proof.
To
postpone any correction for the final proof in page form causes delay and greater added expense, vdth liability to new errors which are harder to correct
on the final than on the first proof.
When the author's revise has been returned as corrected, the matter may be made up into pages
but if there is reason to believe that the author contemplates other serious changes, it is safer to send the next proof from galley. Matter should
not be made up in pages when there is a probability that these pages wiU be overrun, and that the overrunning wiU be followed by a new make-
up and greater delay. The author's first proof, when corrected, should always be returned to him with the second proof, which he should consider as his revise for the verification of previous corrections, and for the maldng
of trivial corrections only.
But if many correc-
tions are made by the author on this second proof,
these corrections, when made, should be followed
by a third proof to the author. It is unsafe to send to press or to foundry any page that has not been pronounced entirely correct by the author. The last proof certified as correct by the author is the proof known in the printing-house as the foundry proof or the press proof. It is always read by the second reader for the discovery and
Last revision of the proof
303
correction of minor errors that may not have been
discerned by the first reader and the author.
To
do this properly the copy and all previous proofs should be at the second reader's hand. It is a mistake for the author, when he returns the last proof, to keep back the copy and all the previous proofs, for they usually contain memoranda on the margins that are of importance in the final reading. All errors should have been corrected and all queries answered on the second or final proof of the author but if any new question arises that can be answered by the author only, that question should at once be sent to him for his decision. Two readers are desirable for accuracy, but they may not work in concord. The first reader, supposed to be properly qualified, should determine the typographic style, and that style should not be changed by the second reader unless the change is of real importance. To remodel the punctuation or ;
the divisions of the first reader in trivial niceties is
always a great waste of time. Not one reader in a thousand may recognize that the changes ordered by the second reader are betterments. If the sec-
ond reader thinks it is necessary to make serious changes, he should submit the changes proposed to the foreman or manager for his decision.
The author should see and approve all the minor changes made by the last reader on the foundry proof before he returns it as approved. As a rule, he does not see them, because each additional proof
;
304
Corrections in electrotype plates
tempts the author to indulge in petty correction, which delays the work and needlessly increases his biU of expense. To keep different kinds of proof distinguishable, in good order, and always accessible requires many proof -hooks and pigeonholes and constant overEach proof should be properly marked as sight. First office or Second office, First author's or Foundry, and should be dated with a rubber stamp and have the written initials of the reader.
A perceptible
distinction between the two kinds of proof can be
made by using white paper for the author's proof and bufE or pale yellow for the office proof. Dated and signed proofs are of value for their dates and as the attests of individual responsibility.
At the
end of the reading on each book, proof should be put in order, and packed and labelled so that it can be examined readily. All proofs should be kept for one year after the publication of the work. If a serious error be found after the page has been cast, the fault may be remedied by resetting and electrotyping the faulty spot for a patching of the plate.
But corrections so made are expensive
they weaken the plate, and are a great hindrance to good presswork. Trivial corrections do more harm than good. They increase the liability to new errors; for perfect types near the faulty ones may be bruised ia the process of correction. Patched plates, always disliked by pressmen, are the cause For changes that call of much bad presswork.
;
Limits to a proof-reader'' s duty
305
for many patchings it is better to reset and make
a new plate than to patch the old one. The proof-reader is asked to serve two masters.
His employer rightfully asks for a fair day's work as well as exact reading, for it is the printer more
than the author who is held responsible by the book reviewer for the book's faults of typographic style,
and sometimes for its inconsistencies of statement. But there are fastidious authors who insist upon the strictest adherence to their imperfect copy, and refuse to consider queries made in their own interest.
To query or correct is to offend these authors
to leave a possible error unqueried or uncorrected is to invite plain censure for neglect or ignorance.
There are other authors who ask, as a matter of right, that the proof-reader verify proper names, dates, and all unusual words, and that he maintain consistency of statement as well as of style.
Some go so far as to ask for the verification of all quotations from standard text-books.
They hold
that it is the duty of the proof-reader to correct all errors.
This last request, based on the assump-
tion that the proof-reader has within easy reach
a library of reference books, and that he can be allowed time to consult them, is often impossible. Every printer who desires to preserve a reputation for accuracy will be generous in his allowance of time for a careful i-eading, but he has to keep the reading within a limit of cost. How much or how little time can be allowed for the verification of
:
306
When suggestions are permissible
statements must be determined by each house for The cost of searches is never considered in
itself.
any estimate of composition, and must be an added expense. When the publisher consents to pay for the extra work, the reader should try to verify all proper names, dates, and foreign words by consult-
ing authorities.
Quotations from the Bible need
special attention, for they are usually inexact when
written from memory.
When the reader has a rea-
sonable doubt of the exactness of any part of the copy, whether in date, spelling, or quotation, and has not the time or the authority at hand to solve
that doubt, he should suggest to the author that its verification seems desirable.
With that query his
responsibility for the error threatened should end.
Suggestions to the author concerning the use of an ambiguous or improper word ^ or the faulty construction of a sentence are often needed, but the reader makes them at a risk. He should be rea^ sonably sure that the suggestion wiU be as kindly received as it is intended. In some printing-houses the reader is ordered by the master printer never to pass a split infinitive, as in this sentence
The dog had been trained at a given signal to immediately raise himself on his hind legs. 1 ^Reliable has been condemned In this book he shows in -dbU, by some English critics as an nn- that the word has the sanction
grammatical Americanism, bnt its propriety has been defended
by Dr. Fitzedward Hall in his treatise
On English Adjectives
of several English writers of authority. The word should not be queried by the proof-reader when he finds it in copy.
Queries should be intelligible
307
Tlie infinitive to raise must be kept together, and immediately may be put before or after the verb, as euphony dictates. The change is needed for good
English
but there are wi-itings in which the author purposely splits the infinitive to show an ordinary ;
colloquialism.
The proof-reader must judge whe-
ther it is or is not safe to correct without the query.
With regard to the loose phrasing of the undisciplined writer, as in " a gold lady's watch," he need
not hesitate to make it read a lady's gold watch.
The irregular variations made by some writers in their reproductions of colloquial language often
make the proof-reader pause.
Don't is preferred
over does n't, but if the author persistently uses does n't, do not alter his spelling. Don't, shan't, won't, can't, and words of like form are usually presented as is here done, by putting the apostrophe in the place of the cancelled letters but when the ;
word is is clipped, and is presented as 's in he 's or it 's,
it is
better practice to put a thin space
before the apostrophe.
(See Abbre'viations.)
Authors may be annoyed by the unmeaningness To of the queries made by some proof-readers. underscore a word or phrase in proof and to write Qu. or ? in the margin does not specify the nature of the suspected error, which may be in the spelling of the word, in its unfitness, or in the construcThe reader should write tion of the full sentence. out in full the change that he suggests, or should specify the authority at variance with a doubtful
308
Proofs should always be accessible
Without this specification the query is The author may not perceive the error which the reader thinks needs change. A query should be headed Query to author or Query to editor. When this has not been done, the editor or author may regard it as the query of one reader to another reader in the same house, and may give it no attention. statement.
entirely unmeaning.
When a plain query has not been answered, it always safe to follow copy.' A gross error in copy may be safely corrected when the writer cannot see the last proof and when the printing-house will be held responsible for the error otherwise its correction is a risk. It cannot be too frequently impressed upon the author that the proof-reader is not an editor. It is the wiser and safer course for the proof-reader to query all supposed errors by
is
;
calling the attention of the writer to every appa-
rent fault in date or grammar, or to statements that seem to be contradictory on different pages
of the same book.
It is an unpleasant duty, but can be done with tact and discretion. Readers should always keep by them in good order a complete file of all work in progress, so that it can be referred to readily. First proof, second
it
proof, author's proof, and author's revise should be
kept on separate hooks or in pigeonholes, and be properly marked with the initials of the reader.
The author's proof and revise should have on each sheet the office stamp and the date. Readers
Qualifications needed in reading
309
should keep a book containing the name and the address of all persons to whom proof is to be sent. They should make themselves familiar with post-
and make up the packages to be sent by mail in such a manner that the office will not suffer from delay or needless expense in postage. The readers should try to arrange all their work office laws,
so that proofs can be despatched before the closing
of the last mail.
The foreman should see that the
readers are provided with postage-stamps and envelopes of graduated
sizes, and
that
all
packages
are neatly made up and properly addressed.
Every paragraph containing an alteration that compels one or more overruns should be re-read by a copy-holder in the same manner that has to be observed for the first proof. When this cannot be done it should be collated carefully, word for word, to the end of the paragraph. The hurried or inconsiderate revision of only the lines that have been marked for alteration is the commonest cause of the most disgraceful errors in a book.
QUALIFICATIONS NEEDED IN READING Application is frequently made to printing-houses
by educated men and women, and sometimes by those who are not properly educated, for employ-
ment as proof-readers. Too often the applicant supposes that any person who knows how to spell and punctuate is sufficiently quahfled. This is a great 20
310
Readers need training for the work
If the applicant is successful in seeming employment, which is rare, he will discover that his knowledge of spelling and punctuation is insufScient even for the simplest forms of commercial printing. To be a useful reader one should know types by their names and understand the technical terms and the methods of a printing-house. There is also much to be learned in the routine of proofreading which is acquired most thoroughly by the young compositor or copy-holder. There are a few excellent readers who have not been printers or copy-holders, but the readers of most utility are those who have set type or held copy from their youth. A large book-house of New York reports that at different times it had occasion to engage many men as proof-readers who were graduates of colleges and, by virtue of their education, possessors of a good knowledge of English as well as of the classics. A few of these graduates ultimately became useful readers, but the majority did not. They could not or did not choose to acquire the knowledge of the petty details and technicalities
mistake.
of the trade that is indispensable.
Every master
printer who has employed many readers will agree
with the writer in the opinion that the average master of arts is not so successful in detecting deviations from copy and in maintaining uniformity of typographic style as a regularly trained reader. The extract that follows is the testimony of a British printer.
Wrong notions about reading
311
As a specimen of the value, relatively, of scholarship and unschooled but practical lynx-eyed observation, I may mention a fact which came under
my own notice some few years back. A new edition of a well known lexicon was brought out by
a publisher in the Row, the editorship being confided to a scholar of high reputation, at an expense, it was said, of five guineas per sheet. The proofs returned by him to the printer, during upwards of four months, contained an average of Before going to sixteen corrections on each sheet. press they were again carefully read by a young f eUow from the north of the island, who possessed but a moderate reading acquaintance with th& language, who spent a day-and-a-haK over each sheet, at a cost to the printer of nine or ten shillings, and made additional corrections, averaging through the whole period Jifty-three per sheet ^ !
For the proof-reading of books a knowledge of the classics and modern languages is always of value, but much of tbe work that has to be done by the reader is most distasteful drudgery. The scholarly applicant for a proof-reader's position
who goes
for the first time to the reader's desk in the belief
that he can spend much time in a critical examination of an author's style, with its possible chances for the discovery of errors in copy as well as in
the proof which will redound vastly to his credit, disappointed when he is asked to read a
is sorely
directory, market reports, a series of interest tables, 1
[C. M. Smith,] The Working-man's
Way in the World, p. 285.
312
Reading done by the copy-holder
or documents in a foreign language about which he
knows very little.
For poems and biographies and
the commercial printing that are
common in all
book-houses the amateur reader's knowledge of Latin, Greek, and the higher mathematics cannot be put to practical use. Commercial printing is
always drudger3', but it cannot be made easy, nor can it be done properly, by any reader who cannot adapt himself to his situation and wiU not take a proper pride in the faithful following of his copy. Proof-reading must not be done mechanically or perfunctorily. The reader's wits must be on the alert continually, for in every department of printing exists some liability to error and accident, for which the reader may be called to account. Even the reading aloud by a trained copy-holder of the best passages of a good author is a torment
when that reading is done in a monotonous drawl, as is usual, without any pause, break, or attempt at emphasis. is
To insure accuracy, the copy-holder
required to call out every paragraph, mark of
punctuation, and italicized word, which he does in a singsong voice, clipping the names of the points in the copy after the following fashion 1 The extract on the follo"wing pages (taken from The Workingman's Way in the World, p. 288) is a fair illustration of the copyholder'smethod of jumbling the words of the copy with the names of the points and breaks in that copy. To make the matter Intel-
^ :
ligible to the American printer,
the words used in the United States have been substituted for those used in England, and the technical names of points have also been changed to agree with the American method. To the inexpert bystander who listens,
Beading done ly the copy-holder
313
[THE ENUNCIATION OF THE COPY-HOLDER]
Par quote This niliiig passion two ital com the most enduring of all the passions which obtain a mastery over the mind com is described in Pope's single quote Moral Essays close single thus colon Par double and single quote Odious exclam in woollen exclam pos twould a saint provoke com close single were the last words that poor Nareissa spoke sem single quote no exclam let a charming chintz and Brussels lace wrap my cold limbs com and shade my lifeless face colon one would not com sure com be frightful when one pos s dead com dash and com Betty com [Here the reader dips his pen in the ink, and the boy takes the opportunity to blow like a young grampus for a few give this cheek a litseconds, and then resumes tle red period close single and double line of points Par double and single quote I give and I devise com close single old Euclio said com and sigh pos d com single quote my lands and tenements to Ned :]
period close single dash single again your money com sir inter close single dash single again my money com sir colon what com all inter why com dash if I must com close single then wept com single quote I give
it
Paul period close single
single again the manor com sir inter close single
dash single again the manor exclam hold com close the words of the copy-holder are meaningless jargon, and they are not easily comprehended hy the amateur proof-reader, who learns the copy-holder's colloquiaUsras with reluctance and bad grace. Silly as this method of reading proof may seem, there
no better vocal method for securing accuracy. A careful collation of every character in the proof with every character in the copy (a much slower method) is the only alternative. For the
is
translation of this seeming gibberish, see page 314.
":
;
—
:
Compositors not qualified readers
314
single he cried com single quote not that com dash I
cannot part with that exclam close single dash
and died period close double dash Epistle one 1 two four six dash two six naught period " This ruling passion, the most enduring of all the passions which obtain a mastery over the mind, is described in Pope's ' Moral Essays ' thus " ' Odious
!
in woollen
!
'twould a saint provoke,'
Were the last words that poor Narcissa spoke '
No let a charming chintz and Brussels lace Wrap my cold limbs, and shade my lifeless face !
One would not, sure, be frightful when one's dead, And, Betty, give this cheek a little red.' " I give and I devise,' old Euclio said. '
And sigh'd, my lands and tenements to Ned.' '
— —
—
My money, sir what, aU ? Your money, sir ? ' Why, if I must,' then wept, I give it Paul.' ' The manor, sir ? The manor hold,' he cried, Not that, I cannot part with that and died." '
'
—
'
'
It
'
'
—
:
'
!
!
— Epistle
'
—
1, 1.
246-260.
does not follow that the average type-setter is
His knowledge of names and technicalities is not half enough. If he has not earned an expert's reputation for clean composition, as has been proved by his ability to decipher imperfect manuscript and to point and capitalize with or can be a good reader.
propriety; if he does not display a genuine fond-
ness for books by the knowledge that comes from
some study as well as from omnivorous reading if he has no more than a passable acquaintance with ;
;
Accuracy offirst importance
315
authors and books and men of history and fiction
not the literary instinct which leads him books for mechanical merit— he cannot be a correct reader of books. It is a great risk to if he has
to value
trust him with the simplest reading.
The reader good in one house may be inefficient in another, for the requirements of printing-houses
vary. On the ordinary daily newspaper the broad knowledge required of the reader is the knowledge of to-day, which comes from present observation more than from a study of books. A good memory The reader who can recollect the is also needed. spelling of the baptismal names of public men who
respectively spell their names Read, Reid, Rhead,
and Reed is of greater value to his employer than the scholarly reader who can read Latin and Greek,
but who rarely has occasion to use that knowledge, and who professes some contempt for much of the distasteful work on which he must be engaged. In the composition of advertisements and general jobwork, the correct taste on the part of the reader that leads him to mark errors of display, spacing, and
make-up is more prized by the employer than any kind of classical information. Accuracy is always of first importance, but the reader or book reviewer, as well as the author or They may publisher, may want more than this.
assume that the proof-reader should have something more than a superficial knowledge of men, books, arts, and languages— enough to prevent the
Proof-reading not enviable work
316
author from stumbling in an error.
The correct
spelling of a foreign phrase, or of a proper name in history or fiction, adherence to obsolete British spelling,! a^Q^ ^jjg accurate placing of accents in
strange languages, are supposed to be as much a part of his duty as the correction of gross faults in English.
Pew readers can meet this expectation,
for they are not allowed the time to deliberate or to consult books of authority, and they dare not
correct a fault by trusting to memory only.
Sug-
gestions to the author can be wisely made only after consulting books of authority.
The critical
reading desired by publisher and author consumes
much time and
costs
much money.
When the
reader is compelled at every paragraph to seek authority to verify a date or quotation, or the true spelling of rarely used names, he does little work.
He could probably read one hundred pages of a reprint in the time that he devotes to ten pages of
a manuscript that requires constant verification. The proof-reader's position is not an enviable one.
When he does his best and makes his book
^ Writers who continue to use the older forms of British spellIng make trouble for the proofreader. Some years ago a Eichmond editor sharply rebuked a new proof-reader :" Why do you strike out of my proof the h in honour, and the k in musick, when I plainly wrote them in my copy ? " The reader replied that he had been taught to fol-
low the spelling of Webster, and had found it acceptable elsewhere. "Webster!" shrieked the angered editor. "Never let me hear that name as an authority. Webster may spell to suit a Yankee trader, but not a Vlrginia gentleman. Be pleased hereafter to follow my copy and Dr. Johnson's dictionary. Let us hear no more of Webster."
317
Writers often neglect petty details
more than his duty. He may correct ninety-nine errors out of a hundred, but if he misses the hundredth he may be sharply correct lie has done no
reproved by the book reviewer for that negligence. Authors often send to the printing-house typewritten copy that is easily readable, but that has not been thoughtfully corrected. Proper names in foreign languages may be spelled in two or more ways; capital letters, italic, quotation-marks, and abbreviations may be written in without system, apparently with small concern about their lack of uniformity. This disregard of attention to trivial details is a common fault. Exactness in spelling and pronunciation is well taught in all our high schools, but exactness of expression in writing for the press is not taught at all. It is the belief now, as it was in the days of Moxon, the first English writer on the technics of printing, that
it is
the
duty of the printer to supplement the negligences of the writer.
The reader of the printed book or paper knows Now and then he has an inkling of them when the editor of a newspaper avenges himself on a testy adversary by printing the letter of the angry subscriber exactly as it was written, with faults in almost every line, much to the amusement of the reader, and to the mortification little of these irregularities.
of the wi'iter.
Careless writing is so common that
it often passes unnoticed.
Every one who chooses
to look them up in his correspondence (sometimes
318
Banger offollowing copy literally
in the writings of educated men) will find faults of
construction as well as of orthography that would be glaringly offensive if repeated in print. A broader knowledge of the frequency of faults in writing should lead to a better appreciation of the services of the proof-reader but this knowledge is rarely acquired out of a printing-house. The undisciplined writer who believes that he is careful and exact often resents the suggestion that he can be indebted to the proof-reader for help of any kind. ;
The too rapid and over-confident writer, who may have been provoked by too many queries from the reader (for there are amateurs who can be as irritating as mosquitos), may peremptorily order that his copy shall be followed faithfully in every particular. Not a comma nor a capital must be changed. Writers like these put the reader in an unpleasant position. To q5ery a supposed error is an offence to the writer to pass an indefensible error is to offend the employer and incur discredit as a competent reader. Yet the positive order of "Follow copy exactly " may lead to unhappy results when the author cannot see the proof of his writing.^ ;
1 The editor of a prominent daily newspaper in New York City, after some angry talk with one of the proof-readers concerning that reader's alleged oCBcious meddling with his articles in the proof, gave the positive order
The reader expostulated, but promised obedience. That evening this editor made the mistake of tarrying too long in festive company over the dinner.table. His half-written article of the morning concerning the that every article written by him war of 1859 in Italy abundantly should be printed as it was writ- proved his knowledge of the subten.
;
Danger of correcting too much
319
Correction can be overdone, for there are amateur readers who unduly magnify their offlee, and seize
every occasion to show to the author their critical knowledge of rhetoric, etymology, and punctuation.
Tinkering with points is their favorite amusement, ject and Ms ability as a writer "but the conclusion of that article, written after the dinner, as clearly showed that the writer's
brains had been inuddled with wine. Compositors and readers were staggered by its incoherent drivel. What could be done? It was past midnight the writer had left the of&ce and could not revise the proof. No one dared correct. Obeying the order last given, the reader authorized the ;
article to go to press, and it was printed, as had been directed, ex-
actly as it
was written.
About
the bewilderment of the readers of the paper, and the consternation of the writer when he saw his editorial in print, it is not necessary to say another word. Copies of this editorial are still preserved among the ciiriosities of newspaper literature. The risk a printer has to encounter when he is positively directed to correct faulty manuscript is quite as great, as will be shown by the following anecdote.
An illiterate man, who wished to be alderman, wrote an address to the public, in which he proclaimed his worthiness and an-
nounced his purpose. Not satisfled with his work, he asked and
received the literary helping of brother illiterates but repeated correction had made a tangled and interlined copy, hard to read and harder to understand. He took it to a job-printer, confessing his dissatisfaction with aU the work done, as well as his inability to unravel the tangle. He asked the printer to put it in good shape and to make all the changes that were needed. The complaisant printer indiscreetly rewrote the address, and made it intelligible, for rewriting was a lighter task than correction. ;
'
To do this he had to change bad spelling and grammar, to substitute short for ridiculously long and improper words, to put in two orthree sentences unrelated statements that had been welded
m one.
After this treatment it
was put in type and printed, for it was in haste, and could not be read in the proof by the person
who would claim its authorship. To the printer's confusion, the prospective alderman refused the printed work with indignaIt was not his address. tion. The printer had spoiled it. He had cut out all his fine writing and elegant language, and had made his address as simple as a child's primer!
'
Unwise changes in punctuation
320
which they practise on plates whenever they are not fully employed, with little regard to its cost.'^ The irritability of an author may be justly provoked by the meddling queries of a captious reader
who suggests corrections where the corrections are not needed. Even the amiable poet Cowper has put on record his anger at a proof-reader who had tried 1 Many years ago the senior partner of the firm of Harper & Brothers, in his daily round of inspection, stopped before a finisher in the stereotype foundry, who had before him a large pile of plates and many proofs of the pages of a book which had been reprinted in several
The finisher's work editions. was the substitution of commas for semicolons, or the reverse obviously a meddleprocess some and useless work. Mr. Harper asked the question, "Are these changes the order of the author or of the office?" He was
—
told that they were ordered by the proof-reader. Then said Mr.
Harper: " Please take all proofs
lisher and to the public, but the
proof-reader fancied it was his
duty to improve it. He claimed to be qualified to punctuate by the Wilson system, which was infallibly correct. Working under this system, he thoroughly remodelled the punctuation, at a serious added expense to the office. When the page of type so corrected had been printed, it was wrapped up and put away as dead matter. One year after, the same advertisement, torn out of a copy of the previous year's issue, was again offered to the magazine. The old composition, still intact, was re-proved and sent to the same reader, who had entirely forgotten his previous work upon it. To the fore-
back to the reader, and tell him that if he wants to pay for the man's surprise, this infallible corrections, you can go on with reader remodelled his own puncyour work. Harper & Brothers tuation as thoroughly as he had will not pay for them." remodelled that of the first reA reprint advertisement mak- print copy. Then the foreman ing a f uU page of solid nonpareil took out of the previous year's was once sent to amagazine, and proof-files the corrections that
made for the
reset with ordinary corrections.
reader had
does not appear that there could have been any important error in the punctuation, for it had been satisfactory to the pub-
issue, and showed him that this
It
first
changes in the points were an unnecessary return to year's
the original punctuation.
:
A tribute hy Charles Dickens
321
to improve his poems he accused him of rash and " gratuitous emendation," and with being " a pre;
sumptuous intermeddler." This meddling (rarely done by the trained proof-reader) is common with the amateur at correction. Authors who are most far-seeing in the preparation of copy are generous in their acknowledgment of the efficient service rendered to them by a competent proof-reader.
Charles Dickens,^ in a speech
made by him at London in 1867, gives this testi-
mony concerning his indebtedness can testify that the duties of a corrector are not mechanical, not mere matters of manipulation and routine, but that they require from those who perI
form them much natural intelligence, much superadded cultivation, considerable readiness of reference, quickness of resource, an excellent memory, and a clear understanding. I gratefully acknowledge that I have never gone through the sheets of any book that I have written without having had presented to me by the corrector of the press something that I have overlooked, some slight inconsistency into which I have fallen, some little lapse I have made in short, without having set down in black and white some unquestionable indication that I have been closely followed through my work by a patient and trained mind, and not ;
merely by a skilled eye. 1
Robert Browning, Sir Wal-
raphy are other men of authorwho have cheerfully testi-
and the editors of the Century dictionary and of
ity
the Dictionary of National Biog-
proof-readers.
ter Besant,
fled to the
helpfulness of the
-
1
The marks used by proof-readers
322
THE PROOF-READER'S SIGNS
No ^ No new paragraph. Run in Let there be no break in the reading. Make a new paragraph,
v/ V^
^
Correct uneven spacing of words. Strike out the marked type, word, or sen-
9
Reverse this type.
^ —
Contract the spacing.
v/
%
tence.
More space where caret /\ is marked.
-
CZ^
Take out all spacing.
r
Move this to the left. Move this to the right.
"I '
'
I
,
1
4,
X w.f. tr. I.e.
s.e.
caps.
^
Raise this line or letter.
Depress this line or letter.
Make parallel at the side with other lines. Indent line an em. Push down a space that blackens the proof.
Change this bruised type. Change this faulty type of a wrong font. Transpose words or letters underlined. Put in lower-case, or small letters. Put in small capitals. Put in capitals. Insert apostrophe.
Superior characters
are put over an inverted caret, as ^
^ ^
,
etc.
;
^
for inferior characters the
caret is put in its usual position, as in f-
rom.
Change from italic to roman.
:
The marks used by proof-readers Change from roman to italic.
ital.
O J
Insert period. Insert comma.
/
Insert semicolon.
/ / .'
Insert colon.
/
Insert hyphen.
= / /
323
—
/
/—^/
^
One-em dash. Two-em dash. Take out cancelled character and close up.
Qu. or ? Is this right ?
A
See to it.
Insert letter or word marked in margin.
Hair-space letters as marked. I
I
I
I
Stet
Restore crossed-out word or letter.
....
Dots put below the crossed word mean Cancel the correction first made, and let
-
—
the types stand as they were. .
^^^E
Over two or three letters. Change for the diphthong or for a logotype, as ae, ffi. Straighten lines.
Diagonal lines crossing the text indicate that the composition is out of square. Out, see copy. Here is an omission see copy. ;
Corrections or textual improvements suggested to the author should be accompanied by the inter-
rogation-point and be inclosed in parentheses or
"ringed," as {tr. / ?) or (^ / f). Corrections should always be made in the margin,
and never in the text
;
faults in the types or
text to be indicated only by light pen marks.
324
Exhibit ofproof-reader's markings PROOF BEFORE CORRECTION
Ca/ul/\y P resident LINCOLN;s GETTYSBURG ADDRESS^"] ^C««i^
M-C^-
I
^
Four, score and seven years ago our father's brought forth new nation, conoorvcd in /iberty, and
CcrvcexA'^ a/ on this continent, a
T
dedicated to the proposition that all mjtn are created equal.^
,Now we are engaged i» a great oivil war; testing whether 9 that nation, or any nation so concaved and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battl^eld of that wai;^ '/ t^j^ that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field,
^
3,
M.
as a final resting place for those who (gave\he^ their lives i/j
that that nation might l^ve.
/ should do this.
Jy '
/frru^not consecrate I
I
1
JyC/-
-
/
/
/
But, in a larger sense, Mve ^ran ''not ''^dedicate
V d^/jz/i
J^J /
It is altogether fitting^that we amO/jm/rhml
— we can not hal_Jow —
brave] men, livingiSUdjdead, secr.atedlit,
this
— we can
ground.
/umv-
O
The
who struggled here have con-
far_above our poor power to a dd or detract. ~)
frhe woridwill little note, nor Io)4g remember what we here /but it can never forget what they did here^ It is
Jl'fiil
71//
O
J"/ say
V
^for
us the living, rather, to be dedicated 4»«?e7 to the
I
s,
yitiJbjwn
W.
Wished work which they who fought here have @\^iyihus)
nobly advanced.
It is rathjSr for us to be here dedicated to the
great task remaining before us
jLa<i/
^
— thatjfrom these honored
/2/j
J/
dead we take increased devotion to that Cause for w hich they Ju <y. ^ave the last full measure of devotion that we he re highly
—
resolve that these dead shall not have died in vaiiip-and
that government of the people, by the people^ for ye peopie, shall
^ 'From I— I C^U^-
not perish fi-om the earth.
j>/
^^
a rac/simile of the maD^ript written by Mr. Lincoln foilhc Baltimore Fair
— the ^^
standard vereion^which^ppeared in /he ^^ Century Magazine^ for Felaiarj-, ]8it4-
it
/tuV'! ^ ^1^1
Exhibit of the proof after its correction
325
PROOF AFTER CORRECTION
PRESIDENT LINCOLN'S GETTYSBURG ADDRESS' Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war
;
testing whether
that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can
We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final long endure.
resting place for those who here gave their lives that that
nation might live.
It is altogether fitting
and proper that
we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate
consecrate
— we can not hallow —
— we can not
this ground.
The brave
men, living and dead, who struggled here have consecrated The world it, far above our poor power to add or detract. will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced, It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining
— that from these honored dead we take increased sure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these vain — that under not have died dead of freedom — and that governhave a new God, before us
devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full meashall
in
shall
birth
this nation,
ment of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. 'From a facsimile of the manuscript written by Mr. Lincoln for the Baltimore Fair — the standard version
21
— which appeared in The Century Magazine for February, 1894,
Moxon's notiofis about copy
326
In a Jiri£lfence, a good Compofiter need be no more than an Englijh Scholler, or indeed fcarce fo much ; for if he knows but his Letters and CharaSers he Jhallmeet with in his Printed or Written Copy, and have otherwife a good natural capacity, he may be a better Compofiter than another Manwhofe Education has adorned him with Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and other Languages, and Jhall want a good natural Genius For by the Laws of Printing, a Compofiter is JiriQly to follow his Copy, viz.. to obferve and do juji fo much and no more than his Copy will bear him out for ; fo that his Copy is to be his Rule and Authority -.But the carelefnefs offome good Authors, :
and the ignorance of other Authors, has fore' d Printers to introduce a Cujiom, which among them is look'd upon as a task and duty incumbent on the Compofiter, viz. to difcern and amend the bad Spelling and Pointing of his Copy, if it be Englijh ; But if it be in any Forrain Language, the Author is wholy left to his own Skill and Judgement in Spelling and Pointing, ^c. his Copy, and Correfting the Prooves, unlefs they be Latine, Greek or Hthrew, for to thofe Languages there is generally a Correftor belongs to the Printing- Houfe And how well other Forrain Languages are Correfted by the Author, we may :
perceive by the Englijh that is Printed in Forrain Countries.
Therefore upon conjideration of thefe accidental circumjlances that attend Copy, it is necejjary that a Com-
and that he know the prejent traditional Spelling of all Englijh Words, and that he have fo much Sence and Reafon, as to Point his Sentences properly when to begin i Word with a Capital Letter, when \to render the Sence of the Author more intelligent to the Reader^) to Set fame Words or Sentences in Italick or Englifti Letters, ts'r.i
pofiter be a good Englijh Schollar at leaf ;
:
1
Moxon, Mechanick Exercises, pp. 197, 198.
XVII
ABOUT COPY OXON has defined the compositor's duty as largely but not entirely that of the copyist. The author may tell him to follow copy literally, but the master printer tells him to maintain uniformity. -These orders often conflict. How can agreement be had 1 When copy has been negligently prepared by a careless writer who sometimes spells incorrectly and capitalizes and italicizes without system, it is the duty of the compositor to correct these faults according to the style prescribed by the office in which he works but when copy has been carefully ;
prepared by a disciplined writer, who plainly shows that he has a style of his own, that copy should be followed faithfully, even if it does conflict with the system of the office.
It is the author's right to 327
328
Negligence in preparation of copy
go before the pubKc in his own way to show his own notions about italic, punctuation, and capital;
izing, and to follow the spelling of Webster, Stormonth, or Dr. Johnson. All that the printer asks of the author is that he shall spell uniformly and put his capitals, points, and other peculiarities of style in their proper places, so that there can be no misunderstanding about his intent. If he has not done this thoroughly (even a careful writer cannot be consistent always), he should prepare a written code of his style, plainly indicating the spellings he prefers and making clear his system
for the use of italic, points, quotation-niarks, references, compound words, abbreviations, etc.
When
the master printer has this code put in type, and
provides a fair proof of it for every compositor on the work, the irregularities of style that deface a first proof and make the alterations expensive are largely prevented. When the writer does not provide this written code, the compositor should try to make the style uniform, according to his under-
standing of the author's unexpressed wishes. There the compositor's duty ends, even if he does not correctly guess an unexpressed intent, and does not
maintain in all points the author's notions about uniformity. It is not his fault if copy is misleading or if instructions are insufficient. The art of preparing copy for a printer is not taught in schools, and the authors are few who have devised and adhere to systems of their own.
Many compositors needed for a book
329
Much of the copy sent to a printing-house seems to indicate on the part of the author his indiffer-
ence to all typographic niceties
:
a strange proper
name may be spelled in two or more ways punc;
tuation may be excessive in one paragraph and
scant in another;
italic
may be marked for one
quotation, quotation-marks for another, while a third of the same class may have no marks of disarable figures and spelled-out words for numbers may appear upon the same page. These are some of the many inconsistencies of the ordi-
tinction
;
nary manuscript, which the writer fails to see in his own writing, but they are glaringly offensive when they reappear in the proof. Good copy and bad copy are easily distinguished, and the compositor knows almost at a glance that he must follow the Between these two exfirst and correct the last. tremes is a much larger quantity of copy that may or may not require correction. The common belief that the correction of these lapses is the compositor's duty is based on the assumption that the compositor is a qualified corrector. This is a grave error. If he were a corrector, it is probable that he would have the much better paid position of proofreader or assistant editor. It is another mistake to assume that the work of composition is always done by one compositor,
who can and will correct errors with uniformity. A long manuscript is always set by many compositors
;
if it is
required in haste, or even if its
330
Compositors not qualified correctors
composition is protracted over many months, it may be set and read by many compositors and readers.
In our present condition of conflicting authority, compositors and proof-readers must have different opinions about correct composition, and it is not reasonable to expect that all the workmen will agree on every point. The uniformity desired by an author should begin with himself in the copy, even if he finds it is necessary to have the copy type- written and approved by a qualified corrector before it is sent to the printer.
Too much dependence should not be placed on the corrections that are hoped for in the printinghouse. It is unsafe for the master printer to allow
the compositor to make a material change in copy
without positive authority.
He may correct plain
faults according to the system provided
by the
author or by the office, but he must do no more.
Even when he finds in the copy what may seem unauthorized errors of spelling or grammar, he is not justified in correcting them without a special order, for the supposed errors may not be errors. In extracts, testimony, or documents intended to be literally exact, faults of grammar or spelling are presumptive evidence of painstaking accuracy. The writer or speaker, not the printer, is responsible for the errors. The compositor should have small license for correction; he is safe only when he literally follows copy, or obeys a distinct order to change. He should not alter properly prepared
Selection ofpaper for copy
331
copy without order, for the use or the misuse of capitals, italic, and points indicates the mental status of the writer as plainly as his written words.
In legal documents much may depend upon the presence or absence of a comma. Quotations should be put in type as written in copy. Those made from memory only are usually inexact, but the compositor should not correct the fault even when he knows the true rendering. A judicious author will be thankful for the query of a supposed error, but the reader must stop with the query. It cannot be too frequently impressed on him that his first duty is to follow copy. It often happens that the author and the master printer are at variance regarding typographic details. The author has the right to overrule every typographic method that may be suggested by the printer, and when he does so overrule his decision should be obeyed without question, even when the author follows the fashions of advertisers and jobprinters, and insists on typography in the worst taste; but the printer can and should refuse his imprint to all printing done to order in bad form. This is the printer's right for it may be assumed by the book reviewer that typographic uncouthness in a book is an evidence of the ignorance or ;
the bad taste of the printer.
Paper selected for copy should be uniform as When odds and ends of paper have been used for copy, and interleaved with additions on to size.
332
Proper provision for alterations
smaller scraps, some with coarse and
some with
fine writing, it is impracticable to make a correct
number of pages that the manuCopy so put together gives needless trouble to the workmen it is not easily arranged by the copy-holder, and is liable to estimate of the
script will occupy in print.
;
misplacement and loss. the
What is worse, it leads to
making of blunders.'
The size commercial
note (leaf 5x8 inches) is large enough for those
who write with small and neat letters; sermon paper (leaf 7x8J inches) and letter paper (leaf 8 X 10 inches) are better sizes for those who write with more boldness, and are entirely acceptable to compositors; but foolscap (leaf 7^x12 inches) and flat cap (leaf 8^x14 inches) are inconvenient shapes. Very thin paper that cannot be kept in position on the compositor's case, and very thick paper that may have been marred with creases, are equally objectionable. Manuscripts should be kept flat if it is necessary to roU them, let them be rolled with the writing on the convex side. Copy paper should have a wide margin on the left side of the leaf as a provision for possible alter;
ations in the manuscript. Alterations in minute writing between the lines are usually obscure and 1 Sharon Turner, author of a copy upon the bac1i:s of letters History of the Anglo-Saxons, addressed to him. One of his sent much of his copy to the detractors stigmatized hiTn as printer on any stray waif of "the penurious, paper-sparing paper he found at hand. The Pope." The cheapness of paper poet Pope wrote some of his has put an end to this economy.
;
Bad practices in penmanship
333
productive of error. When the author does not provide a wide margin at the left of the copy paper,
he should leave wide spaces between lines. Copy should be written with ink, and on one side of the leaf. That which has been written on both sides often has to be cut apart in two or three slips
and given to different compositors.
The reuniting
of these slips gives needless trouble, and it may be
done badly and lead to very serious error. Pencil writing makes bad copy unless it has been done boldly and with an indelible pencil. Weak handwriting with a hard pencil on smooth paper always
makes indistinct copy.
Many of the so-called errors of the press begin with bad arrangement of copy and indistinct writing which compels the compositor to guess (and to guess erroneously sometimes) at the spelling of the Some teachers of penmanship are
obscure words.
to blame for the bad models they put before their
pupils in some models the n and u are nearly alike :
in the penmanship of their pupils they are exactly alike. Capital letters are sometimes so overloaded with flourishes that one letter will be mistaken for another. In the angiilar style of penmanship the small letters are almost as uniform in shape as the teeth of a saw each tooth and each small letter much like its fellows. The meaning of the words has to be guessed at from an occasional capital or the loops of the ascending or descending letters.
—
Some writers make no easily perceptible distinction
334
Some authors provide good copy
between the capitals I and J.
When they appear
in the name Isaac Jones, the letters that follow the capitals are the real guides to the proper selection
of capitals
;
but when the
first
name is abbrevi-
ated to I. Jones, it is possible that I wiU appear as J similar remark may be made concernin print.
A
T
as ing the formations of the capitals T, S, and they are put upon paper by some writers. It is not reasonable to suppose that the compositor who works by the piece can afford to waste much time
in deciphering the words which the writer has not
even tried to make plain. With every desire to aid the author, the compositor can do but little toward helping him in making his words intelligible. There is a wide-spread belief that all authors are illegible writers.
The first copy of their writings
may be indistinct or illegible, on which hasty penscratches were
made to preserve a quickly flying
thought, and this copy may be afterward obscured
with erasures and interlineations but this is not the copy that is sent to the printing-house. The last copj' of the professional writer, even when it is not type-written, is much neater and is usually ;
much more systematically arranged than that of the man of business or the amateur in authorship.' 1
The poet Gray rewrote his Allan Poe were models of neatness. The penmanship of some
Elegy nearly twenty times before he was content with its construction. Tennyson was almost
The writings of Thomas Hood and of Edgar as fastidious.
journalists is almost as readable as print. Engene Field was a notable example. There are busy authors who keep in their
Illegible writing calls for study
335
What the compositor desires in every manuscript and a systematic use of points and The writer of a crabbed hand may be a preparer of readable copy. Horace Greeley's manuscript was a torment to the inexpert, but the few compositors on the Tribune who had studied its peculiarities said it was fair copy. Capitals and points were correctly used, and were not changed in proof. Mr. Greeley often said that he would not
is distinctness
capitals.
care to read proof if he could be assured that his
words would be printed as they had been written.^ Dr. Holland, a better penman and a voluminous employ a special editor to correct and systematize, and a copyist to transcribe, their manuscripts. Charles Dickens's writings were sorevisedbyan editor, who cancelled paragraphs and
pages at his pleasure, and returned to him the manuscript for addition and improvement. George Bancroft, the historian, had his manuscripts carefully transcribed and put in type, from which two proofs were made. The first setting of the type was then distributed. The two proofs were carefully revised at convenience, dates and authorities were verified, verbi-
age was cut out, new matter added, and imperfect sentences amended. The new copy so prepared on this proof gave no more trouble to the compositor than ordinary reprint, and the charges for alterations in the proof were consequently trivial.
1
Ability to read bad writing
is an
inborn faculty, but it can be developed by study. There are compositors, and even copyholders, whose guesses at obscure words are as happy as old-time divination, but their seeming guesses are really the outcome of the study that follows keener perception. As a rtde, every penman writes consistently; his style is affected by changes of pen, ink, and paper, by age, haste, or fatigue, i)ut he always retains his own mannerisms, the same letters or combinations of letters being repeated in the same general form. Keeping this in view, the key may be found that will unlock the concealments of bad writing. In a letter to his publisher, Byron said:
'*
Your com-
positor is a worker of miracles.
He has done what I cannot do. He has read my bad writing."
—
;
336
Bad writing delays performance
writer, was a trained preparer of copy he seldom changed a word or point in his proof. Wendell Phillips Garrison and his brother Francis Jackson wrote a book of four octavo volnjnes with side-notes and a profusion of letters, documents, and extracts but the copy was systematically prepared, and the changes made in the proof were insignificant much smaller than had been made in the printinghouse upon any other work of equal size. A generous forbearance must be conceded to the rude and rapid writing of a reporter who has stenographicaUy reported an evening speech, and has to rewrite it in longhand so that the compositors can have the copy before midnight. The hurried work of the night editor of a daily newspaper calls for a similar indulgence, but that forbearance is not due to the writer who has ample time to write legibly, or the means to have his illegible writing fairly transcribed or type- written. The needs, and ;
indeed the rights, of the printer deserve more consideration than they receive.
The composition of ordinary books is always a work of special contract. When the master printer agrees in turn with his compositors at a fixed rate per page, it is supposed that the copy furnished will be easily readable, and that the daily performance of every type-setter will be about five duo-
decimo pages of ten -point type or its equivalent. The master printer and the compositor are not paid for time spent on the work
;
they are paid for
Injustice produced hy had copy actual performance only.
If the
337
copy is hard to
read and understand, the compositor will set but four or three pages.
When it is very obscure he
wiU do no more than two pages, and he may and sometimes does refuse to do work that is so meanly paid. Composition done under these conditions is always done badly, and may be full of obscurities that hinder the proof-reader and bring discredit upon printer and publisher. It frequently happens that the master printer has to return a manuscript
The injustice
to the writer to be legibly rewritten.
of this disregard of the workmen's need is fairly pre-
sented by Drew.^
Additions to a manuscript should never be written on the back of the leaf, where an addition is 1 In all other cases of encroaehing on the time and pa-
—
tween man and man, where bad "writing, except in rare and ex-
as, for intience of another, stance, our failure to fulfill an appointment, or calling at an unseasonable hour, or seeking advice in an affair wholly our own, we feel bound to make due
treme cases, does not involve pecuniary loss. But when we are writing for the press, our duty to write legibly becomes
apology, nay, sometimes even acknowledge a sense of shame; but who ever felt regret on hearIng that he had put someone to the trouble of studying, and guessing at, a puzzling intricacy of cramped writing his victim being obliged to seek aid from
upon a violation of the eighth commandment, that it can seldom happen but from a want of
—
;
dictionaries,
gazetteers,
direc-
and even experts ? We never heard of a man's suffering compunction on this score. ... tories,
We say this, referring to ordinary business transactions be-
imperative
indeed, a failure In
;
this respect trenches so closely
thought as to the relation between those who write and those
who print.
.
.
.
If one-eighth of the time now spent in correcting, overrunning the matter, and revising, were bestowed upon perfecting the copy, there would seldom be any delay in a well appointed
printing-ofBce. Pens and Types, pp. 20, 21, 25.
:
Foreign words need special care
338
but if such an addition is made, attention should be directed to it by bold markings on the face of the copy. It is a better practice to write out the addition on a separate slip of paper and to paste it on in its proper place, where it will not be overlooked. When an insertion of one leaf or more is to be made in copy, the inserted leaves should be careliable to be overlooked ;
fully numbered in order.
If, as is usual, it is
im-
practicable to renumber anew all the leaves of the entire manuscript, the inserts should receive the
number of the last folio, with the addition of alphabetical letters in regular order.
If the inserts
and 23, these inserts should be marked 22a, 221, 22c, etc. The foot of page 22 should have this note for the compositor 22 is followed by 22a, 22b, 22c. A similar practice are to go between folios 22
should be observed in the cancelling of discarded leaves.
If
pages 41 to 46 must be cancelled, the Pages 41-46
foot of page 40 should have this note ((re
:
cancelled.
"Words in foreign languages, proper names of aU kinds, historical or geographical,
and Httle-used
terms in science and art should be written with unusual distinctness and with the accents clearly marked. The compositor is not expected to have the knowledge of these matters that will supple-
ment the writer's neglect to write plainly. Moxon's comments on neglected preparation of copy deserve reprinting in full.
^
Additional observations hy Moxon
339
Although I have in the precedent Exercifes Jhew''d the Accomplijhments of a good Compofiter, yet will not a curious Author truji either to his Care or Abilities in Pointing, Italicking, Capitalling, Breaking, &c. Therefore it behoves an Author to examine his Copy very well e're he deliver it to the Printer, and to Point it, and mark it fo as the Compofiter may know what Words to Set in Italick, Englifh, Capitals, &c. If his Copy, or any part of it, be Written in any Foreign Language, he is Jiri£lly to fpell that Foreign Language right Becaufe the Compofiter, as I faid in the Preface to this §, takes no notice of any thing therein :
but the very Letters, Points and Charafters he finds in
Copy. If an Author have not (^through hajie in Writing) made Breaks in proper places when he comes to perufe his Copy he may find caufe to make feveral Breaks where he made none In fuch « cafe he makes a Crotchet [ thus, at the Word he would have begin his new Paragraph. his
;
:
Thus in all particulars he takes care to deliver his Copy perfeii For then he may expell to have his :
Book perfeBly Printed.
For by no means he ought to
hope to mend it in the Proof, the Compofiter not being obliged to it :
And it cannot reafionably be expeSled he
Jhould be fo good Matured to take fo much pains to mend fuch Alterations as the fecond Didates of an Author
may make, unlefs he be very well paid for it over and above what he agreed for with the Mailer-Printer.
The placing of marks of punctuation is usually done by the author when he completes each sentence, but if he remodels the phrasing or construction of that sentence in a subsequent revision, the points 1
Mechanick Exercises, pp. 265, 266.
:
340
:
Underscorings for display
should be looked after with care; for those first made will surely be wrong, and wUl bewilder the compositor. Abbreviations should not be used in the manuscript which the author does not wish to see repeated in that form in print.
These are the underscorings used by editors as directions for italic, smaU capitals, and capitals italic.
i:^^:^^^^:;^^ smaU capitals.
=E^^=^^=E capitals. ==^===^=1 italic capitals.
Mr. J. Stearns Gushing of the Norwood Press offers these underscorings for display in school-books bold-faced lower-case.
bold-faced itaKc lowercase.
bold-faced ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ .^-^
-
^ capital letters. ,
.
spaces between letters.
Underscoring for italic or bold display, and the placing of quotation-marks, should not be done during literary composition, for they are sure to be It will be prudent to postpone these markings until the writing has been completed, and the author is better prepared to make a code that can be applied to all cases. It is desirable to have the punctuation done by the writer but he should not over-punctuate, and especially should not make too free use of the dash and quote-marks, which may obscure his meaning.
inconsistent.
;
Type-written copy is preferred
341
The leaves of all manuscript copy should be paged systematically from beginning to end. To page each chapter by itself leads to confusion. When two or more chapters are in the hands of different compositors at one time, they cannot be reassembled easily and put in the proper place. Page 16 of manuscript, intended for chapter vi, may be trans-
posed with page 16 of chapter vii. foot-note, or a citation of quoted authority, should be written exactly as it should appear in print, and be placed directly under the line of text
A
which contains the reference to that note. When foot-notes are written on separate scraps of paper and are pasted out of place on the copy, it is probable that they wiU be out of place in print. When copy for the text of a book is sent to the printing-house at irregular intervals and in instalments of one or two chapters, its composition is done at disadvantage. An inspection at one time of all the copy is needed to determine the uniformity in little details which is one of the merits of a well-made book. When the text of any book containing irregular parts is set and electrotyped in driblets, it must have inconsistencies of treatment that may cry aloud for expensive changes after the plates have been made.
When it is possible to do so, manuscript should be type-written, and carefully revised by the author Even a before it is sent to the printing-house. neat and careful writer wiU be surprised to find 22
342
Copy has to he revised in proof
how mucli more quickly he can detect an error in Pubtype-written copy than in his manuscript. manuscripts accepted all give lishers of experience
by them, whether written well or ill, to the typewriter, and this type- written copy is revised by the author before it goes to the printer. The typewriting of the new copy does not cost so much as the alterations in type that have to be made from
manuscript copy. Careful authors approve of this method, for it hastens the getting of a clean proof and lightens the subsequent labor of correction. If the writer of indistinct copy could stand by the case of a compositor, and could note how much he is delayed by obscure writing, what grave errors he makes by reason of this obscurity, how imperfectly the proof-reader corrects the misunderstandings of the compositor, and could foresee the added expense of the alterations and overrunnings that have been caused by hasty writing, but that will have to be made, and that the author wUl have to pay for— he would not regret the delay or question the economy of type-written copy.
The author's work does not end with his revision He should read proof, and proof-reading will reqiure much more of time and care than he intended to give. He is sure to find words awkwardly divided, and the subheadings, foot-notes, extracts, tables, and illustrations contrary to the plan of the copy and in unexpected positions. His referencemark to a foot-note in the manuscript, or his line of of copy.
The grievance of had writing
343
subheading, may fall on the last line of the page of print, where it cannot be put.
His indivisible table
of figures or engraved illustration may have been
placed in the proof, and unavoidably so placed, too far from the explanatory text.
He sees that it is
not always possible for the printer to follow copy unthinkingly. The types are tyrannous; pages
must be of uniform length and width, and words or lines must be made longer or shorter to adapt them to type and page. The maker-up and proofreader are usually intelligent helpers and discreet advisers to this end, but they cannot rearrange the
composition without fresh instruction from the If he expects an orderly book, he must cut out or add words to prevent the bad division of a
author.
proper uame
;
he must add or cancel lines before
or after a table or an illustration that may stand in the way of a proper make-up.
This is drudgery,
but it is not to be avoided. It cannot be done by the printer it must be done by the author. Bad writing is a very old grievance of printing, but complaint has not led to any improvement, for Faults found its practice is as common as ever. with speech that is hard to understand are seldom applied to letters that are hard to read. We are used to bad writing in correspondence, in the bills ;
of tradesmen, in the receipts of expressmen, in the
prescriptions of physicians, and erate it.
we have to tol-
The haste with which we require some
work to be done seems to compel careless writing.
344
Machines must have readable copy
The good penman fresh from school who goes into a counting-room is urged to be quick and quicker, and he soon falls into the bad habits of forming letters indistinctly, of making signs and abbreviations. The journalist who works against time is unable to make entirely legible upon the paper the thoughts that crowd too fast for proper expresThere always have been and always will be sion. bad writers, and the compositor must accept some bad copy as one of the conditions of the printing trade against which it seems useless to protest.
Yet there is a limit to forbearance. Bad writing and badly arranged copy have to be declined on the type-setting machine. A machine made to quicken type-setting is of no benefit to any one if the operator has to pause on every line to decipher obscure words.
It is not for the tedious
disentangling of written puzzles that the master printer pays thirty-four hundred dollars for a new
machine and from three and a half to five dollars a day to the operator. The master printer has to insist on copy, preferably type-written, that can be read as quickly as reprint.
The writer who care-
lessly prepares unreadable copy should not expect
to share in any of the advantages that should be
had from the use of a quick machine which has been made inefllcient by his neglect.
XVIII
ERRORS OF THE PRESS ^RRORS of the press is a convenient vague methods
plirase, for it carries with it a
notion that there
is
in the
or machinery of printing a perverse
tendency to the making of mistakes which are due more to the process than to the man. What is meant by the press is not clear: it seems to be a factor apart from the man, for it is seldom any helper of the press confesses that "the mistake is mine." The impression is produced that the complex organization known as the press, which may need a dozen intelligent helpers between the author and the bookbinder, and many unintelligent contributors from the types to the printing-machines, has acquired some measure of
independent activity through combination, permitting it to wander away in a forbidden path which
346
Boastfulness of the emly 'printers
could not be foreseen or prevented. That no one should be held responsible for some forms of misprint (another convenient phrase) is a comfortable doctrine for the authors, compositors, and proof-
readers who work with haste and negligence, for
the press is inanimate and cannot respond.
The
silent are always wrong.
Another belief has been fostered in the mind of that printing in its early days was done much better than it is now that books were printed more accurately when the methods and machinery of the art were simpler, when printers and publishers were men of high scholarship and had more intimate intercourse with the literati of This belief has no good basis. The their time. demigods of typography are like the demigods of the reader:
;
so-called history: the greatest are those who are
at the greatest distance.
Not much research is
needed to show that demigods of all kinds do not belong to history but to fiction, and that errors of the press were, to say the least, quite as
common
in the early days of typography as they are now.
With a few exceptions, the early printers were They bragged of the superior
foolishly boastful.
beauty of their types and the greater accuracy of their texts.
Gutenberg, first and best of all, seems
to have been the only one who refused to magnify
Printing had been practised less than twenty years when Peter Schoeffer, the surviving himself.
member of the triumvirate who developed the art,
:
Errata common in early editions
347
in his edition of the Institutes of Justinian of 1468,
reminded his readers that he paid great sums to the wise men who corrected his texts, but he adds that there were even then rival printers who did not take proper precautions against errors of the It may be assumed that Gabriel Petrus of Venice was one of the growing number of negligent printers, for he published a book in 1478 with two pages of errata. Before the fifteenth century closed, lists of errata were frequent. Sometimes errors were so numerous that the faulty book had Robert Gaguin of Paris was so to be reprinted. disgusted with the mistakes made by a printer of that city in an edition of French legends (1497) that he ordered a second edition from a printer of Lyons, but the change of printer was not happy
press.
the reprinted book was as faulty as the first.
Cardinal Bellarmine of Rome had a provoking experience in 1581.
He cancelled the first edition
of his book printed at Rome, and sent an amended
copy to a printer of Venice, hoping to get absolutely perfect work, but the new edition was also full of errors.
A book of Picus Mirandola, printed at Strasburg in 1507, in the real cradle of typography, contains fifteen pages of errata.
The fullest Hst of errata known is that of a book The Anatomy of the Mass, printed in 1561. This book of one hundred and seventy-two pages In is followed by errata covering fifteen pages. called
348
Errors in early editions of the Bible
apology, the writer says the errors were caused by the malice of the devil, who had allowed the manuscript to be drenched with water and made almost illegible before it was placed in the hands of the
printers.
Not content with this, the devil insti-
gated the printers to commit a surprising number of inexcusable blunders. Books of authority and reference made in the sixteenth century were quite as full of errors as more
Joseph Scaliger said that he would frequently make a bet that he could find an error on any chance-selected page of the Greek Lexicon of Robert Constantine, and that he always won the bet. Chevillier adds that Constantine was unpretentious work.
responsible for as many errors as the printer.
In his Memoirs, Baron de Grrimm tells of a French author who died in a spasm of anger after he had detected more than three hundred typographical errors in a newly printed copy of his work.
The Bible, as a bulky and frequently reprinted book, presents exceptional opportunity for error. An edition of the Vidgate printed in 1590, and said to have been made under the supervision of Pope
Sixtus V, has the unenviable distinction of being full of misprints.
Barker's edition of the Bible,
printed at London in 1632, and notorious in the trade as the Wicked Bible, gives this rendering of the seventh commandment
Thou shalt conmiit For this error, undoubtedly made by a malicious compositor, the printer was fined three adultery.
:
"
Printing was supervised by censors
'
349
thousand pounds, and all obtainable copies of the edition were destroyed.^ To prevent error, Parliament forbade all unauthorized printing of the Bible. It was the same spirit of mischief-making that
prompted a woman in Germany to steal into her husband's printing-house by night and make an alteration in type that was ready for the press by changing the German word Serr to N^arr, thereby perverting the passage in Genesis iii, 16, from "he shall be thy lord" to "he shall be thy fool." The story goes that she had to atone for this sOly joke with her life.
Errors of the press were and are not confined to
any nation.
Erasmus said that the books printed
in Italy were, without exception, full of faults, due largely to the parsimony of publishers who would
not pay a proper price for the supervision of the copy. Books were so incorrectly printed in Spain during the sixteenth century that the authorities refused to license their publication before they had been approved by a censor appointed for the duty. He required that all faults noted by him should be corrected in an appended list of errata. Chevillier says that the printers of Geneva during
the sixteenth century used execrable paper and 1
Sometimes errata have been
purposely made to gratify personal maligiiity. Paul Scarron, the French poet and writer of burlesques, wrote a book of po-
ter'sdog." Before the book was published, Scarron quarrelled with his sister, and ordered this
erratum to be added:
"Make
ems in which were verses dedi-
Guillemette, my sister's dog read Guillemette, my dog of a
cated to " Guillemette, my sis-
sister.'
'
'
350
The judgment of early critics
made the texts of their books intolerably incorrect. Even the famous Christopher Plantin of Antwerp was not beyond all reproach. One of his eulogists has to admit sorrowfully that he found in Plantin's
enormous Polyglot Bible many errors of paging which his scholarly proof-readers had overlooked. The apology of John Froben of Basle for his " I do everything I can errata is really pathetic to produce correct editions. In this edition of the New Testament in G-reek I have doubled my care and my vigilance I have spared neither time nor money. I have engaged with difiiculty many cor:
;
rectors of the highest ability,
among them John
Oecolampadius, a professor of three languages. Erasmus himself has done his best to help me." This book was in press for a year, but after all this care it had errata of one and a half pages.
Erasmus himself charged one of the workmen of Froben with intended malice in perverting (in
another book) his tribute of admiration to Queen Elizabeth of Hungary to a passage of unmention-
He declared that he would have given three hundred crowns in gold to have preable obscenity.
vented the scandalous error. Examples enough have been presented to show
by educated by scholarly correctors, but the sum-
that errors are not always detected printers or
ming up may be left to earlier writers.
Chevillier,
writing in 1694, quotes many authors and printers in support of his proposition that a book without
:
:
:
:
:
Examples of gross modern blunders
351
an error is impossible,^ and that early books do not deserve the reputation they have had for superior accuracy. Prosper Marehand, writing in 1738, says that reader is deceived who thinks that old books are more correct than new books on the contrary, ;
they are much more inaccurate.
Errors of the press often begin with errors of reporters who have misunderstood spoken words.
The rule of follow copy compels the compositor to repeat the exact words written by the reporter, and the following blunders are the result of obedience to this rule.
A speaker made this statement
In these days clergymen are expected to have the
wisdom and learning of Jeremy Taylor.
But the reporter wrote, and the compositor repeated .
.
.
the wisdom and learning of a journeyman tailor.
Another speaker quoted these lines come, thou goddess fair and free, In heaven yclept Euphrosyne.
They were printed as written
O come, thou goddess fair and free, In heaven she crept and froze her knee. Another orator quoted this line from Tennyson's Locksley Hall Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay. 1
Whoever thinks a faultless piece to see, Thinks what ne'er was, nor is, nor e'er shall he. Pope.
: !!
352
::
Examples of gross modern blunders
But the quotation was written and printed Better fifty years of Europe than a circus in Bombay.
One of the worst perversions of a hackneyed quoby the speaker) is this, which seems to be the joint work of the zealous tation (incorrectly given
reporter and the equally reckless printer
Amicus Plato, amicus Socrates, sed major Veritas. I may cuss Plato, I m.ay cuss Socrates, said Major Veritas.
Here are other illustrations of the great danger of following the sound regardless of the sense
Those lovely eyes bedimm.ed. Those lovely eyes be damned. Behold the martyr in a sheet of fire Behold the martyr in a shirt on fire This battle-scarred veteran. This battle-scared veteran.^
A congressman advocated grants of public lands, not to railroad corporations, but to "actual settlers."
The tired translator of the telegraphic report of the speech construed the last words as "cattle stealers." An editor closed his leader concerning some municipal abuse that he wished to reform with the
quoted Latin lament, o temporal o mores! which the compositor transformed to " O temperance O !
Moses
!
"
and it was so printed.
A reporter of a trial tried to write that " the jury 1 Pendleton, Newspaper Reporting,
pp. 172-183.
::
Examples of gross modern blunders
353
disagreed and were discharged," but he wrote indisand the compositor construed the writing
tinctly,
into " the jury disappeared and were disgraced."
A petitioner appealed to a legislature as " individuals " as well as lawmakers.
He wrote illegibly,
and the clerk read " Indian devils " instead of individuals, much to the indignation of the assembly.
Drew
'
attributes these blunders to bad writing
The book Typographical Antiquities was cited as Typographical Ambiguities. In testLmony concerning a compound microscope the witness said that its efficiency would vary with the power of the " eye-piece " employed. Bye-piece
was too carelessly written, and the compositor rendered it as lye-juice.
At a public dinner this toast was offered to the President, " May he live to a green old age."
But was printed, " May he live to a grim old age." The last words of the poorly written sentence, "Alone and isolated, man would become impotent and perish," were not understood by the compositor, and they were printed as " impatient and peevish." A bloody battle was so described in a newspaper
it
The men fell in. ranks and It was fearful to see. marched in pantaloons to their final account. It is probable that the compositor did not
know
the word platoon, and thought it proper to make 1 Pens and Types, pp. 16-24.
Why compositors cannot correct
354
this foolisli correction.
It must have been a raw
compositor of this class who set Dogs of the Seine for Days of the League, and parboiled sceptic for purblind sceptic. These wild guesses at the meaning of the writer had to be hazarded when writing
was indistinct.
Many pages could be filled with illustrations of
— some sUly or unmeaning, others blasphemous— but in most instances
similar blunders frightful or it is
evident that the blunders were the outcome
of careless or illegible writing.
The compositor
who is told to foUow copy learns to do so mechanically, even if his rendering does not " make sense."
A critical reader may ask why the master printer does not employ compositors of more intelligence
who can correctly divine an obscure word after their reading of the context.
This expedient
is
Publishers decided long ago that
impracticable.
the composition of books is so largely mechanical that it can be done well enough (after its correction by a reader) by men of limited experience and ability, or even by boys or girls. is
The pay oflEered
small; the piece-compositor on book-work does
not earn, even at the prices authorized by the tradeunions, as much as journeymen mechanics in other trades.
Expert compositors refuse to do the piece-
work of books they seek and find steady employment at fixed wages by the week on job-work or ;
as operators of type-setting machines.
It follows
that book composition by hand has to be done by
Errors sometimes passed hy readers
355
young men and women of limited experience, or by elderly persons who have outgrown all desire to improve the quality of their workmanship or to qualify themselves for better-paid situations.
The irresponsibility of the inexpert compositor is largely increased by his consciousness that there is in the house a proof-reader
whose business it is
Compositors of all grades would make fewer mistakes if they had to pay a proper penalty for all wilfully slighted composition. Contrary to prophecies made some years ago, typesetting machines have proved to be aids to correct
to correct all his faults.
composition.
The operator who makes an error in
every other line, as is not uncommon in hand composition, is soon required to give up his machine.
To be advantageous, the machine must be operated by a workman who does not average many errors to a paragraph.
Even when exceeding care has been taken in the selection of able compositors and readers, there is
from oversights and unforeseen
liability to error
accidents.
Crapelet ^ teUs us of the sore distress of
his father in discovering the error of Pelenope for
Penelope, in a treatise which he had carefully read three times with intent to make it in all points a faultless book.
He had read it too often
not have the assistance of a second reader
;
;
he did
and his
memory failed when most needed. Even the careful reader may pass unobserved the transposition of 1 fitudes pratiques et litt^raires sur la typographie, p. 233.
Errors made in correcting
356
letters or syllables in a proper name.
Looking too
intently on one object does not always make tkat
object more distinct ; it may produce a temporary obscurity. Proof read and corrected too often by one reader only may have errors iu the last proof
that did not exist in the first.
A page of the ordinary book consists of at least one thousand and sometimes of five thousand distinct pieces of metal.
The omission or the trans-
position of any one makes a fault which may be serious.
Printing-house rules for meddling with
type are not sufficiently stringent. No one should be allowed to touch type but the workman in whose
Picking up a type out of a
charge it is placed.
case or the lifting of a line on galley or in a form
by a curiosity-seeker should be regarded as a real offence.
Gross errors can be easily made in the
transposition of letters and lines by unthinking
persons who mean to do no mischief. Errors are frequently made by the compositor who corrects a proof in trying to correct one error :
he may make another, or he may damage adjacent Whenever he makes any change in type letters. that has not been marked on the proof, he should take another proof and draw a large ring with lead-pencil
around the place of change, and the
proof-reader should re-read the entire paragraph
by copy as if it were new composition. A similar marking should be made by the eleetrotyper or the pressman who has bruised letters in a plate, so that
Errors due to obscure alterations
357
the proof shall be read again carefully by the office reader.
Some provoking errors are unintention-
ally made by workmen who
think that the formal
re-reading of the lines in which the battered letters have been changed is a waste of time.
The renewal of the solid lines of linotype composition calls for great vigilance from the reviser.
When the fifth faulty line of a paragraph has been reset
by the operator, the corrected line may not
Some meddler may have pushed other lines up or down. It may be inserted in the gap so made and appear in print as the fourth be put in its proper plaCe.
To prevent this error the paragraph should be formally re-read. When haste does not warrant a re-reading by copy, the proof that hg,s the fault marked should be carefully folded through the centre and one half of it lapped over the new proof, so that their proper connection will be visible at a glance. Authors who correct the final proof with a leadThey pencil provoke the making of new errors. note an error in phrasing and write down the corAfter re-reading this correction they see rection. that it does not fully convey the meaning intended. The first pencil markings are rubbed out and other words take their place. Sometimes two or three alterations have to be made, and aU are written over markings previously made. Repeated rubbing out makes the writing illegible and liable to perverSometimes an addition is made to a singular sion. or the seventh line.
23
358
A real error of the press
nominative which should compel the selection of a plural form of verb or pronoun in the words that precede or follow, but the plural forms may be and often are overlooked. When the press is kept waiting for this final proof, it is possible that the errors corrected wiU be those only that are marked in the proof.
It follows that the author as well as
the printer has to suffer the stigma of an inexcusable violation of plain grammatical rules.^ 1 Here is the story of an error
not
made by a compositor or
reader, pressman or mlsehiefmaker. An author, intent on
having an immaculate book, and not content with the official reading of the printing-house, had the last proof revised by another expert reader, who certified that the last reading was without fault. The book was printed, hound, and distributed, and bragged of as a book without an error. A year after publication the author, in making a cursory reexamination of the work, discovered this phrase, "his too nasty steps." Filled with anger and alarm, he went to the printing-house and demanded the reason why this shocking alteration had been made. The last proof was found and it plainly showed that the phrase was "his too hasty steps." It was clear that a change had been made after the final reading, and possibly in the electro-
type plate.
The plate was sent
for, and, when closely examined
under a magniCying-glass,
re-
vealed the origin of the error. The solder which fastened the copper shell to the lead base had a minute air-bubble under the top of this letter h, which was unseen and unsuspected by the electrotyper. Some copies of the book (how many could not be ascertained) showed this
h accurately, but after several perfect copies had been printed, a knot in the paper or a grain of sand or plaster had fallen over the top of this letter h, and had crushed or depressed it in the hoUow air-bubble below, practically changing it to the letter n. This depression of the letter h was too small a fault to be noticed by the pressman, letter
who cduld give but a glance at the sheets when the press was printing
apparently
faultless
copies at the rate of fifteen in a
minute.
APPENDIX
Comparative list of variations in spelling compiled from the
American dictionaries Unown as the Century,
Standard, Webster's International, and Worcester;
and the English dictionaries hnown as Stormonth's, the Imperial, and the New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, oftener called the Oxford.
The hyphens in words under the heading of Divisions indicate the divisions that are generally acceptable.
In
most of them, the mark ' which shows the emphasized syllable may be accepted as a substitute for the hyphen, and a proper place for the division of a word but it should not be taken as authorizing divisions like bandan'a or i'dol-ize when it sets apart a syllable of one letter. For the same reason, the hyphen is omitted and a space is inserted in words Uke ar'mor y. Divisions on two letters, and sometimes on one letter, are grudgingly permitted in very narrow measures only. British usage with regard to words ending in -ize is undergoing change. Stormonth prefers -ise, but in the new Oxford dictionary Dr. Murray says that, whatever the element to which it is added, "-ize is in its origin the Greek -i^stv, Latin -izare and as the pronunciation is also with z, there is no reason why in EngUsh the special French spelling [-iser] should be followed in opposition to that which is at once etymological and phonetic." A complete list of participles has been found ;
;
impossible in the restricted space, but the system of participial formation adopted by each dictionary has been fairly indicated. 361
362
Comparative list of variable spellings
Century
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonfh
363
abridgment
abridgment
Oxford abridgement^
a bridg'ment
acclimatise
acclimatize
acclimatize
ac-cli'ma-tize
accoutre
accoutre
accoutre
ac-cou'tre
accoutred
accoutred
accoutred
ao-cou'tred
accoutring
accoutring
accoutriag
ac-cou'tring
Imperial
accoutrement accoutrement accoutrement
ac-cou'tre-ment
acknowledgment
acknowledgement! ac-know'ledg-ment
aggrandise
aggrandize
aggrandize
ag'gran-dize
agistor
agister
agistor
a gist'or
agrarianise
agrarianize
agrarianize
a gra'ri-an-ize
aide-de-camp
aide-de-camp
aide-de-camp
alkalise
alkalize
alkalize
aluminum
aluminium
aluminium
al-u-min'i-um
amortise
amortize
amortize
a mor'tize
amphitheatre
amphitheatre
amphitheatre
am-phi-the'a-ter
anabaptise
anabaptize
anabaptize
an-a-bap-tize'
analyse
analyse
analyse
an'a-lyze
anathematise
anathematize
anathematize
a nath'e-ma-tize
anatomise ansemic
anatomize anaemia anaemic
anatomize auEemia anaemic
a nat'o-mize a ne'mi a a nem'ic
aneesthetie
anaesthetic
anaesthetic
an-es-thet'ic
anaesthetise
anaesthetize
anaesthetize
an-es'the-tize
animalise
animalize
animalize
an'i-mal-ize
antagonise
antagonize
antagonize
an-tag'o-nize
apodictic
apodeictic
apodictic
ap-o-dic'tic
apologise
apologize
apologize
a pol'o-gize
apostatise
apostatize
apostatize
a pos'ta-tize
aposteme
aposteme appal arbour ardour
apostem
ap'o-stem
appal
ap-pal'
arbour
ar'bor
ardour
ar'dor
acknowledgment
anaemia
appal
arbour ardour
values of letters.
al'ka-lize
New English Dictionary.
364
Compa/rative list of variable spellings
Century
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
365
366
Comparative list of variabk spellings
Centwry
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
367
368
Comparative list of variable spellings
Gentwry cantillate
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
369
370
Comparative list of variable spellings
Gentwry
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
371
372
Comparative list of variable spellings
Centwry
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
Imperial
373
Oxford
decolour
decolour
decolour
de-col'or
decolourise
decolorize
decolorize
de-col'or-ize
dsedal
daedal
dsedal
de'dal
dsedalian
dsedalian
dsedalian
de-da'h-an
defence
defence
defence
de-fense'
demeanour
demeanour
demeanour
de-mean'or
demobilise
demobilise
demobilize
de-mo'bil-ize
demonetise
demonetize
de-mon'e-tize
demonise
demonetize demonize demoralize
demonize demoraUze
de'mon-ize
demoralise denationalise
denationahze
denationalize
de-na'tion-al-ize
de-mor'al-ize
denaturalise
denaturs,lize
denaturalize
de-nat'u-ral-ize
dentine
dentine
dentine
den'tiu
dentise
dentize
dentize
den'tize
deodorise
deodorize
deodorize
de-o'dor-ize
deoxidise
deoxidize
deoxidize
de-ox'i-dize
deoxygenise
deoxygenize
de-ox'y-gen-ize
depauperise
deoxygenize depauperize
depauperize
de-pau'per-ize
depolarise
depolarize
depolarize
de-po'lar-ize
depopularise
depopularize
depopularize
de-pop'u-lar-ize
deputise
deputize
deputize
dep'u-tize
despatch
despatch
dispatch
de-spatch'
desynonymise desynonymize desynonjrmize de-sy-non'y-mize detonise
detonize
detonize
det'o-nize
devilise
devihze
devihze
dev'iL-ize
diabolise
diaboUze
diabohze
di-ab'o-lize
dialling
dialling
dia llin g
di'al-ing
dialogise
dialogize
dialogize
di-al'o-gize
diarise
diarize
diarize
di'a-rize
diarrhoea
diarrhcea
diarrhoea
di-ar-rhe'a
diarrhoetic
diarrhoetic
diarrhoetic
di-ar-rhet'io
dicky
dickey
dicky
24
374
Comparative list of variable spellings
Century
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonfh
375
376
Comparative list of variable spellings
Gentwry
Comparative list of variable spellings stormonth drily
duelling duellist
377
378
Compa/rative list ofva/riahle spellings
Centv/ry
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
379
380
Comparative list of variable spellings
Centwry
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
381
382
Comparative list of variable spellings
Century
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
383
384
Comparative list of variable spellings
Cembwry
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
385
386
Comparative list of variable spellings
Century
Standard
Webster
Worcester
idolatrize
idolatrize
idolatrize
idolatrize
idolize
idolize
idolize
idolize
iliadize
iliadize
iliadize
Uiadize
illegalize
iUegalize
illegalize
iUegalize
iUegitimatize
Ulegitimatize
iUegitimatize
Ulegitimatize
illiberalize
illiberalize
illiberalize
UUberalize
immaterialize
immaterialize
immaterialize
immaterialize
immortalize
immortalize
immortalize
immortalize
impale
impale
empale impanel
impaneled impaneling
empale impanel impaneled impaneling
imperialize
imperialize
imperialize
imperialize
imperiled
imperiled
imperiled
imperUled
incase
incase
incase
encase
inclose
enclose
inclose
enclose
inclosure
enclosure
inclosure
enclosure
incognizable
iacognizable
incognizable
incognizable
incognizant
incognizant
incognizant
incognizant
individualize
individualize
individualize
individualize
iaorganizable
inorganizable
inorganizable
inorganizable
impanel
impanel impaneled impaneling
impaneUed impanelling
iaorganization inorganization inorganization inorganization
inorganized
inorganized
inorganized
inorganized
inoxidizable
inoxidizable
inoxidizable
inoxidizable
inoxidize
inoxidize
inoxidize
inoxidize
instalment
instalment
instaUment
instalment
instil
instil
instill
instU
inteUectualize
inteUectualize
inteUectualize
inteUectuaUze
internationalize
internationalize
internationalize
internationalize
lonicize
lonicize
lonicize
lonicize
Ionize
Ionize
Ionize
Ionize
Italianize
Italianize
ItaUanize
Italianize
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
Imperial
387
Oxford
idolatrise
idolatrize
idolatrize
i
idolise
idolize
idolize
i'dol-ize
iliadise
iliadize
iliadize
il'i-ad-ize
illegalise
iUegalize
illegalize
il-le'gal-ize
dol'a-trize
illegitimatise
iUegitunatize
illegitimatize
il-le-git'i-ma-tize
Uliberalise
liberalize
Uliberalize
il-lib'er-al-ize
immaterialise
immaterialize
immaterialize im-ma-te'ri-al-ize
immortaEse empale impannel impannelled
immortalize
immortalize
im-mor'tal-ize
impale
impale
im-pale'
impannel impauneUed
empanel
im-pan'el
empanelled
im-pan'el-ed
impannelling
impannelling
empanelling
im-pan'el-ing
imperialise
imperiaUze
imperialize
im-pe'ri-al-ize
imperilled
imperilled
imperilled
im-per'il-ed
encase
incase
encase
in-case'
enclose
inclose
enclose
in-close'
enclosure
iaclosure
enclosure
in-clo'sure
incognisable
incognizable
incognizable
in-cog'ni-za-ble
inoognisant
incognizant
incognizant
in-cog'ni-zant
individualise
individualize
individualize
in-di-vid'u-al-ize
inorganisable
inorganizable inorganizable in-or'gan-i-za-ble
inorganisation inorganization inorganization in-or-gan-i-za'tion
inorganised
inorganized
inorganized
in-or'gan-ized
inoxidisable
inoxidizable
inoxidizable
in-ox'i-diz-a-ble
inoxidise
inoxidize
inoxidize
in-ox'i-dize
instalment
instalment
instalment
in-stal'ment
instil
instil
instil
in-stil'
intellectualise
inteUeotuaUze inteUectualize in-tel-lec'tu-al-ize
internationalise
internationalize
lonicise
lonicize
lonicize
I on'i-cize
Ionise
Ionize
Ionize
I'o-nize
Italianise
Italianize
Italianize
I tal'ian-ize
internationalize in-ter-na'tion-al-ize
Comparative list of variable spellings
388
Standard
Centwry
Webster
Worcester
italicize
italicize
italicize
italicize
itemize
itemize
itemize
itemize
Jacobinize
Jacobinize
Jacobinize
Jacobinize
Japanization
Japanization
Japanization
Japanization
jasperize
jasperize
jasperize
jasperize
jeremiad
jeremiad
jeremiade
jeweled
jeweled
jeremiad jeweled
jeweler
jeweler
jeweler
jeweller
jeweling
jeweHiig
jeweling
jewelling
jewelry
jewelry
jewelry
jewellery
judgment ^
judgment
judgment
judgment
Tfcidnapped
kidnaped kidnaper
kidnaped kidnaper
Mdnapiag
Mdnaping
kilogram
kilogram
kidnapped kidnapper kidnapping kilogram
kidnapper kidnapping kilogram
jewelled
kotow
kotow
kotow
kowtow
kumiss
kumiss
koumiss
koumiss
labeling
labeHiig
labeling
labelling
labor
labor
labor
labor
labored
labored
labored
labored
laborer
laborer
laborer
laborer
laborsome lacrymal laerymose lammergeier lampas
laborsome
laborsome lachrymal lachrymose lammergeir lampas
laborsome lachrymal laehrymose
lacrimal
lacrimose
lanthanum
lammergeier lampas lanthanum
lanyard Latinize 1
lammergeyer lampass
lanthanum
lanthanum
lanyard
lanyard
lanyard
Latinize
Latinize
Latinize
In tlie revised version of the BiUe, jndgement is spelled Trith the
and this spelling is approved by Dr. J. A. H. Murray.
e
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
389
390
Compwrative list of variable spellings
Centwry
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
391
392
Comparative list of variable spellings
Century
Comparative list of variable spellings Storvwnth
Imperial
Oxford
393
Divisions
martyrise
martyrize
marvellous
marvellous
mar'vel-ous
materialise
materialize
ma-te'ri-al-ize
maugre meagre
maugre meagre
mau'gre mea'ger
medallist
medallist
med'al-ist
mediatise
mediatize
me'di-a-tize
mediffival
mediaeval
me-di-e'val
medisevalise
medisevaUze
me-di-e'val-ize
memorise
memorize
mem'o-rize
mercurialise
mercurialize
mer-cu'ri-al-ize
metalled
metaUed
met'al-ed
metalling
metalling
met'al-ing
metallise
metallize
met'al-lize
metre
me'ter
methodise
metre methodize
milli onaire
miUionarre
mil-hon-aire*
miUionise
miUionize
mil'Uon-ize
mineralise
mineralize
min'er-al-ize
minimise
minimize
min'i-mize
mitre
mitre
mi'ter
mobilise
mobilise
mo'bil-ize
modelled
modelled
mod'el-ed
modeller
modeller
mod'el-er
modelling
modelling
mod'el-ing
mould
mould
moult
mon'e-tize
monopolise
moult monetize monopolize
moralise
moralize
mor'al-ize
mortalise
mortalize
mor'tal-ize
moustache
moustache
mus-tache'
monetise
mar'tyr-ize
meth'od-ize
mo-nop'o-lize
394
Comparative list of variable spellings
Century
Standard
Webster
Worcester-
mythologize
mytliologize
mythologize
mythologize
mythopeic
mythopeic
mythopoeic
mjrthopoeie
naphthalene
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
Impeiial
Oxford
395
Divisions
mythologise
mythologize
my-thol'o-gize
mythopoeic
mythopoeic
myth-o-pe'ic
naphthaline
naphthalene
naph'tha-lene
naphthalise
naphthalize
naph'tha-lize
narcotise
narcotize
nar'oo-tize
nargUe nasahse
narghile
nar'ghi-le
nasalize
na'sal-ize
nathless
nathless
na'the-less'
nathemore
nathmore
na'the-more'
nationalise
nationalize
na'tion-al-ize
naturalise
naturalize
nat'u-ral-ize
nebulise
nebulize
neb'u-lize
nectarise
nectarize
nee'tar-ize
neighbour
neighbour
neigh'bor
Nemsean
Nemean
Ne-me'an
neologise
neologize
ne-ol'o-gize
nepheliae
nephelin
neph'e-lin
neutralise
neutralize
neu'tral-ize
nylgau
nylghaa
nil'gau
nitre
nitre
ni'ter
nitry
nitry
ni'ter y
nitrogenise
nitrogenize
ni'tro-gen-ize
nitro-glycerin
nitro-glycerine
ni-tro-gly'eer-in
nomadise
nomadize
nom'ad-ize
nominalise
nominalize
nom'i-nal-ize
normalise
normalize
nor'mal-ize
novelise
novelize
nov'el-ize
nozzle
nozzle
noz'le
nuncheon
nuncheon
nun'cheon
obUgato
obbligato
ob-bh-ga'to
396
Comparative list of variable spellings
Centiwy
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
397
398
Comparative list of variable spellings
Century
Comparative list of variable spellings Storinonth
399
400
Comparative list of variable spellings
Century
Comparative list of variable spellings Storrncmth
401
402
Compmative list of variable spellings
Century
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
403
404
Comparative list of variable spellings
Century
Standard
Webster
Worcester
pommeled
pommeled
pommeled
pommelled
popularize
popularize
popularize
popularize
porcelainized
porcelainized
porcelainized
porcelainized
porcelanite
porcelanite
porcelanite
porcelainite
porphyrize
porphyrize
porphjTrize
porphyrize
postiler
postUer
postiler
postiUer
practise, v.
practise, n. and ». practice, n. audi), practise, v.
pr8em.unire
prsemunire
praemunire
praemunire
pram
praam
praam
pram
pratique
pratique
pratique
pratic
precipe
precipe
precipe
prfficipe
preeminence preemption preengage preestabUsh
preeminence preemption preengage
preeminence
preeminence preemption preengage
preestablisli
preemption preengage preestabUsh
preexist
preexist
preexist
preexist
preestabUsh
premise, n.
premise
premise
premise
pretense
pretense
pretense
pretence
preterit
preterit
preterit
preterite
pretor
pretor
pretor
pretor
primogenial
primigenial
primigenial
primogenial
prodigalize
prodigalize
prodigalize
prodigalize
program
program
programme
programme
proletariate
proletariat
proletariat
proletariat
prologuizer
prologizer
prologizer
prologizer
pronimciamiento pronunciamento
pronunciamento pronunciamento
propretor
propretor
propretor
proselytize
proselytize
proseh-tize
proselytize
prosopopeia
prosopopeia
prosopopceia
prosopopceia
prothalamium prothalamion
prothalamion
proprffitor
protoxid
protoxid
protoxide
prothalamion protoxide
proverbialize
proverbialize
proverbialize
proverbialize
Comparative list of variable spellings
405
Stormonth
Imperial
pommelled
pommelled
pom'mel-ed
popularise
popularize
pop'u-lar-ize
porcelainised
porcelainized
porce'laiQ-ized
porceUanite
porceUanite
por'ce-lan-ite
porphyrise
porphyrize
por'phy-rize
postiUer
pos'tU-er
practise, v.
practise, v.
prac'tise
premunire
prsemunire
prse-mu-ni're
praam
pram
Oxford
pratique
pratique
prat'ique
prsecipe
prsecipe
pre'ci-pe
pre-eminence
pre-em'i-nence
pre-emption
pre-eminence pre-emption
pre-engage
pre-engage
pre-en-gage'
pre-establish
pre-establish
pre-es-tab'hsh
pre-exist
pre-exist
pre-ex-ist'
premiss
premise
prem'ise
pretence
pretence
pre-tense'
preterite
preterit
pret'er-it
prsetor
prsetor
pre'tor
primogenial
primigenial
pri-nii-ge'ni-al
prodigalise
prodigalize
prod'i-gal-ize
programme
programme
pro'gram
proletariat
proletariat
pro-le-ta'ri-ate
prologizer
pro'logu-i-zer
pronunciamiento pronunciamiento
pre-emp'tion
pro-nun-ci-a-mien'to
propretor
proprsetor
pro-pre'tor
proselytise
proselytize
pros'e-ly-tize
prosopopoeia
prosopopeia
pro-so-po-pe'ia
prothalamium prothalamium
pro-tha-la'mi-um
protoxide
protoxide
pro-tox'id
proverbialise
proverbialize
pro-ver'bi-al-ize
26
406
Comparative list ofva/riable spellings
Century
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
407
408
Comparative list of variable spellings
Century
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
409
410
Comparative list of va/riahle spellings
Century
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
411
412
Comparative list of variable spellings
Centu/ry
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
Sanhedrim
Imperial
Oxford
413
Divisions
sangiao
sanhedrim sanjak
Sanskrit
Sanskrit
San'skrit
santaline
santaline
san'ta-lin
santonine
santonin
san'to-nin
sapajou
sapajou
sap'a-jou
sapodilla
sapodilla
sap-o-dil'la
saponine
saponine
sap'o-nin
sarlac
sarlac
sar'lak
sarmentous
sarmentose
sar-men'tose
sarcenet
sarcenet
sarce'net
sassoline
sassolin
sas'so-lin
satirise
satirize
sat'i-rize
savannah
savanna
sa-van'na
saviour
saviour
sa'vior
savour
savour
sa'vor
Sawny
Sawney
Saw'ney
scandalise
scandalize
scan'dal-ize
sceptre
sceptre
scep'ter
sceptred
sceptred
scep'ter-ed
schematise
schematize
sche'ma-tize
schismatise
schismatize
schis'ma-tize
scrutinise
scrutinize
scru'ti-nize
scurrile
scurrile
scur'ril
skurry
scurry
scur'ry
sempstress
seamstress
seam'stress
sectarianise
seotarianize
sec-ta'ri-an-ize
secularise
secularize
sec'u-lar-ize
seizin
seizin
sei'zin
seleniuretted
seleniuretted
se-le'niu-ret-ed
semeiology
semeiology
se-mi-ol'o-gy
Shemitic
Semitic
Se-mit'ic
san'he-drim san'jak
414
Comparative list of variable spellings
Centwry
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
415
416
Comparative list of variable spellings
Centwry
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
Imperial
Oxford
417
Divisions
Sclavonian
Slavonic
Sla-vo'ni-an
sluggardise
sluggardize
slug'gar-dize
smoulder
smoulder
smol'der
sniveller
sniveller
sniv'el-er
soberise
soberize
so'ber-ize
sobol
soboles
sob'o-les
socialise
socialize
so'cial-ize
Socotrine
Socotran, 71. Socotrine, a.
Soc'o-tran
soc
SOC
solarisation
solarization
solecise
solecize
sol'e-cize
solemnise
solemnize
sol'em-nize
solemnising
solemnizmg
sol'em-niz-ing
solUoquise
soKloquize
so-lU'o-qmze
solmisation
solmization
sol-mi-za'tion
sombre sombring
sombre sombring
som'ber
somersault
somersault
som'er-sault
sonnetise
sonnetize
son'net-ize
sorbin
sorbine
sor'bin
sowans
sowens
sow'ens
spagyric
spagyric
spa-gir'ic
spahi
spahee
spa'hee
spaneelled
spaneelled
span'cel-ed
specialisation
specialization
spe-cial-i-za'tion
spectre
spectre
spec'ter
spence
spence
so-lar-i-za'tion
som'ber-ing
sphserulite
spherulite
spher'u-lite
spignel
spignel
spick'nel
spiritualise
spiritualize
spir'i-tu-al-ize
splendour
splendour
splen'dor
splendrous
splen'dor-ous
418
Comparative list of variable spellings
Centwry
Comparative, list of variable spellings Stormcmth
419
420
Comparative list of variable spellings
Century
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
421
422
Comparative list of variable spellings
Centwry
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
423
424
Comparative list of variable spellings
Centwry
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth theosophise
Imperial
theosophize
Oxford
425
Divisions
the-os'o-phize
Thomaism
Thomaism
Tho'mism
thorium threnody
thorium
tho'ri-um
threnode threnody
thren'o-dy
tiffln
tiffin
tiffing
tigerish
tigrish
ti'ger-ish
timbal
tymbal
tim'bal
timbrelled
timbrelled
tim'brel-ed
tinchel
tinchel
tin'chel
tinselled
tinselled
tin'sel-ed
tinselling
tinselling
tin'sel-ing
tid-bit
tidbit
tit'bit
toluene
toluene
tol'u-ene
tam-tam
tam-tam
tom'tom
totaUse
totahze
to'tal-ize
tourmaline
toTirmalin
tour'ma-lin
towelling
towelling
tow'el-ing
trammelled
trammelled
tram'mel-ed
tranquiUise
tranquiUize
tran'quH-ize
trans-ship
tranship
tran-ship'
trass
trass
travelled
travelled
trav'el-ed
traveller
traveller
trav'el-er
travelling
travelling
trav'el-ing
travertine
travertin
trav'er-tin
tribuiiitial
tribunioian
trib-u-ni'cial
tricolour
tricolour
tri'col-or
tridactylous
tridactyle
tri-dac'tyl
trilith
trihth
tri'hth
trioxide
trioxide
tri-ox'id
trevet
trivet
triv'et
tromp
tromp
426
Comparative list of variable spellings
Century
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
427
428
Comparative list of variable spellings
Century
Standard
Webster
Worcester
uranography urenua
uranograpliy
uranography
uranography
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
Imperial
ouranography uranography
Oxford
429
Divisions
uraemia
u ra-nog'ra-phy u re'mi-a
utis
utis
u'tas
utilise
utilize
u'tU-ize
vagabondise
vagabondize
valour
valour
ursemia
vapour
430
Comparative list of variable spellings
Century
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
431
432
Comparative list of variable spellings Welster
Worcester
worshiped
worshipped
worshiper
Standard worshiped worshiper
worshiper
worshipper
Wycliflte
WycMte
Wycliflte
Wiekliffite
xanthin
xanthin
xanthin
xanthine
xanthophyl
xanthophyl
xanthophyll
xanthophyll
xyloidiae
xyloidin
xyloidin
xyloidine
yemut
yer-nut
yernut
yernut
Centwry
worshiped
zafEer
Comparative list of variable spellings Stormonth
Imperial
worshipped worshipper
worshipped worshipper
Wioklifflte
Wicklifflte
xanthine
xanthin
xaathophyU
xanthophyll
xyloidine
xyloidine
yar-nut
yer-nut
zaffre
Oxford
433
B FRENCH DIVISION OF WORDS A. According to G. Daupeley-Gouverneur ("Le Compositeur et le Correeteur Typographes," Paris, 1880), there are two schools, one favoring division according
etymology, the other according to French spelling. (Hence ins- traction, and not in- struetion, since in oral spelling in the schools it is always, for example, m, a, ma, n, u, s, nus, manus, to
The latter to be preferred.
crit, manuscrit.) B. No mute syllable to be carried over, even of four (Not letters, unless under stress of narrow measure. pubh- ques, but pu- bliques.) O. No two-letter syllable to be carried over even if not mute (par- mi, rele- ve, confon- du), nor the pronominal c, r, i, t,
article attached to the verb as its object (prenez- la), nor
the demonstrative adverb attached to pronouns (ceux- ci).
D. No two-letter ending of the line if the letters are fl- hgrane), under any circumstances the measure may excuse two thick letters (enfantine, pa- vUlon). B. No one-letter ending ever admissible (i- mage, a- venir, e- mission), nor in combination with an elithin (il- lettr6, 11- mace, ;
sion (I'e- legance, I'a- v6nement, d'a- vance, d'e- pargne,
qu'a- vant). F. No division between two vowels (lou- ange, th^Mre, situ- ation) [M. Claye, head of the house for which our author was former proof-reader, thinks this an unreasonable prejudice], except in case of compounds (extraordinaire, arohi- episcopal, anti- orleaniste ; preferable to
extraor- dinaire, etc.).
G. Divide compounds, already hyphened, on the hyphen by preference (morte- saison, contre- expertise, plusvalue), and compounds eUded with apostrophe after the
French divisions
435
apostrophe (grand'- m^re, k grand'- peine), but not omitting the hyphen, as is sometimes done [see Marie BashIdrtseff's Journal, Paris, 1888, grand' maman]. H. Divide after a mute syllable in the middle of a word rather than before (courte- pointe, not cour- tepointe, ev6ne- ment, not ev6- nement). I. Carry over euphonic t between hyphens (ira- t-U, |
presente- t-on). J.
Never divide on x or y (= es and ii)
;
neither Alex-
andre nor Ale- xandre, fix- er nor fl- xer, roy- aliste nor ro- yaliste.
K. Never carry over etc. L. No more than three successive Unes ending with a hyphen are tolerable. An obsolete rule forbade the first line
of a work ending in a hyphen.
W. P. G's observations based on Rambaud (B) Hist, de la Civilisation Contemp. en Prance, Paris, 1888. Llhomme (L) Les Pemmes ficrivains, Paris, c. 1892. Daudet (D) Tartartn sur les Alpes, Paris, 1886. Bashkirtseff (B) Journal, Paris, 1888. Bacourt (Bt) Souvenirs d'un Diplomat, Paris, 1882. Flaubert (P) : Correspondance, iii° s^rie, Paris, 1891. Taine (T): Origines de la France Contemp., Paris, 1887. (DG) refers to Daupeley-Gouverneur, as above. :
:
:
:
:
1
In general, with compounds of ab-
(abs-) ciroon-
com- con- des- ex- in- ob- per- pro- sub- super- trans-, divide on the preposition. But when s impur (s followed by a consonant) succeeds, generally divide on that, especially in the case of in- (compare DG [A]).
B (both usages) circon- stance circons- tance
recon- stitua cons- tituer
in- struction ins- truction
cons- truire
pros- cription supers- titieuses
L (both usages) circon- stance circons- tance
French divisions
436 B (both usages)
oireon- stance cons- cience
obs- tacles [obs- cures in Booses :
circon- stance
Mus^
Plantm-Moretus, 188-]
Bt (single usage) \
in- stitution
con- struction [ con- stitution )
F (both usages) cons- tanunent
in- scription ins- pire nonobs- tant
T (both usages) con- struit cons- truire
in- stant
ins- tants
subsubsabper-
stance tituer stralte
i
spectire J
2 Divide on vowel or diphthong before a single eonsonant, or before the digraphs bl cl fl gl pi; br cr dr gr
pr ti- vr; ch dh gh ph th; gn.
R
)
:
French divisions
437
3 Divide between two consonants (not constituting one of the above digraphs), including liquid II; or between a consonant and a digraph (or trigraph).— No exception in the case of a monosyllable ending in mute e (contrary to DG B). No consideration paid to effect on nasaliza-
—
tion (to the eye). Sepplflbis-
tembre cite
caout- choue Philadel- phie
expres- sement ecclesias-
sim- plement
ques
[DG 6]
An- gleterre 1
res- peote
bon- heur
thrope
pam- phlet
mem- bres) [DG B] \ sous- crire
juil- let
Nan- tes
-v
Char- les ( mar- che 1
[DG B] ) hom- mei ne\
[DG ten- drement sous- traire
En- ghien
B
im- mense
Bt
im-*ni6diat
[bles- sings
des- cription
manus- elites
P
BJ 0} horos- cope [st^rfo- scope E]
Pran-
cldin"!
Dic- kens J par-des- susl
[DG des- cendent
bud- dhiste J i Stand- hal
famil- les
[DG B] comp- tes2 [DG B] 1 Middle syllable's pronunciation left ambiguous. 2
p treated as non-existent.
4 Other three- and four-consonant combinations to be divided according to compound, or root and ending
R L D B
lors-
que
aujour- d'hui long- temps Jung- frau
func- tion gentils-
Augs- burg
hommes Vitz-
nau
Oelst- nitz
Bt
comp- tant (perhaps under Rule 3 if p is treated as non-
F
grand'- chose
existent).
W. P. G. January, 1896. 28
—
c ITALIAN DIVISION OF WORDS W. p. G's observations based on Barbara (B)
:
Memorie d'un
Editors, Florence, 1883. Carduoci (C) Rime di F. Petrarca, Lerfiom, 1876. CSbrario (Ci) Econ. Polit. del Medio Evo, vol. i., Turin, 1861. Mario (M) : Scritti, vol. i., Bologna, 1884. Stecchetti (S) : Postuma Nova, Polemica, Bologna, 1884, 1885. Ricci (R) : First Italian Reading-Book, New York (London :
:
make?), 1888.
Giannone (6) Opere Postume, vol. i., Italy (no place, probably under the ban political and ecclesiastical), 1821. In comparison with Gesualdo (Ge), II Petrarcha, Venice, 1553. Machiavelli (Ma), Discorsi, Venice, 1554. Boccaccio (Bo), Decamerone, Florence, 1573. :
[See the corresponding paragraphs in French Division.]
C.
Two letters may be carried over even m a two-
syllable word, as, uo- mo, and C has not only co-
me but
(in narrow measure) co- m'.
D. The line may end with two letters, even if thin, as, 11-
bera, fl- gliuolL
E. The best practice is now doubtless adverse to absolute one-letter endings, which were used ad libitum, in Latin books and in the early Italian texts, and are not infrequent in C (o- mai, a- vesse, 'n- chiostro, [e- nim]), and of constant occurrence in Ci (e- sempi, u- dienze). This has commonly no regard to the exigencies of spacing. There seems to be no rule against one-letter endings in combination with an elision, as, C (I'o- ziose), Ci (d'ltalia),
M
(I'a-
more), G (I'o- pinione).
The oldest works
cited are full of instances of both these usages.
F. Division may take place between two vowels, as,
C (pa- iono). G. Compounds are generally disregarded in favor of the rule to divide on the vowel where possible. But the usagejs mixed here as in the Latin. Thus, B (di- seusdi- screta; but also tra- scorsi, tras-
sioni, di- sposti,
138
:
439
Italian divisions eura, tras- porto);
C (di- susata, [qui- squis,] tra- sport6,
tra- slazione) ; Ci (tra- scrivere and tras- curata, dis- onorati, in- stituti);
M (di- sposti, di- sgrazia, tra- sformate).
—The usage with tra- tras- varies also in the elder texts Bo (tra- sportarsi), Ge (tra- sfigurato, tras- flgur6).— In dissyllabic prefixes, care is not always taken to make the division after the preposition, even when there is room, S (so- praindicate, for sopra- iudicate). The Latin division was uniformly on the vowel preceding x, and is correctly followed in C ([respeas,
J.
M
([ma- xima]). It is regularly observed in Spanish and in Portuguese, where the sound of this consonant has become aspirated. The Itahan alphabet has no x. L. Four successive hyphens occur in B, five in C, six in Ci, five in M, four and five on one page La S (P. N.), four in G, sis in Bo and Ge. M. In such locutions as neU' arte, mezz' ore, queU' xisset]),
Arcadia, 1' altr' ieri, fors' anco, the well-settled practice is to carry over the ehded syllable— nel- I'arte, Pal- tr'ieri,
But G varies between quel- I'istesso and
for- s'anco.
queU'a- zione, aU'o- recchio, as does the older Ge between del- I'appetito and dell'- arco.
The latter is also free to
end the hne with an eUsion (ch'
|
giovani, tra'
lenti, e' |
I
strano, se'
|
|
I'abate, pe'
egh), as in Bo (co'
quaU, se'. |
|
),
|
va-
and even R (po'
suo').
1 Divide on vowel or diphthong before a single consonant, or before any consonantal combination capable of beginning an Italian word, iacluding sb, sd, and sf, or
before vr. (The division, in Latia words, before ct goes back to the days when these letters were cast on a single type-body. Compare no- cte in p. 1 of Fust and Schoffer's Psalter of 1457.
this division:
e. g.,
The modern Portuguese retains
produ-ctoras.)
440 B
Italian divisions
Italian divisions Gi
441
D GERMAN DIVISION OF WORDS W.
p. G's observations based on Lankenaa and Oelsnitz (L): Das Heutige Bussland, Leipzig, 1881. Baumbach (B) Sommermarchen, Leipzig, 1885 (Roman letter). Kapp (K) Geschichte des Deutschen Buchhandels, Leipzig, 1886, and Justus Erich BoUmann, Berlin, 1880. :
:
Sicherer (S) : Die Genossenschaf tsgesetzgebung in Deutschland, Erlangen, 1872.
Heppe (H) Geschichte des Deutschen Volksschulwesens, Gotha, :
1858, vol. i.
Goethe (G)
:
Werke, Weimar,
1887, vol.
i,
part 3, and Paris,
1836, vol. iii.
Die Nigritier, Berlin, 1876 (Roman letter). Meyer's Konversations-Lexikon (M), vol. xi, Leipzig, 1888.
Hartmann (Ha)
:
[See the corresponding paragraphs in French Division.]
Two letters may be carried over even in a two-
C.
syllable word, as, die- se, Bluntsch- li.
D. The line may end with two letters, as,
ei- nem,
ih- nen (and numerous prefixes).
E. Single-letter endiags are avoided, if not forbidden. P. Division may take place between vowels, as, theoretisch, and in obedience to the rules for compounds and prefixes, as. Bade- ort. Ban- aufseher, Be- antwor- tung. G. With compounds, division is preferably by component parts, as, Mittel- alter; but Mit- telalter or Mittelal- ter is permissible, while Mitte- lalter is not.
J. It is proper to divide on a vowel before x, as, Ale-
xander. in
L. Four successive hjrphens occur in L, K, Ha; five six in H and seven ia S.
M
;
;
1 Divide compounds by component parts preferably; subdivision, if necessary, should be independent for each
part (see [G] above), without regard to Eule 4. (The exception Din- stag below is to be accounted for by the early practice of casting long s and t on one type-body.
U2
;
German divisions
443
See its operation in Rule 4.) The same treatment is applicable to compounds of classic origin.
Bade- ort Hoch- ebene Auer- ochs Konig- reich wonach ein- ander Spra- chengewirr (L) Berges- abhang ;
Schlag- entzwei Schweins- leder MiiUers- tochter Jahrestag (B) ; VoU- endung Schreib art Eng- land Manuskript Mono- graphien Aristo- kratie (K) ; Gut- achten Bekanntma- chung (S); Sonn- abend Fried- rich viereckig Heb- amme [Din- stag] (H) ; Lohnbe- dienten Felslagen (G); Bau- aufseher Physio- gnomien Properispomenon (Ha) Diet- rich Re- prasentanten atmospharisch kontra- stierendes Pro- gnathic epi- scopales Mon- archie Tri- klinium Mikro- scop Manganhydroxyd Beet- hoven (M). ;
2 Divide on prefixes^ except in the infrequent case of emp-, where the tendency if not the rule is to join p and f, as, Em- pfindung. (In the case of trans- the s is given to the main word if elision has occurred in consequence The prefix may be subof that word beginning with s.) divided, as Un- ternehmen. Ver- ehrung Umher- irrens er- blicken Be- antwortnng Ge- prage un- interessant (L); auf- horen her- unter gegen- iiber Ein- gang pro- phetischen (B) Mit- arbeiter dar- Tiber beob- achteten Re- skripte Kon- skription inter- essant [in- teresse] Trans- port [tran- scripta] (K) Ex- kursion Em-pfahl inte- ressant (irregular) (G); Verunzierungen (Ha). ;
3 Divide on suffixes beginning with a consonant, as, -bar, -chen, -faoh, -haft, -heit, -keit, -lich, -los, -schaft, -zig.
(In accordance with Rule
4 or 5, but contrary
to the English practice, a consonant is regularly carried over for suffixes beginning with a vowel, as, -end, -ig, -isch, -ung, as well as
endings of inflection, declension,
comparison, or agency.)
;;
German divisions
444
Stadt- chen ekel- haft Vergangen- heit mog- lich weibLeiden- schaft (L) ; wunder- bare Selig- keit (B)
lich
viel- fach zweck- los (K); [Lebhaf- tigkeit] (G); vortreff-
lich (Ha).
4 (Rules 1-3 satisfied), divide on a vowel or diphthong followed by a single consonant, including h and x or before
bl, gl, kl: br, dr, fr, gr, kr, skr, str, tr,
thr:
sch: tsch: single type ck, st, sz (in Roman Usage fluctuates with pf, letter := ss, divided s- s), tz. ch, ph, th:
as, Ku- pfer
Schop- fung dum- pfig; with
dr, as, nie-
drig nied- rig; with fr, as, schief- rigen; with kl, as, dunk- ler, and st, as, lus- tig. (Here the suffix seems to Finally, we meet with claim the single consonant) Deut- schen instead of Deu- tschen. Wie-der Belusti- gung heUi- gen Ei- lande grii- nen
Roma- nen verbunde- nen Eu- ropa Wande- rung gewesen bedeu- tend Ale- xander De- klamation Pe- bruar Pa- triarchen Ko- stroma ma- chen Ste- phan ro- then zwi-schen Berdi- tschew Fe- stung Preu- szen drau- szen schrei- ben Brie- fen (L); zei- gend dei- nigen (B); geisti- gen sei- ner spa- nische ohangie- ren Patrio- tismus [qua- dringentesimo] Ma- trizen unparteyi- schen Existenz Maje- stat friihe- sten Mini- sterium (K) ; ei- gene ei-
nem ih- nen kontra- hiren koo- perative steh- ende
(irregular) pu- blizirt nie- driger Indu- strie au- szerdem
Gese- tzes (S); mo- gen Ta- ges vorlaufi- gen ge- hen Bib- liotheken (irregular) mil- szen (H) ; na- her ru- hig beste- hen rii- cken gro- szen (G) ; Entste- hung Zuziehungen blii- henden frii- hesten wei- ter beglei- tetes Nigritier Katastro- phen geogra- phischer
wUde- sten in-
du- striosen Zoroa- strichen (Ha) Me- xiko eu- ropaischer Samo- jeden Bi- bhothek Ma- drid Kathe- drale Ro- driguez End- granten Je- frem Mi- kroscope Bea- trix Deme- trius Di- strikt Lo- thringen Mi- thridatisch Kupfer Pondi- tscherri Kau- tschuk Pe- tschenegen (M). ;
;
German divisions
i-iS
5 Divide between double consonants; between two consonants other than the digraphs and trigraphs enumerated in Rule 4; or between a consonant or consonantal combination and any combination capable of beginning a German word. But note the exceptions indicated under Eule 4.
Quel- len
bren- nen
fes- selnd
Wet- ters
dunk- ler
(irregular) nied- rig (irregular) unschul- dig gegen- den
Verbin- dung Drohun- gen mil- den Sep- tember behaupten charak- terisirt Bos- porus Lamais- mus mitt- lerer wel- chem son- stige Kon- trast herr- schende Deutschen (irregular?) Pet- sohora (irregular) Kap- tschak (L) weis- sen (Roman letter) Gries- gram schwankender erwach- senen leuch- teten Adel- held dampfenden Mat- schenden (irregular?) lus- tige (irregular?) (B) Renais- sance Ok- tober Korrek- toren Dis- putiren Dis- zipUn des- peratem (in disregard of classic prefix) Eras- mus Fis- kal Nachfol- gerin Vol- kern Sach- sens Exem- plar Pamph- leten Fiir- sten Lempertz- schen (K) Genos- senschaft verflos- senen zen- tral Bluntsch- li (S); al- len widersin- nig brin- gen sin- gen Schop- fung letzterer sach- sisch Drechs- ler (H) nach- stens Em- pfindimgen kam- pfen Tisoh- ohen Men- sohen (G) miis- sen wis- sen beis- senden (all Roman letter) Auffas- sung dum- pfig schief- rigen (irregular?) Por- trait Alexandrien hoch- stens Flach- ses deh- nenden Vereh- rung Es- karpe Semitis- mus Skulp- turen agyp- tisch (Ha) Is- pahan Geg- ner Ma- gnesia (irregular, as if following the Greek division) Kep- ler Ian- gern Lan- gres Zwin- ger Mus- kat Dam- pfer Tiibin- gen Weresch;
;
;
;
;
tschagin (M).
W. P. G. August, 1898.
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
E SPANISH DIVISION OF WORDS A single consonant between vowels begins a syllable me-sa, table.
la-bor, needle-worJc.
The letters ch, rr, 11, and n, are considered as simple consonants, and follow the same rule mu-cha-eho, boy.
ni-fio, child.
pan-ta-lla, lamp-shade.
tie-rra, land.
Two separable consonants standing between vowels are divided gus-to, pleasure.
puer-ta, door.
Exception.— The letters b, c, ch, d, f, g, j, p, q, t, V, z, followed by 1 or r, cannot be separated, unless they unite compound words ta-bla, hoard. pa-la-bra, word. po-dr4, he will be able. si-glo, century. sub-lu-nar, sub-lunar.
Three or four consonants, of which s is the second, divide after the s cons-tau-te, constant.
trans-eri-bir, to copy.
Otherwise compound words are to be resolved into their elements eor-ta-plu-mas, penknife. pre-'po-si-aion, preposition,
ea-ri-lar-go, long-faced, ad-je-ti-vo, adjective.
True diphthongs and triphthongs are indivisible bue-no, good.
vie-ne, he comes. pre-eiais, ye prise.
va-cieis, ye may empty.
but le-er, to read.
lo-or, praise. a-ta-ud, coffin.
gan-zu-a, false hey.
Copied, by permission, from Knapp's Grammar of the Modern Second edition, 12mo, pp. 18, 19. Boston,
Spanish Language.
Ginn & Co., 1900.
146
INDEX
;
;;
INDEX A. See Article Abbreviations, early,
in 34, 35; sixteenth,-century books for unschooled readers, 35 in eigh.teenth-century descriptive writing, 35; use of small type for, 35, 36; in account-books and epistolary writing, 3&r tolerated in some books after 1800, 36, 37 in technical and scientific works, in foot-notes and narrow 37 columns, 37 (note) proper and improper use of, 37, 38 pennissible, 38 et seq. use of small capitals and of lower-case for, 39, 41; of companies and titles, 43-45, 60 supposed faults in, 43, 44; in capitals when appended to names in text, 44 confusing, 45 (see also note) conjoined with signs, 45; some not found in any dictionary, 48 manuscript book or list of, 48, 60 Latin, 49 {see of dialect, slang, and also note) colIoc[uialisms, 50 troublesome, 51 ; indefensible, 52 (see also note) for states and territories. 53, 54; of sizes of books, 54: for use of, in citations, 55 et seq. ;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
catalogues and advertisements, 76, 77; in legal documents, 77 (see also note) dislike of, in text, 144; early use of period with, 262 {note2), 290; undesired, 340 ;
-able, words ending in, 9, 16 (see also note), 17
Accents, use of, 9, 14 names with on retention and many, 10 omission of, 101, 102; accurate placing of, 316 Account-books, abbreviations in, ;
;
Adjectives, treatise on, in -able, 16 (note); in -ant, -ent, 23, 24; compound, 66 et seq. capitalizing of certain, 122 in book titles, 127 division of, 135; use of comma with, 253-255 Adverbs, words consolidated as, ending in -ly, 72 use of 70 comma with, 253, 255, 258, 259, 262 (note 1) ;
;
;
;
Advertisements, use of figures and abbreviations in, 76, 77; capital letters used by writers of, 124, 125 hackneyed methods of, 127 style of short, 147 squeezed theatrical, 182 hanging indention in, 189; typographic mannerisms of, 231 study of punctuation of, 260; composition of, 315 Advertisers, old fashion of over;
;
;
;
wide spacing favored by modem, 140 Alford, Dean, 261 (see also note) Algebra, abbreviations in treatises on, 37 use of letters as symbols in, 42 (note 1) Almanacs, abbreviations in, 37 Amateurs, in printing, 143 imitation by, 183 (note); proof -reading, 318, 319, 320 (see also note), 321 America, use of ampersand in titlepages rare in, 43 vowel system of divisions has many adherents in, 129; use of motto indention in, 192 single quotation-marks dash a useful mark of in, 218 ;
m
;
;
;
;
gunctuation in, 270.
See United
tates
American Association for the Advancement of Science, new spellings recommended by, 18 (note)
;
;;;
Index
450
Americau Philological Association, amended spellings of, 31 (noU) Ampersand, nses of, 42 (see also
lifter faces
235;
for side-headings, cut-in notes, 180
;
consultation
decision of, final in piintinghonse, 7, 331 difficulty of access to dictionaries preferred by, 7, 8 alterations made by, in proof delay work and increase expense, 8; laws to themselves in use obscure of certain niceties, 9 writing of. 9; should write distinctly and note on copy authority to be followed, 9 importance of preparation of code by, 10, 328; of works on medicine or therapeutics, 18; should spell ;
97, 230, 231, of, preferred 156, 240; for
261 {note)
Apocrypha, abbreviations for the Dooks of, 55 Apostrophe, use of, for abbreviations, 35, 36, 60, 283, 288 in dialect, slang, and colloquialisms, ;
in compounds of possessive case, 69, 70; employed for ;
quotation-marks, 209, 210, 218, 220, 283 of later date than other points, 262 {note 2); various uses in possessive case, 284, of, 283 288 indicates omission of letters in dialect, familiar dialo^e, and poetry, 285, 288 use of thin s^ace before, 285, 307 with abbreviated dates, 285 used to indicate plural of letters and fgures, 285, 286; lavishly used by poets of bygone period, 286 last syllable of past participles shortened by, 286; use of period with, in abbreviations in the possessive, 291, 292 in reproductions of colloquial language, 307 Appendix, selection of type for, 157 extracts, letters, and docu;
;
;
;
:
;
;
;
ments in, 162 Arithmetics, abbre^^ations in, 37 Art, little-used terms in, 338 Article, use of indefinite, 13 (see also note 2), 114; definite, in titles of newspapers, periodicals, and books, 112, 114 Aspects, astronomical, 47 Aspirate, use of a before word be-
ginning with strong, 13 (see also note 2)
Astronomr, use of letters as symbols in, 42 (note 1), 90 {note) Auctioneers, abbreviations in catalogues of. 48 Authorities, disadvantage of absence of, 8 avoidance of expression of preference for, 8 {note)_i ;
conflict of, 9, 330;
differ as to italic and capi107; use of dash before
Authors, different methods of, 7;
A Plea for the Queen's English,
50, 51
;
names of, 272, 273 of, 306, 316
note 2), 43 See Article Anatomy of the Mass, 347 -ant, words ending in, 9
An.
Antique, light-faced,
275
tals,
full
names
should be given in list of, 41; cited in foot-notes, 55 et seq. 105, ,
;
;
;
proper names
uniformly, 25; English, of authority, 29 {note)
;
proper use of abbreviations by, extracts from, in foreign language, 38; permission of, to be secured in certain cases, 50, 51; quotations from obsolete, cited in foot-notes, 55, 56 51 seldom compound words uniformly, 61 rulings of, in compound words, 61, 62 free use of italic by, in eighteenth century, 94, 95; style of, vulgarized by excessive nse of capitals, 125 dictionary divisions sometimes rejected by, 130; proof-readers sometimes overmled by, 132, 141; assistance of, in preventing bad divisions, 138, 139 small capitals for signatures of, 150 on selection of types, 160, 161 irregular indention sometimes insisted on by, 196, 197 final revised proof of, 201 terse phrases in famous, 210, 211 double emphasizing by, 222; punctuation bv, 241-243; often differ with editors in refard to nse of comma, 259 rackets used to inclose explanations or comments by, 277 standard editions of good, helpful in learning punctuation, 293; systematic, 299 two proofs usually sent to, 301, 302; should make all corrections on first proof, 302; additional proofs to, 302: finsd proof of, 303 fastidious, 305; suggestions to, 306, 320, 3^ use of split infinitive by, 307; services of proof-readers acknowledged by, 321 (see also noU); right of, 327, 328; uni38;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;;
;;
;
Index formity should begin with, 330; punctuation by, 339, 340 proofreading by, 342, 343 corrections :
;
in lead-pencil by, 357
;
sometimes
overlook changes from singular to plural, 357, 358. See Editors and Writers Bancroft, George, 335 {note) Barker, Robert, 348 Bartolus de Saxoferrato, 99 {note 1)
;
titles in, 44, 45 exact rendering of titles of old, 49 reprints of old, 51 abbreviations of sizes of, ;
;
Beadnell, Henry, 143 Bellarmine, Cardinal, 347 Besant, Sir Walter, 321 {note) Bible, pocket, 42; figures specifying verses in, 52 {note), 59 abbreviations for books of, 54, 55 frequently cited, 56-58 paragraphing of, 93 particular use of capitals and small capitals in, 109, 110 (see also note 1), 155 use of lower-case letters for pronouns specifying Deity in, 110; nicknames in, 119 indirect references to, 123 divisions in narrow measure of pocket editions terse phrases in, of. 131, 133; ;
;
;
;
;
;
;
educational, 14; medieval, full of clipped words, hard to read, 33 (see also note) of the fifteenth century, 34, 35; in roman type printed in sixteenth century, 35 abbreviations in, 36, 37 (see also note), 38 et seq.; marks of reference in, 42 (see also note 1); use of ampersand in, 42 (see also note 8), 43; abbreviations of honorary ;
Baskerville, John, 143 {note), 268
210
451
quotation-marks not used
213, 214; title of, not italicized nor quoted, 225 the coniina in quotations from, 256, 257 excellent text-book for study of close pointing, 259; use of dash in references to passages in, 273 verification of quotations from, errors in early editions 300, 306 of, 348, 349, 350; unauthorized printing of, forbidden by Parliament, 349 Bibhographers, use of italic by, style of 99, 102, 103, 225, 226; foot-notes preferred by, 103 Bibliography, use of italic in works on, 102, 103 in,
;
;
;
Bigelow, Marshall T., 64, 143, 219, 228 Black-letter, extracts in, 158 {note) facsimiles in, 175; spacing of, 206 Blackstone, Sir "WiUiam, 56, 57, 259 ;
Board on Geographic Names, lists prepared by, 25 (see also note)
Book of Common Prayer, important divisions of, 123 Book-printers, of France, 231, 232 Books, typographical inconsistencies of, 7; accents reserved for
54; of the Bible, 54, 55
cited in foot-notes, 56 et seq., 176, 275 use of words for numbers in text of, roman numerals 76, 77, 79, 80; in, 87 et seq.; hanging indention preferred for catalogues of, 92 {note); uses of italic in, 94, 97, 99, 102-105; titles of cited, 103; use of capitals in titles of, 111113 capitals shotild not be used lavishly in serious or standard, 125; rules governing capitalization of titles of, 127 recent English and French, 127 divisions prevent unequal spacing in, 130 old fashion of over -wide spacing not tolerated in, 140 written for convenience of readers, 141, 142, 233; use of catchword in, 142, 143; running titles of, 151, 152; overspaced letters a blemish in, 152; method of composingletter headings in, 153, 154 side-headings in educational, 155, 156; small capitals and italic of value when used with discretion in, 156; size of ;
;
;
;
;
;
;
page and type of, determined by publisher, 157 lack of uniformity in minor details damaging to appearance of, 158 plain roman ;
;
lower-case characters in, 166 excessively annotated, 171 (note), 174 {7iote) cut-in notes in standard, 180 of solid composition, 182 composition of text of, 183, 184 half -diamond indention used in title-pages of, 189, 190 use of italic and of quotation-marks for ;
;
;
;
;
226 (see also note) types for side-headings in, 240 of authority on punctuation, 241 division of, into chapters, para^ graphs, and sentences, 246, 247 study of punctuation of good. 260 use of dash in references to passages in, 273 of reference or authority, 294, 295, 305; prooftitles
of, 225,
;
;
;
452
Index
reading of, 296 et seq.; typographic uncouthnessin,331; composition of ordinary, 336, 337 (see also note) errors in early, 346 et seq.; composition of, unremunerative, 354, 355; pieces of metal in page of ordinary, 356. See Editions Booksellers, abbreviations in catalogues of, 48 Book-work, treatment of names in, 155; uneven spacing not allowed in good, 201 Border, small capitals for inscriptions inclosed m, ]55 Botany, abbreviations in works on, 37, 45; use of capitals and italic for names in, 106, 107 au;
;
thoritative treatises on, 125 Braces, not regarded as marks of pnnctnation, 287 formerly nsed to inclose triple lines of rime, 287; in law- work, tables, and job-work, 287 Brackets, use of, for interpolations in text, 237, 239, 277, 288; in legal and ecclesiastical papers, 278; before tumed-over words in poetry, 278; used to prevent bewil;
derment by parentheses within parentheses, 278 general rnle for use of parentheses and, 279; used to inclose reprints of passages considered spurious in early manuscripts, 279 meaning of exclamation and interrogation when inclosed in, 281 Bricks, clipped words pressed on, 33 Browning, Robert, 246, 321 {note) Byron, (xeorge Noel Gordon, 335 ;
;
(note)
poetry,
108,
nouns,
109 ;
109 for
;
for proper Deity, syno109, 110;
nyms, and pronotms,
for week-days, festivals, and historic days, 111 for books, period;
icals, plays, and pictures, 111,112; in long or complex titles, 112; for titles and dedications, 112,
113
;
should never be compacted
in composition, 113 for names of corporations, 113, 114 for titles of honor or distinction, 114-118; in compound titles, 116, 117 for prefixes and nicknames, 118 (see also note), 119 for geographical names and qufljifiers, 119-122 inconsistencies in use of, 120; in catalogues, 120, 125, 126 French method, of using, 120, 127; for ;
;
;
;
;
;
historic, religious, political, and poetical names, 122, 123 ; for ab-
stract qualities personified, 123, 124; in quotations, 124; as a consistency in use of, 125, 126 ; in
means of display, 124-126;
serious or standard books, 125; en dash for compound words in line of, 126; in summaries and legends, 126, 127; monotony of text coioposed of lai^, 146; at beginning of chapters, 147; used with small capitals, 148, 150, of monotone or light151, 166 ;
faced antique for running titles, 151 used with small capitals for side-headings, subheadings, and letter headings, 152, 153, 164 et se^., 240; lozenge indention unwisely attempted with, 192 squared paragraph of, 194 composition and spacing of, 203, 204; for subheadings, 230 for legend lines, 235 systematic use of, 335. See Small capitals ;
;
;
Caesar, Julius, 227 Cantos, numerals of roman small capitals for, 90 Capelli, Adriano, 49 (Twte) Capitals, marking of, in copy, 38; misuse of, 38, 51; abbreviations in, 44 arable figures on en body bad mates for, 87, 89 roman numerals of, for chapter headings, 90, 9] for titles of magnates, centuries, and dynasties, 91, 92; roman numerals of, in foot-notes and indexes, 93 small capitals should be proper intermediate between lower-ease and, 93 for Latinized scientific names, 106, 107 how indicated in manuscript, 108 beginning lines of ;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
Carlyle, Thomas, 259
Cataloguer, amusing error
of,
45
{note)
Catalogues, abbreviations in, 48, use of figiires and words 76, 77 in, 80 hanging indention preferred for, 92 {note) of auction;
;
;
merchants, and manufacturers, 120 free use of capitals eers,
;
in, 125: side-headings in,155, 156;
use of commas in, 255; study of punctuation of, 260; dash used as ditto-mark in, 269 Catch-lines, small capitals freely used for, 146 space- wasting, 191; ;
unduly small, 194
;;
Index Catchword, use of, in books, 142, 143
Celebrant, symbol indicating words intoned by, 48 Centre-notes, in pocket editions of Scriptures, 181 Century, changes of word forms in nineteenth, 6; facsimiles from
two books of fifteenth,
35;
34,
abbreviations in sixteenth and in eighteenth, 35; specification of, in roman numerals, 91, 92; italic approved for book texts in sixteenth, 94 Century Dictionary, an authority in United States, 5 spelling of, 8 {note) new spellings of chemical words in, 18 {note) preferred spellings of, 28 {note 2), 29 {note), 31 reformed spelling in, 31 {note) use of space before apostrophe in certain cases in, 50, 51 abbreviations approved by, 57, 58; names and definitions of component parts of sentences as ;
;
;
;
;
acknowledgment y editors of, 321 {note)
fiven by, 247
;
Chap-books, style of, 142 Chapters, roman numerals for headings of, 87 eiseg.; capitals in summaries of, 126, 127; small capitals for first word or words of, 146, beginning with 147 proper names, 147; summaries of, 148, 149; uniformity of headings of, 157 shoulder- notes used alin law-work to define, 181 lowance of blank at top of, 183, 247 half -diamond indention used for endings of, 189, 190 no indention at beginning of, 193 Characters, use of italic for names of, in plays, 104; dull monotony of compact, 148 French method of composing names of, in plays, 152 three distinct series of, 165 plain roman lower-case, 166 inclined, 167; with long ascenders and descenders, 169; irregularities of different, 199, 200, 203, 204; projecting, in electrotype work, 205 eleven, used in punctuation, 288 ;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
Chemistry, abbreviations and symbols in works on, 37, 45-48 use ;
of letters and figures in, 42 {note authoritative treatises on, 1) ;
125 Chevillier, Andr6, 33 {note), 348, 349,
453
use of, in expressing amounts, 84 Circulars.use of figures and spelledout words in, 76, 77, 80 capital letters used by writers of, 124, 125 hanging indention in, 189; study of punctuation of, 260 Citations, in foreign language, 38; abbreviations in, 54 etseq.; use of italic in, 105; notes made up of short, 179 appear to better advantage in foot-notes, 275 placing of, in copy, 341 Clarendon Press, 35, 58, 140 Clarke, Samuel, 35 Classics, spellings chosen by teachers of, 17; famous editions of, 110 ; divisions in narrow measure of pocket editions of, 133 the comma in quotations from, 256, 257 ; punctuation of early and late editions of, 292; knowledge of, in proof-reading, 310, 315 Clause, definition of, by Century Dictionary and by G-oold Brown, 247, 248 {note) examples of, 249 sometimes defined by comma, 253 use of comma with limiting, 256 unwise use of comma with, 262; use of exclamation -point at end of every exclamatory, 281 282 Cobbett, William, 38, 216, 260, 270 (see also note) Cocker, W. J., 225 {note) Code, importance of preparation of, by author, 10, 328 Coins, clipped words stamped on, 33 Collation, method of, 298, 309, 313 Ciphers,
;
J
;
;
;
;
;
,
{note)
29
abbreviations of, ordinary,
Colloq^nialismSj
50; indefensible, 285;
307
Colon, use of, 97, 98; in letter headings, 169 before quotations, 216 with closing marks of quotation, 217; old teaching as to elocutionary value of, 245, 246; defines member of sentence, 250, 252, 253; in complex sentences, 251-253 of later date than other points, 262 {note 2) proper function of, 266, 267, 288; quotations usually preceded by, 267, 268; other uses of, 267, 268, 290; sentence rarely needs more than one, 268 (see also note 1) seldom used with dash, 291 Colonies, English, dictionaries used ;
;
;
;
;
in, 5
350
;
;
«
;;;;
454
;;
Index
Coloplions, abbreviations used for rendering of, 49
Comma, in citations, 59; use of, expressing with figures in amounts, 84 after house numbers, 8t) {note) when used with dash, 205; employed for quotation-marks, 209, 210, 218, 220 use of, before quotations, 216 with closing quotation-marks, 217; old teaching as to elocutionary value of, 245, 246, 260; omission of, in direct sentences, 248. 253; use of, in amplified sentences, 248, 249, 251 phrases defined by, 250, 253, 288; used with particles in stiff punctuation, 250, 251, 253, 256, 288 clauses sometimes separated by, 253, 288; various uses of, 253-262; in ;
;
;
;
obsolete and
modem punctua-
with limiting clauses, 256; needless use of, 257, 258 {note) in inverted and involved construction, 258 (see also note) differences of editors and authors with regard to, 259; as helper in exact expression, 260 wide-spread belief as to frequent use of, 262 (see also note 1); should be used only as aid to early use of, 262 sense, 262 (note 2) no point of intermediate importance between semicolon and, 263, 264 rarely used with dash, 271, 291 improperly used instead of parenthesis, 276 use of, with parenthesis, 291 Commentary on the Four Books of Sentences, 34 Composition, hindrances to acception, 254
:
;
;
;
;
;
;
{Tiote); made difficult by abbreviations, 35 dissimilar
table, 8
;
methods of abbreviation in, 37, 38 arable figures used for whole numbers with vulgar fractions in ordinary, 82, 83 on type-set;
;
note); straggling lines destroy effect of good, 183 ; varied forms open, 185, 239; indenof, 184; tion in displayed, 186, 187 ; made more symmetrical, 187 hanging ;
indention of
illustrations in text
close punctuation in precise, 244 note) of poetry from (see one way to profeatures of correct, 299; different opinions as of ordinary to correct, 330 books, 336, 337 ; unremunerative, revising of linotype, 354, 355; 357. See Type-setting
^o
,
;
mony
of,
ordinary book, notes a hindrance in, 165;
167, 183 : 17:^ (see also note), 174 (see also
;
;
;
Compositors, changes from copy discouraging to, 7 difficulty of, in following different dictionEnglish dictionaries aries, 7, 8 out of reach of American, 8 list of variable spellings compiled for, 8 (jiote); bewildered by obscure writing, 9 need of book of reference by, 9 not expected to edit variable copy, 9, 10, 25 debatable spellings in copy not to be changed by, 10 duty of making plural sometimes put upon, 11; correct spelling of words ending in -ible, -able a puzzle to, 16 should follow copy or manuscript of educated wTiters,17.42 (note 2), ;
;
;
;
;
;
;
43, 44, 50, 60, 97, 222, 241, 292, 327,
by, 31
;
;
manuscript, 292 duce cheap, 295
division of words prohibited in one kind of, 131 eccentric, 131 overrunning to avoid bad divisions increases cost of, 138, 141 solid and compact, 148, 165 et seq. 182, 201 of letter headings. 163 et seq. useless breaks in har;
determined
by openness or closeness of, 236 of pages in two columns, 239;
330,
;
and un-
marks upon symmetrical arrangement of, 224; spacing of
capitals should never be compacted in, 112, 113; of capitals in displayed, 122; u£e
ting machine, 96
leaded
leaded, 188; half -diamond indention in displayed, 190; pleasing variation in, 191; made unsymmetrical by motto indention, 192 ; irregular, 196 ; even spacing of, 198 et seq. ; spacing of hand, 200-202; of capital letters only, 203, 204; spacing of letters alters color of, 206; effect of quote-
33]
;
dictionaries
made in
England not accessible to, 27; reformed spellinginay be queried ;
on the correction of bad
spelling, etc., by, 32; abbrevia-
tions of early copyists not readily followed by, 35; proper use of
abbreviations perplexing to, 37, requested to amend uliterate or careless copy, 44 carelessness of, burlesqued" 52 (note); must determine compound words, 63, 64; remarks on use of figures.
38
;
;
;
;
Index abbreviations, and spelled-out words by, 76, 77 copy set by many, 94 should receive instruc;
;
tions
regarding italic, 96, 102; consistency in use of capitals to
be maintained by, 125
;
unusual
divisions by, 128 dictionary as guide in divisions for, 130 want of system in dividing words confusing to, 132 overrunning by, to avoid bad divisions, 139 books on divisions of advantage to, 143, 144; limited in choice of book types, 154; selection of type for parts of book unwisely left to, 157; divisions of book set by many, 157, 158; type for book should be selected" before copy goes to, 158 on the setting of letter headings by, 163 et seq. imitation by young, 183 (note) frequent use of paragraph indention in display Dy, 191 their method of producing lozenge indention, 191, 192 how motto indention is produced by, 192; even spacing not easily secured by, 198, 199; on time and on piece, 208 use of quotation-marks by, 215, 217, 225, 226 ; when rule " follow copy " may-be put aside by, 238 treatises on punctuation of little help to, 241 on study of punctuation in grammar by, 242 ;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
should not change systematic punctuation, 243 coirection of bad punctuation by, 243, 244, 261, ;
262 {see also note 1) knowledge of grammar valualale as aid to correct punctuation by, 246; general rules for use of, in punctuating, 250, 251 exceptional uses of comma to be followed by, 254, 257; cannot alter construction, 259 most useful rules on punctuation for, 259 other aids to knowledge of punctuation by, 260, 293 general rule for use of parentheses and brackets by, 279 proper use of interrogation sometimes perplexing to, 280; title-pages composed without points by, 290 on reprint and on manuscript, 294 early training of, valuable in proof-reading, 310; Moxon on qualifications of, 326, 339 duty of. as defined by Moxon, 326, 327, 339 should try to make style uniform, 328 not qualified coiTectors. 329 long ;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
455
manuscript set by many, 329, 330; distinctness of manuscript desired by, 335 amusing errors by, 351-354; book-work unremunerative to, 354, 355 irresponsibility of inexpert, 355. See Printers and Type-setters Compounding, divergences in, 6, 7 variations in British and American methods of, 6; efforts of editors and proof-readers for consistency in, 7 author final authority for, in printing-house, 7; theory of, 63 Compounds, value of, 62; writers do not favor increase of, 64; of kindred, 67; personal, 67, 68; civic and m^itary, 68 with self, 68 of -like and mid-, 69 of color, 69 of possessive case, 69, 70 consolidated and hyphened, 70 et sec[, figures and words together m, not sightly, 81 Conjunctions, use of comma with, 258, 259, 262 (note 1) Consolidations, 61 et seq. Consonants, use of a before words beginning with, 13 syllables ending with, 129 words with double, 135; divisions between, 136 Constantine, Robert, 348 Constituents, division of words upon, 129 Contents, tables of, 148, 149; type and indention of summaries of, 187, 188 Continent, the, spelling and pronunciation of classical names on, 17 ;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
Contractions, proper and improper use of, 37 the apostrophe m, 283. See Abbreviations Copperplate-printers, style of, 167 Copy, changes from, hinder quick ;
performance, 7; importance of correct, 8 authority to be followed should be noted on first sheet of, 9, 31, 32 compositors and proof-readers not expected ;
;
to edit variable, 9, 10; imperfect, debatable spell10, 243, 299, 317 ings in, 10 reformed spelling in, 31; on the following of, 32, 241;
;
286, 308, 327, 329, 330, 331; of, 38, 157, 170 (note), 328, 329, 330, 333 et seq.; of educated writers not to be altered without order, 43, 44; illiterate or careless, 44; 243,
remarks on preparation
compositor required to follow,
;;
;
Index
456
words of variable spelling rare in ordinary, 61 fibres in 60;
;
manuscript, 76; how italic is indicated in, 94 negligently and carefully prepared, 107, 327; capitalization of titles in, 115; manuscript, 138; exceptional uses
Cross-rule, use of, between text and foot-notes, 177, 178 Gushing, J. Steams, 340
;
comma in, to be followed,
of
correction of wrongly pointed, 261, 262 (see also note views of Moxon on, 326, 338, 1) 339; in ink, and on one side of numbering of inserted leaf, 333 leaves in, 338 should be paged systematically from beginning to end, 341 placing of foot-notes in, 341 should not be delivered to printer in instalments, 341 type-written, 341, 342; suitable for type-setting macMnes, 344; errors due to following, 351, 352, 354; errors caused by bad, 352254, 257
;
;
;
;
;
;
See Manuscript
354.
Copy-holders, conditions controlon ling performance of, 294 hurried auction- catalogue print;
295; copy should be read aloud by, 298; overruns should be read by, 309; early training ing,
of, valuable in proof-reading, 310 method of reading aloud by, 312-314 clipping Copyists, practice of words began with, 33 many abbreviations made by medieval, 49; mannerisms of medieval, 167 early Norman, 192 Corrections, with lead-pencil on soft paper, 297, 298 in ink, 298 expense needlessly increased by petty, 304 in electrotype plates, 304, 305; unnecessary, 319, 320 (see also note) should not be made without authority, 330, ;
;
;
;
;
;
331
Correctors, on hurried auctioncatalogue printing, 295 compositors not qualified, 329 copy approved by qualified, 330; errors not always detected by scholarly, 350. See Proof-readers Cowper, William, 320 Crapelet, Georges- Adrien, 355 ;
;
Credits,
roman and italic in, 105; in it^c
small capitals for, 150
;
lower-case, 150 Cross, Maltese, 48; Latin, 48; St. Andrew's, 48 Cross-reference, shoulder-notes used for purposes of, 181
Bash, omission of, in letter headings, 169; should be separated
from text letters by thin space, 205 at beginning or end of fines, ;
use of, before quotations, in explanatory descriptions
205;
216
;
under
illustrations,
238,
239;
made to serve as substitute for correct point, 243, 269, 270; elocutionary value of, 246 phrases defined by, 250; of later date than other pomts, 262 {note 2); distinction more clearly made by occasional use of, 264 (see also note) ; various uses of, 269-273, 288 ; call for abolition of, 269, 270 (see also note); grammar written without use of, 270; a useful mark of punctuation, 270 comrarely used with, 271, 291 in legal pleadings, 272; after sideheadings and before names of authorities, 272, 273 ; in references to passages in books, 273 ;
;
ma
;
should have thin space before and after it, 273 used by French ;
printers as partial substitute for quotation-marks, 273 used instead of parenthesis, 274 diffuse style compels use of, 276 too free ;
;
;
use of, 340.
See
Bm cUtsh
Date-lines, capitals and small capitals for, 166; italic not advised for, 167 ; indention of, 196 Dates, on the use of figures and of words for, 81, 82; shoulder-notes used to specify, 181; in parentheses, 276; figures abbreviated with apostrophe for, 285 verification of, 294, 306 Daudet, Alphonse, 222 (see also note), 223 (see also note) Decretals, pagfe of the, 173, 174 ;
(note)
Dedications, use of roman numerals in, 89-91; capitals preferred for, 112, 113; in small capitals, 151 half -diamond indention not ;
favored for, 191 Degrees, use of figures and of words to express, 81 de Grimm, Baron, 348 Derivatives, Latin and Greek, 13
de Worde, WynMn, 262 (note 2) Dialect, abbreviations used in, 50;
;;
;;;
Index should be spelled as written, 51 use of apostrophe in, 28a, 285 Diekens, Charles, 321, 335 (note) Dictionaries, seven large, in dailyuse, 5 disagreement of, in spelling, 5 words of changeable spelling in, relatively few, 5, 6 peculiarities of English and American, ;
;
;
changes in word forms renot originated, by, 6; changes sanctioned by, encourage other and greater liberties, 7 difficulty of following all eompoundings of, 7; scarcity of, in
6;
corded,
;
printing-houses,
7,
8
;
English,
known by name only to many American proof-readers, 8
;
vari-
able spellings compiled from, 8 (note) accents reserved for, 14 ;
many names not found in ordinary, 25; made in England not accessible to American compositors, 27; complete and authoritative English, 28 (note 1) preferred spellings of, 29, 31 abbreviations in, 37, 45 some abbreviations not found in, 48; differ in compound words, 61, 62, 71 figures preferred for numerical statements in, 85 foreign words and phrases adopted in English, 100, 101 use of small or lowercase letters not sanctioned by, 120 as authorities for division of words, 130, 134; side-headings in, ;
;
;
;
;
155, 156, 159: of,
hanging indention
188
457
diamond indention iu, 190 half diamond and lozenge indentions ;
m
unwisely neglected open, 191 white space really needed to relieve
lines
diagonal
194;
of,
arrangement of, 195 spacing of, in title-pages, 201. See Spacing Ditto-mark, need of new, 289 Dividing-rules, use of, between text and foot-notes, 177, 178 Divisions, author final authority for, in printing-house, 7 of words, 128 etseq.; unusual, 128; ;
;
on emphasized syllables, 129, 130 system of no, 130; admitted as unavoidable loy publishers and printers, 131; mnnes of display, 131; want of system In, 132; in
composition of newspapers and job-work, 132; by pronunciation, 132-134; on short syllables, 134; between consonants, 136 on vowels, 137 on prefixes, 137 on terminations, 137, 138; bad spacing made by injudicious, 138; rules of some printing-houses with regard to, 139; formerly prohibited now allowed, 140 of the University Press, 140, 141 composition made expensive by, ;
;
;
;
141
;
on two letters and on one
books letter, 143 (see also note) written on, 143, 144; half -dia;
mond indention a cause of bad, 191;
on syllables, 198, 199; first
function of hyphen to indicate, 286
Dictionary of National Biography, 321 (note)
Documents, formal, 37; inserted in text should be faithfully copied,
Dictionary of the Art of Printing,
43
49 (note) Dieresis, use of, 64, 65, 71 Digests of Justinian, 99 Digraphs, use of, 13 Diphthongs, use of, 13 Directories, use of arable figures in, 86; hanging indention of, 188; studj^ of punctuation of, 260 omission of periods in, 269 Display, use of ampersand in leadcrooked or uning line of, 43 balanced line of, 44, 45; capitals as a means of, 124^126; divisions in lines of, 131; small capitals rated as superior to italic for, 145 relation of small capitals to, 146; useless, 164; tendency to-
out words preferred in legal and
;
;
;
ward curtailment
of,
166,
167;
overbold, 180; damaged by irregularity of blanks, 187; half-
;
reprints of old, 51
;
spelled-
formal, 77 (see also note), 78, 79, 84; words used for dates in, 81 expression of amounts in, 82; capitalization of titles in, 115, 122; method of setting signatures selection of type for, to, 151 use of blank 157, 160, 161, 163 quoline before and after, 183 tation-marks in legal, 212; punctuation of legal and other, 292, 293 Dramatists, early editions of Eng;
;
;
lish, 72
Drew, Benjamin, 138
(note), 218, 337 (see also note), 353
143,
Dutch, prefixes of proper names in, 118 (see also note), 119
Dynasties,
roman numerals
titles of, 91, 92
for
;
;
Index
458
Editions, approval of dictionaries of English shown by frequent, 5 pocket, 42, 131, 133, 181; reprints
should
preserve Indention of first, 197 study of punctuation in good. 259 punctuation of early ;
;
and late, 292; en-ors in early, 347 et seq. See Books Editors, efforts of, for consistency in compound words, 7; laws to themselves in use of certain niceties, 9; right of, to determine spelling, 31: verbatim printing of fault-finding communications by, 32 ; proof-readers sometimes overruled by, 132 ; small capitals for signatures of, 150; punctuation by, 242, 292 use of comma ;
restricted by, 259 brackets used to inclose explanations or comments by, 277, 279 queries to, ;
;
See Authors Electrotypes, spacing of projecting 308.
letters in, 205; corrections in, 304. 305 Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, 350 Ellipsis, proper method of indicating. 205, 217 dash, omission of, before credits, 150. 152, 153 ; at beginning or end of lines, 205 ; in explanatory descriptions under illustrations,
Em
238, 239.
See Dash
Emphasis, small capitals rated as superior to italic for, 145
Em quadrat, use of, with reference figures in broad measure, 92 {note); old fashion of spacing with, 140, 201 for spacing running titles, 152 between columns of foot-notes in half measure, 178 at beginning of new paragraphs, 183, 193; when allowed in spacing, 203 Encyclopedias, figures preferred for numerical statements in, 85 En dash, when to use, 75; for compound words in line of capitals, 126 England, dictionaries daily used as authorities in, 5; spelling and pronunciation of classical names m, 17 dictionaries made in. not accessible to American compositors, 27 ; use of motto indention ;
;
;
;
in, 192.
See Great Britain
English, seven large dictionaries of, in daily use, 5; use of accents and diacritical marks for words in, 9; one of many merits of, 14;
words and phrases incorporated writers of good, 120
in, 100, 101 ;
English Past and Present, 220 (see also note 2)
Typo^aphical Founders and Foundenes, 36, 104 {note 2),
English
108 {note)
Engravings, pages with foot-notes and, 171 En quadrat, use of, with reference figures in narrow measure, 92 {note) for spacing wide-leaded matter, 201; in composition of •
capitals, 203 -ent, words ending in, 9 -er, words ending in, 9,
21 (see also
notes)
Erasmus, Desiderlus, 349, 350 Errata, early lists of, 347, 349, 350 Errors, amusing, 45 {note) correction and querying of, 299, 300, 307, 308, 318; hurried or inconsiderate revision the commonest cause of, 309; of the press, 333, 345 et seq. as common formerly as now, 346 attributed to malice of the devil, 348 in early books of authority and reference, 348 malicious, 348, 349, 350; of the press not confined to any nation, 349 due to following copy, 351, 352 caused bv bad writing, 352354; made trough meddling with type, 356 by compositor in correcting, 356; by electrotyper and pressman, 356, 357 Etymology, knowledge of, useful in dividing words, i36; elementary principles of, 144 Evening Post, 52 {note) Exclamation, use of, in vocative, 14; with ejaculations or interjections,- 15 elocutionary value of, 246 of later date than other points, 262 {note 2) meaning of, when inclosed in parentheses, ;
;
;
;
; ;
;
;
;
;
function of, 281, 288; at end of every exclamatory clause or phrase, 281, 282, 283; short ejaculations call for, 281 meaning of, when ^iclosed in brackets, 281; distinctive use of 274,
275;
interrogatiou.-.flnd of, 281,
282;
proper and improper use of. 283 Extracts, in foreign language, 38; inserted in text should be faithfully copied, 43 methods of setting, 107; selection of type for, old 157, 158 {note), 160, 161, 247 fashion of differentiating, 161, ;
;
;;;;;;
;;;
Index 162; method of indenting, 162, 163, 195, 196, 212; in type but little larger than that o'f notes, 177, 178; notes differentiated from, 178, 179; use of blank hne before and after, 183 quotation-marks not needed for, when in smaller type, 214; forming part of paragraphs, 214, 215; punctuation of, 293. See Quota;
tions
Face, types of different, 158 Elzevir, 159; Caslon, 159 Facsimiles, from two books of fifteenth century, 34, 35; reduced, 172, 173, 174 (note); in black-letter or old style, 175 Farther, further, use of, 31 Fasts and Festivals, 95 Fat-face, old-fashioned, 240 ;
Fiction, proper names of, 25-27, 316 Field, Eugene, 334 (note) Figures, neat arrangement of, in tables, 37; superior, 42 (see also note 1), 175, 176, 181; arabic, 52 (see also note), 54, 56 et seq.; in Dook texts, 76 in catalogues and advertisements, 76, 77; in legal and official documents, 77 (see also note), 78, 79, 85; should not begin a sentence, 79, 80 in same ;
;
sentence with words, 80; when selection of arabic, is unavoidable, 80, 82; degrees of heat and specifications of gravity should be expressed in arable, 81 records of votes made clearer by, 81 use of, for qualifying numerals, 81 dates best expressed in arable, 81 for statements of time, 82; expression of amounts in, 82; on en and two-third-em bodies, 83, 87; decimal fractions most ;
;
;
iutelligibiv stated in, 84; not pleasing, but sometimes necessary, in descriptive text, 84, 85
advantages and disadvantages of, preferred for numerical statements in compact works, 85 for numerical names of streets 84, 85
;
and avenues, 85, 86 (see also note.) for regiments and corps of the army, 86, 87
;
made to line with
lower-case, 87; on en body bad mates for capitals, 87, 89 broad and narrow, 87 table of roman numerals and arabic, 88 first printers had no arabic, 89 ear;
;
;
;
459
liest use of, 89 imperfections of old-style, 89, 90 (see also note) ;
for sections, pages, paragraphs, and verses, 90 for date-lines of title-pages, 91 period used with, by old printers, 92 (see also note iise of parentheses with ref1) erence, 92 {see also note 2), 273, 274, 275 period not needed after, at beginning of paragi-aphs, verses, or other subdivisions, 93 unavoidable division of amounts in, 138; in date-lines, 167; upright arabic, 180 in illustrations of educational works, 238, 239; ;
;
;
;
;
when separated by commas, 253 in parentheses, 276 abbreviated with apostrophe for dates, 285 use of apostrophe to indicate plural of, 285, 286. See Numerals Flach, Martin, 34 Florio, John, 197 Font, piece-fractions differ from solid fractious of, 83 broad and narrow figures in, 87 small capitals of regular, 145 five correlated series in complete, 145; signs of reference in, 175; spacing of letters changes appear;
;
;
;
ance of, 194 Foot-notes, abbreviations in, 37 (note), 38 et seq.; marks of reference made for, 43; authorities cited in, 55 et seq., 275; roman
numerals used for, 93
;
style of,
preferred by bibliographers and historians, 103 examples of, 103 use of roman and of italic for citations in, 105 in bold-face of modern cut, 159; type for, 160, 178 indention of, 187 titles in text and in, 226; placing of, in copy, 341. See Notes Formularies, close punctuation in legal and ecclesiastical, 344 (see also note) Fractions, compounding of, 65, 66 used with whole numbers, 80 on the use of figures and of words for vulgar and decimal, 82, 83 on en and em bodies, 83 figures most intelligible for decimEQ, 84 Fi-ance, book-printers of, 231, 232 French, prefixes of proper names in, 118 (see also note), 119; use of capitals in, 120; divisions in composition of, 144 Froben, John, 350 Froude, James Anthony, 226 ;
;
;
:
;
;
Further.
See Farther
;;
Index
460
G-aguin, Robert, 347 Galley, proof in, 297, 301, 302 Garrison, Francis Jackson, 336 Garrison, Wendell Phillips, 336 Gazetteers, abbreviations in, 37, 53, 54; figures pref en*ed f or niinierical statements in, 85 side-headings of, 159 ;
Genesis, clipped words writing of, 33
antedate
Geography, ;^roper names of, 25-27 Geology, ormnary names in, 106
Geometry, use of letters as sym-
German, words or phrases quoted prefixes of proper names in, 118 (see also note), 119; divisions in composition of, 144 Gibbon, Edward, 58, 226 Ginn & Co., Messrs., 144 Goold Brown, 29 (note), 63 (note), 133 (note), 134, 135 (note), 248 98;
{note)
Historians, style of foot-notes preferred by, 103 History, proper names of, 25-27, 316 Holland, Josiah Gilbert, 335
Homer, 56, 57 Hood, Thomas, 334 {note) Horace, 56, 57 Hume, David, 59 figures specifying verses in, 52 (note), 59, 93 versification of, 93 capitalization of certain pronouns in, 110; special use of capitals and small capi;
;
tals in, 155
Hyphen, use of, in forming compound words, 6, 61 et seq., 286 compounded fractions, 83 in qualifying phrases, 102 en dash
m
;
;
Gothic, light-faced, for subheadings, 230, 231 for legend lines, 235; for side -headings, 240 Gould's Dictionary of Medicine, new spellings in, 18 (note) Grammar, certain niceties belonging to, 8, 9 theory of compound;
;
punctuation m, 241, pomts justify rules of, knowledge of, valuable as aid to proper punctuation, 246,
ing in, 63
Hart, Francis, 288 Hart, Horace, 35, 140 Hiley, Richard, 248 {note)
Hymn-books,
bols in, 42 {note 1)
from,
Hansard, Thomas Curson, 95
;
242, 260;
instead
of, in line of capitals, 126; use of, as help to correct pronunciation, 130 ; words di-
vided without, 131; use of thin space on each side of, 208 erroneous omission of, 244 (see also note) first function of, 286 repetition of, as leader line in ;
;
tables, 286, 287
245;
293
Grammar of
-ible,
words ending in, 9, 16, 17 words ending with, 18
-id, -ide,
English Grammars,
29 {note), 63 {note), 133 134, 135 {note), 248 {note)
{note),
Graphic arts, typography distinct brancb of, 167 Gratianus, 174 {note) Gray, Thomas, 334 {note) Great Britain, dash, a useful mark of punctuation in, 270 (jTeek, spelling and pronunciation of classical, 17 words or phrases quoted from, 98; words compounded from, 129; sprinklings of, 171 {note) ; knowledge of, ;
m
proof-reading, 312, 315 Greek Lexicon, 318 Greeley, Horace, 335 Guide-books, abbreviations in, 53, 54 figures preferred for numeri;
cal statements in, 85 Gutenberg, John, 346
Hall, Fitzedward, 16 {note) Handbills, omission of points in display lines of, 289, 290
Hiad, not italicized nor quoted, 225 Illuminators, revival of mannerisms of medieval, 208 {note) Illustrations, spacing of, 206, 233 et seq.; legends under, 234 et seq.; in educational works, 238, 239 Imperial Dictionary, an authority in England and colonies, 5 known only by name to many American proof-readers, 8; differences of spelling in, 28 (see also note 1), 29 (note), 31 Imprint, approved fonn of, 43 use of colon in, 267, 268, 290 refusal ;
;
of, by printer, 331
Improved. Grammar, 134 •in, words ending with, 18 Indention, hanging, preferred for catalogues, 92
{note);
different
forms of, 158, 184^186; for inserts, 162, 163 ; hanging, for letter headings, 165-167. 169; diagonal, 166, 170; wide, 169; of signatures, 169, 170 of notes, 176, 177 ; of quoted ;
and unquoted paragraphs, 185;
;;.
;;
Index object of, 185, 186; proper adjust-
ment of, 186 when it is unneces;
para^aph, ] 86, 187; description and uses of hanging, sary,
186;
187-189; half -diamond, 189-191; lozenge, 191, 192; motto, 192; sys tem of no, 193 squared, 193, 194diagonal, 195 irregular, 195-197 regularity of, In poetry disturbed by quotation-marks, 224 how to produce uniform, in poetry, 224 of explanatory descriptions under illustrations, 237, 238 ;
;
;
Index, full names should be given in, 41 roman numerals used to specify volumes, ijarts, and chapters in, 93 selection of type for, 157 hanging indention of, 188 omission of period at end of para;
;
;
graphs of, 269 words ending with, 18 Inferno, not italicized nor quoted, 225 Infinitive, split, 306, 307 Initials, use of, for baptismal names, 40, 41 medieval and modmethods of using, 146 remarks upon and examples of use adjustment of of, 147, 148, 163 large, in pages composed in two columns, 239 Inscriptions, use of roman numerals m, 89, 90; small capitals for reproduction of, 155 Inserts, type for, 160, 161, 175 when quotation-marks are not needed for, 161 use of blank hne before and after, 183; in copy, 338 Institutes of Justinian, 347 Interjections, use of exclamationpoint with, 14, 15, 281-283 Interrogation, elocutionary value early use of, 262 {note of, 246 meaning of, when inclosed in 2) parentheses, 274, 275; function of, 279, 288 when to use and when to omit, 279, 280 proper use of, sometimes perplexing to compositors, 280 should follow each separate question, 280 meaning of, when inclosed in brackets, 281 distinctive use of exclamation and of, 281, 282 Introductions, numerals in roman lower-case for paging of, 90, 91, 93 Inventories, use of figures in, 80 -ise, words ending in, 9, 29 Italian, prefixes of proper names -ine,
;
em
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
461
in, 118 (see also no(e), 119; divisions in composition of, 144 marking of, in copy, 38; misuse of, 38, 41, 51; supposed faults in use of, 43, 44; in-
Italic,
how
dicated in copy, 94; approved for book texts in sixteentn century, 94 various uses of, 94, 97, artificial method of using, 107 95; for emphasis, 96; mismated with roman, 96 use of, curtailed by type-setting machines, 96, 97 rare reading-matter of daily newspapers, 97 disadvantage of, 97; for foreign words and phrases, 97, 99-102, 105, 222; ex;
;
;
m
;
amples showing use
of, 97, 98;
too free use nullifies value of, 98, 104 (see also note 2) for bits of verse in roman text, 99; in works on bibliography, 102, 103 in foot-notes, 103 for names of ;
;
magazines and newspapers, 103 (see also note), 104 (see also note for names of vessels, 104 1) ;
proper use of, 104, 105 for Latinized scientific names, 106, 107; ;
contrast between
roman
and, 107; special use of, 126 {note); small capitals rated as superior to, for emphasis or display, 145; credits set in, 150; letter headings in, 154, 155 for signatures, 155 too free use of, 156 of value ;
,-
;
when used with discretion, 156 lower-case of, in letter headings, 164 et seq. ; letters set in, 169 for signatures, 169, 170 ; not good for side-notes, 180; objectionable for cut-in notes, 180, 181 rarely used with quotation-marks, 222; for titles of books, periodicals, plays, and operas, 225-227 lower-case of, for subheadings, 231 (see also note) for legend lines, 236 for side-headings, 240 punc;
;
;
;
;
tuation-marks
of, 276 (see also note) Italy, early printers of, 109 -ize,
words ending in, 9, 29, 30
;
;
30
Jenson, Nicolas, 175 {note) Job-printers, variety of types at of, ornamental 154 abandoned by, 167; im-
disposal styles
;
proper use of exclamation-point by, 283 omission of points iu display lines by, 289, 290. See Book;
printers, Compositors, Printers, and Type-setters
;;
;;
Index
462
Job-work, indefensible abbreviations in, 52; abbreviations for states and territories in, 53, 54; capitals used freely in, 124, 125;
division of words in composition of, 132; method of composing letter headings and signatures in, 153; composition of, 315; expert compositors on, 354. See
Book-work Johnson, Samnel,
lected for, 235 et seq. capitalization of words in, 235, 2S6; explanatory descriptions following, 237, 238; superfluous marks of punctuation in, 238, 239 Letter-boards, pages of type on, 301 Letters, selection and adjustment of diminutive, 35 use of lowercase, for abbreviations, 39 superior, 42 (see also Tiote 1), 51, ;
;
;
259, 316 (note),
illustrative, 51; compound words in lines of capital, 75; arable figures made to line with lower-case, 87; figures on en body bad matesfor capital, 87, 89 numbers represented by, (see also note) disadvantage of upright and inclined, 97; kerned or projecting, 105; capital, 108 et 175, 181;
328
Johnson's Dictionary, 316
(note),
328
Journals, special use of capitals and small capitals by, 155
Kelmscott Press, 113 {note 2) Kelmscott school of typography, disciples of, 236 Kipling, Rndyard, 50 Kaapp, William Ireland, 144
^
;
seq. ; capital
catalogues,
and lower-case, in 120;
ordinary two-
used as initial, 147, 163; chapter summaries in small
line,
Language, seven large dictionaries of English, 5;
names differently
rendered in foreign, 9, 25 plurals of nouns derived from foreign, 11, 12 one of many merits of ;
;
English, 14; extracts in foreign, 38 italic for words and phrases in foreign, 97 words and phrases incorporated in English, 100, 101 divisions condenm.ed as needless ;
;
manglings
of,
134;
words
de-
rived from foreign, 142 verbal coins in English, 210: old typographic methods of dealing with, 229; different constructions of. 250 reproductions of colloquial, 307 Latin, capitalization of interjection O in, 110 (see also Twte 2) words .compounded from, 129; knowledge of, in proof-reading, ;
;
312, 315
Laws, close punctuation in composition of, 244 (see also note)
Leading, utility of wide, 148; uniformity of, 149; dedications should have wide, 151 of text ;
and notes, 174, 175; importance of even, 186 disagreeable effect of uneven, 194. See Spacing Leads, need of, between lines of fiffures, 90 {note) between lines of capitals, 113 (see also notes); for text and notes, 174, 175; in composition of capitals, 203 Legends, use of capitals in, 126, 127 spacing of, 233 et seq. types se;
;
;
lower-case, 148. 149; ascending and descending. 148, 149, 199, 200 hair-spacing of, 151 overspaced, 152 new faces of roman, 152; lighter faces of title, 156; in books, 157 et seq.-, text in ;
;
;
modem-cut,
roman and
159;
italic lower-case, in letter headings, 164 et seq. ; customary methods of setting, 167-170; lozenge indention unwisely at-
tempted
with capital, 192; squared paragraph of capital, 194; composition in ordinary lower-case, 201 composition and spacing of capital, 203, 204; spacing of quote-marks and up;
right. 204, 205, 216;
projecting, in electrotype work, 205 spacing of, 200, 207 (see also note) subheadings in capital and in smallcapital, 230; in illustrations of educational works, 238, 239 for side-headings, 240 use of parentheses with reference, 273, 274, 275 apostrophe indicates omission of, 283, 285; use of apostrophe to denote plural of, 285, 286. ;
;
;
;
;
See Type Lexicographers, disagreement of, in spelling, 5, 6 changes in word forms not originated by. 6 ;
professional, 7 Librarians, medieval abbreviations now used mainly by, 49 -like, compounds of, 69
;;
Index Literature, niceties of, 9 25-27 (see also note)
;
names in,
Lithographers, style of, 167 Lockhart, John Gibson, 264, 265 Logic of Ockham, mysterious state-
ment in, 33 {note) Lower-case, use of, for abbreviations, 39, 41 honorary titles in small, 45 arabic figures now made to line with, 87 roman numerals in, 90, 91 small capitals contrasted with, 91, 93 ro;
;
;
;
;
man numerals of, for foot-notes and indexes, 93
small capitals should be higher and wider than, 93 quoted, for names of magazines and newspapers, 103 (see certain uses of, 110, also note) ;
;
;
111 for qualifying words in catalogues, 120; small capitals no taller than round letters of, 145 monotony of text composed entirely of, 146 chapter summaries in small, 148, 149 ; credits set in italic, 150; letter headings in, letter salutations in 153, 154; italic, 154, 155; special uses of italic and roman, 155; lighter faces of antique, 156; in letter ;
;
headings, 164 et seq.; signatures in italic, 169, 170 honorary titles in, 170 italic, not good for sidenotes, 180; cut-in notes usually ;
;
set in roman, 180; composition in ordinary, 201 spadng of, 206, 207; italic and roman, for subheadings, 231, 232; roman, for legend lines, 235, 236; italic, for side-headings, 240, See Type Lowth, Robert, 133 (note) -ly, adverbs ending in, 72 ;
463
Making-up, notes a hindrance in, 171 (see also note), 174 (see also note) difficulties of, 342, 343 ;
Mannerisms, English and Amei-ican orthographic, 6 of writers confirmed by usage, 6 must be reproduced reprints, 108 (see ;
;
m
also
109
158 of letter- writers, 163 et of medieval copyists, 167, 208 (710(c) ; of medieval illuminators, 208 (note) typographic, note),
(note)
old-style,
;
;
seq.;
;
231. See StyU Manuals, capitalization of certain
pronouns
m
devotional, 110 abbreviations catalogues of, 48
Manufacturers,
in
Manuscript, classical forms in, 17; words in -or, -er misleading in illegibly written, 18; abbreviations readily made by early writers of, 35; figuresin, 76; howcapitalsare
indicated in, 108 when pronouns refen-ing to Deity are consistently capitalized in, 110 how small capitals are indicated in, 145 superfluous punctuation in, 238 use of brackets to inclose passages considered spurious in reprints of early, 279; composition of poetry from, 292; compositors engaged on, 294 inconsistencies of ordinary, 329; the composition of long, 329, 330; distinctness of, desired by compositors, 335; additions to, 337, 338; undesired abbreviations iu, 340 should be type-written, 341, ;
;
;
;
;
;
342. See Copy Manutins, Aldus, 109
175
(note),
(note), 262 (note 2)
Marchand, Prosper, 171 (note), 172, Macaulay, Thomas Babington, 246, 259, 265
181,
351
Marks, use of diacritical, 9 names with diacritical, 10; of reference, 42; used by proof-readers, 322;
Magazines, abbreviations
in,
37
(note), 38 et seq.; titles of books in text of, 103 use of italic for names of, 103 (see also note), 104 in small capi(see also 7iote 1) tals, 104 in italic, 105 as credits, 105 narrow columns of, 164, 165 study of punctuation of, 260 ;
;
;
;
;
Magnates, roman
numerals
for
of, 91 ; in capitals and small capitals, 155 Maker-np, parts of book set by one, 157; adjustment of notes perplexing to, 171 (see also note), 174 (see also note) difficulties en-
names
;
countered by, 343
324
Marshall, Thomas, 35 abbreviations Mathematics,
works on, 37, 45, 46
;
in
knowledge
of, in proof-reading, 312 Measure, use of en and em quadrats depends on, 92 (note) divisions in narrow and in broad, running titles 131, 134, 135, 138 spaced to fuU width of, 152 inserts in narrow, 162, 163; notes in broad, 176-179, 187; notes ra half, 177-179, 187; indentions in narrow, 185 lozenge indention ;
;
;
;
; ;;
Index
464
unwisely attempted in narrow, 192; sqntured paragraph of capital letters in narrow, 194; odes in narrow, 197 spacing in ordinary, narrow, and broad. 199; spacing of letters in narrow, 206; temporary use of broad, for large ;
initials. 239
Mecbanick Exercises, 104 (note 2), 113 (note 1), 326 (Twte), 339 {noU) Medals, clipped words stamped on,
33
Medicine, abbreviations in w^orfe on, 45-48 ; anthoritative treatises on, 125
Member, definition of, by Centnry Dictionary and by Goold Brown, 247, 248 {noU) ;
defined
examples of, 249;
by semicolon or colon,
250, 252, 253, 262, 263 ;
examples
of, 252; in involved construction,
258
Manage, GiUes, 209 -meat, words ending in, 31
;
Mottos, quotations as, 150; method of indenting, 162, 187, 188; of
1),
{note 2), 113
209, 317, 326 (note), 327,
338, 339
Munsell, Joel, 130
Murrav, James Augustus Henry, 28 {note 1)
Music, use of letters as symbols in, 42 {Ttote 1)
;
;
;
historic, religious, and political, 122, 123 ; unavoidable division of proper, 138 ; chapters beginning with proper, 147; type for, and arrangement of, in letters, 1G4 et
of component parte of long sentence, 2^; irae of inverted conoma in Scotch, 253 omission of periods in lists of, 269 ; verification ot 294, 300, 305, 306 spelling of proper, 298. 316 Nelson, Robert, 95 New English Dictionary of the Philological Society. See Ox;
;
ford Dictionary Newspapers, communications of delightful absurdity sent to, 32 (see also note) abbreviations in, 38 et seq, the ampersand in, 42 use of words for numbers in, 7779 italic rare in reading-matter of daily, 97; use of italic for names of, 103 (see also note), 104 (see also note 1) in small capitals, 104 in roman, 105 as credits, 105; capitals in names of, tiUes following proper 112 ;
;
;
;
;
;
;
Names, geographical and historical, diuerently rendered, 9
115; starthng h^idlines of, 127; division of words in composition of, 132; style of short advertisement in, 147; names and addresses in, 153: narrow columns of, 165; exclusion of italic and small capitals from, 166 squeezed theatrical advertisements in, 182 uneven spacing of slight importance in, 200, 201; quotation-marks in, 212; study of punctuation of, ;
;
Mythology, proper names of, 25-27
;
Ar-
abic and Oriental, 10; early English, 13 accenting of foreign. ;
;
names in,
title-pages, 192
(note
;
seq. ;
mid-, compounds with, 69 Milton, John, 119, 143 {note), 210, 259 Mineralogy, authoritative treatises on, 125 Minute-mark, use of, in new position, as substitute for comma, 288 Mirandola, Picns, 347 Misprints, some forms of, 346 in early edition of- Vulgate, 348; ludicrous, 351-354 Modus Legend! Abbreviaturas, 34 Monotone, use of, for legend lines, 235 Morel, GuiUanme, 209 Mores, Edward Rowe, 36, 104 (n^te 2), 108 {note) Morris, William, 113 {note 2)
Moson, Joseph, 104
14. 338 spelling and pronunciation of classicsu, 17 ; proper, 2527 (see also note); Indi^i, 25; abbreviation of baptismal, 40, 41 pet, 41 use of ampersand in bnsiness, 42 (see also ruite 2) roman numerals in dynastic, 91, 92 Latinized scientific, 106, 107; of Deity, 109, 110; of week-days, festivals, and historic days, 111 of books, periodicals, plays, and pictures. 111, 112; of newspapers, 112; of corporations, 113, 114; titles preceding and following proper, 114r-118; prefixes of foreign proper, 118 (see also note), 119 use of capitals and of lowercase for geographical, 119-122;
260
New Testaonent, abbreviatioiis for books of, 55; in Greek, 350
;;
Index Nicknames, 41; prefixes and, 118 (see also note), 119
465
Old style, text in, 159; facsimiles in, 175
Nodes, astronomical, 47
Old Testament, abbreviations for books of, 54, 55
Norwood Press, 340 Notes, abbreviations in, 38 et seq. marks of reference made for, 42;
On English Adjectives la -able, 16
cut-in, 42; type selected for, 92 (see also note 2), 157; hindrance in composition and making-up, 171 (see also note), 174 (see also
Operas, use of italic and of quotation-marks for titles of, 225. See Playe
;
small types preferred for, leading of, 174, 175; signs of reference for, 175, 176; in broad measure, 176-178 in half measure, 177-179 separated from text by hair-line rule, 177, 178;
7iote) ;
174, 175, 247;
;
;
differentiated from extracts, 178, 179; side-, 179, 180; cut-in, 180, 181; centre-, 181; shoulder-, 181.
See Foot-notes and Side-notes Notes on a Century of Typography, 35
Nouns, spelling of, in the plural, 11, 12; ending in -or, 18-20; in -er, 21 (see also notes 1 and 2) in -sion and -tion, 22; irregular forms, 22; in -ance, -enee, -aney, -ency, 23, 24; compound, 67 et seq.; capitals for proper, 109 et sea. too free capitalization of, 126; in book titles, 127; use of comma with, 253-255; apostro;
phe in possessive ease of, 283, 284 Novels, dialect, slang, and colloquialisms in, 50; roman for characters iu, 227, 228 Numbers, spelled out, 52, 76 etseg.-, vulgar fractions with whole, 80 letters used to represent, 88 (see also note) in book titles, dedications, and formal printed pieces, ;
91
Numerals, roman, 58; compounding of, 65-67; use of words and of figures for, 81 on the use of roman, 87 et seq. in roman small ;
;
capitals
and
m lower-case, 90;
for magnates, centuries, and dy91, 92; use of speUedout words instead of roman, 91,
nasties,
(note)
words ending in, 9, 18-20 Originals, accurate copies of, 51 Orthography, British, 8 -our, words ending in, 28, 29 {see also note) Oxford Dictionary, an authority in England and colonies, 5; still (1901) incomplete, 8; differences of spelling in, 28 (see also note 1), 29 (see also note), 31 -or,
Page, size of, determined by pubhsher, 157; uniformity of, 159, 160
;
workmanship of, 160 made ;
lopsided by indention, 162, 163; adjustment of notes in, 171 (see also note), 174 (see also note); types in violent contrast make forbidding, 174 signs of reference rated as disfigurements to, 175; notes in half measure give ;
neater appearance to, 178, 179; allowance of blank at top of, for
new chapter, 183 paragraph in;
dention should be uniform on, 187 proper spacing of, 204 when dash causes gap in regular outline of, 205; superfluous marks of punctuation a disfigurement ;
;
composed in two 238, 239 columns, 239 made up from first proof, 301 alterations or corrections in, 301, 302; made up from author's revise, 302; pieces of metal in ordinaiy, 356 Paintings, use of italic for names of, 104 Pamphlets, use of ampersand in, 42; indefensible abbreviations in, 52 figures and spelled-out words in, 76, 77, 79; italic in, 105; titles to,
;
;
;
;
92; in foot-notes and indexes, 93.
following proper names in, 115; capital letters used by writers of, 124, 125; attractive oddity for ad-
O, use of, 14, 15, 281, 283 Ockham, William of, 33 (note) Odyssey, not italicized nor quoted, 225 Oecolampadius, John, 350 Oh, use of, 14, 15, 283 Old English Letter Foundries, 163
vertising, 152; method of composing, 153 overbold display of, 180 typographic mannerisms of, 231 Paper, for proofs, 297, 304; for ;
;
copy, 331-333
Paradise Lost, unusual divisions
;
Index
466
in preface of, 143 (note); not quoted nor italicized, 225 Latinized style and involved sentences of, 259; use of colons in, 268 ;
{note 1)
Paragraph-marks, old, 183 Paragraphs, si^ used to indicate, 52 {note) period not needed after figures at be^nning of, 93 small ;
;
capitals for side-headings of, 146; summaries of chapters set in long, 148, 149 credits at end of, ;
150;
when quotation-marks are
not needed at beginning of, 161163; indention of, 169, 184 et seq., 193; notes set as regular, 176, 177 em quadrat at beginning of new, 183; indention of quoted and unquoted, 185; adjustment of breaks at ends of, 186 motto indention used by French printers for special, 192 small blank desirable at end of, 202; quotation-marks at beginning of, 211 extracts or quotations forming part of, 214, 215; special, in small type, 239 use of white lines between, '247 Parentheses, use of, with reference ;
;
;
;
figures, 92 (see also note 2); for foreign words or phrases, 100; italic, 107 ;
when used with clos-
ing marks of quotation, 217, 218; in explanatory descriptions under illustrations, 238; for inteigected words or clauses, 239, 288 elocutionary value of, 246 phrases defined by, 250 in complex sentences, 251-253 explanatory phrases not inclosed in, 255; early use of, 262 (note) distinction more clearly made by occasional use of, 264; proper function of, 273, 274, 275, 288; other uses of, 273-275; n^lected in punctuation, 274; defects in make of, 274, 276; use of dash Instead of, 274; meaning of interrogation and of exclamation when inclosed in, 274, 275; curt style compels use of, 276; italic, 276; use of, within brackets, 278; general rule for brackets and, 279 use of comma and of period with, 291 Parkman, Francis, 226 Parliament, unauthorized printing of Bible forbidden by, 349 Participles, obsolete or little-used forms of past, 8, 9; use of, to ;
;
;
;
;
;;
form componnds, 72; in book tidivision of, 135; last syllable of past, shortened by
tles, 127;
apostrophe, 286
;
accentuation of
final syllable of past, 286 Particles, capitalization of, in book titles, 127; definition of, 247, 250; punctuation of, 250, 251, 253 Pens and Types, 138 (note), 218 (note), 337 (note), 353 (note)
Period, -ase of, for abbreviations, 35, 36, 290 not used with verse figures in Bibles or hymn-books, 52 (7wte} in citations, 59 with roman numerals, 92 (see also note not needed after figures at 1) beginning of paragraphs, verses, or other subdivisions, 93 use of, with closing quotation-marks, 217 new^ use of inverted, 219 in explanatory descriptions under illustrations, 238, 239; old teaching as to elocutionary value of, 245, 246; at end of descriptive sentence, 250, 262 (Tiote 2), 268, early use of, 262 (note 2) 288 various uses of, 268 {note 2) omitted in exposed positions, 268,269; infavorforleader lines, 287; use of, with parenthesis, 291 before apostrophe and possessive s, 291, 292 Periodicals, reformed spelling in, 31 abbreviations of, 60 use of italic for certain names in, 104 cai>itals in titles of. 111, 112 use of italic and of quotation-marks for titles of, 225, 226. See Magazines Petrus, Gabriel, 347 Phases, moon's, symbols of, 46 Philosophical Grammar, 134 Phrases, compounding of lon^, 64; of separate words, 70, 74; for titles of centuries and dynasties, 92 use of italic for foreign, 97, 99-102, 222 quoted from Greek or German, 98; incorporated in English language, 100, 101 italicized and accented, 102, 105 terse, 210, 211; use of quotemarks for criticized, 215 quotations of isolated, 216 as defined ;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
by Century Dictionary and by Goold Brown, 247, 248 (note) defined by comma, dash, or parenthesis, 250, 253; examples of, 252 use of commas with explan;
;
atory,
255:
parenthetical,
258;
exclamation-point at end of ex-
;;
;;
Index clamatory, 282; verification of foreign, 300; correct spelling of foreign, 316 Pickering, Wmiam, 190, 289, 290 Pictures, nse of capitals in titles of, 111, 112 Piece-fractions, 83
Piece-work, imremunerative, 354, 355 Planets, symbols of, 46 Plantin, Christopher, 350 Plates, corrections in electrotype, 304, 305, 341 356, 357
;
bruised letters in,
Plays, use of italic for names of characters in, 104, 227; capitals of, 111, 112; French method of composing names of
in titles
characters in, 152; use of italic of quotation-marks for tiquote-marks for characters in, 227 example of roman for characters in, 228 Plural, formation of foreign words spelling of nouns in, 11, in, 8, 9 12; division of nouns of one syllable in, 133; use of apostrophe to indicate, 285, 286 Poe, Edgar Allan, 334 {note) Poetry, use of grave accent in, 14; numerals in roman small capitals for cantos and stanzas of, 90 capitals and small capitals beginning lines of, 107, 108; long and short quotations of, 146 indention of, 196, 197; spacing of, 208; quote-marks disturb regularity of indention in, 224; use of brackets before turned-over
and
tles of, 225-227
;
;
;
;
words in, 278; apostrophe indicates omission of letters in, 285
composition
of,
from
manu-
script, 292 Poets, former use of apostrophe by, 286 Points, marking of, in copy, 38; use of decimal, 84; in legends and explanatory descriptions, systematic use of, 243, 238, 239 dash made to serve as 244, 335 substitute for con-eet, 243. 269, 270; governed by construction, 245 function of, 245 have small elocutionary value, 245, 246 made to serve different purposes, 246; in compound sentences, 249; title-pages without, use of double, 291, 292. 289, 290 ;
;
;
;
;
See
Punctuation
names of points
and
specific
467
Pollard, Alfred William, 99 Polyglot Bible, 350 Pope, Alexander, 246, 332 {note) Posters, omission of points in display lines of, 289, 290 pre-, use of, 71 Preface, numerals in roman lowerease for paging of, 90, 93 italic sometimes used for, 94 selection of type for, 157 P*refixes, 69 when hyphened and when consolidated, 71-73 of foreign proper names, 118 (see also note)^ 119; division of words on, 137 Press, the, writing for, 317; socalled en-ors of, 333, 345 et seq. ; a real error of, 358 {note) Presswork, patched plates a caujse of bad, 304 Printers, differing authorities on spelling used by, 5 variations in spelling and compounding of im;
;
;
;
;
portance to, 6, 7; abbreviations made with variations by different, 49 roman numerals used by first, 89, 90; use of period by ;
old, 92 (see also note 1)
;
peculiar
use of small capitals by early, 109; not agreed as to divisions, 128; divisions admitted as unavoidable by, 131; English and American, 141; early, 142; use of the catchword by, 142, 143 French, 152 special use of capitals and small capitals by early, ;
selection of sizes of book types by, 160, 161; agreed on type for notes, 174; paragraphmarks of early, 183; pleasing manneidsm of early, 189, 190 motto indention largely used by French, 192 bad spacing a dis155
;
;
grace to, 198; spacing of quotemarks by French, 205; employment of quotation-marks by French and English, 209, 210; use of single quote-marks by British, 212, 218 quote-marks more con;
venient than italic to, 226 punctuation regarded as duty of, 243 punctuation by early, 262 (note 2) use of dash by French, as partial substitute for quotation-marks, 273 use of braces by, 287 held responsible for faults of typographic style, 305, 331 refusal of imprint by, 331; rights of, 336, ;
;
;
;
337 (see also note) ; foolish boastfulness of early, 346, 347 grow;
;;;
Index
468
ing number of negligent, 347;
bad paper and incorrect texts of errors not always detected by educated, 350. See Book-printers. Compositors, Job-printers, and Type-setters Printing, figures preferred in commercial, 76; rules for dividing early,
349,
350;
words in, 141, 142; amateurs in, 143 need of wbite space in, 183 ;
use of brackets for turned-over words common in old, 278 hurried auction-catalogue, 295; commercial, 310, 312; bad writing an old grievance of, 343, 344 errors in early, 346 et seq. See Typog;
;
raphy Printing-houses, decision of author on spelling and divisions final in, 7 scarcity of dictionaries in, :
imperfect copy in, 10, 243, 7, 8 244, 317; rule of, as to spelling, 10; indefensible abbreviations ;
damaging to reputation of, 52; compound words in, 62 (see also use of period in many, 92 division of words on constituents not practicable in, 129; unusual and improper divisions in, 133; note)
;
rules of some, with regard to divisions, 139; use of comma in, 259; proof-reading in different, 294 system of proof-reading followed in, 296 et seq. technical terms and methods of, 310 varying requirements of, in proofreading, 315 Pronouns, on use of capital and of ;
;
;
lower-case letters for, when referring to Deity, 110 in addresses or salutations to dignitaries, 116 in ;
;
book titles, 127; use of comma with, 258, 259; apostrophe not used with possessive, 284 Pronunciation, uniform, of classical names, 17; in compounding of words, 63 (see also note) divisions consistent with, 128; use of hyphens as helps to correct, division of words by, 132 130 et seq.; apostrophe not needed as guide to correct, 286 Proof, changes from copy made in, hinder quick performance, 7 how to minimize expense of alterations in, 10; correction by compositor in advance of, always a risk, 10; negligently revised, hurried, final revised, 201 11 201; author's, 294, 295, 301, 308; ;
;
;
;;';
;
taking of first,
297, 298;
colla-
tion of, 298; re-reading of overruns in, 300, 301, 309; to go to author, 301, 302; in galley and in page, 301; foundry or press, 302 mstinctive marb^g of, 304, 308 before correction, 324 after correction, 325; hurried correction of final, 358 Proof-readers, efforts of, for consistency in compound words, 7 English dictionaries out of reach of many American, 8 list of va;
;
;
;
riable spellings compiled for, 8
oewildered by obscure writmg, 9; not expected to edit variable copy without instruction, 10, 25; debatable spellings queried by, 10; su^estions of emendation to be left to, 10 should follow educated writers' spelling of classical names, 17; use oi indexed memorandumbook by, 25 should make manu{note);
;
script book of abbreviations, 48 carelessness of, burlesqued, 52 {note) ; rulings of, in compound words. 61, 62; in italic, 96, 102; consistency in use of capitals to be maintamed by, 125; dictionary divisions sometimes rejected by, 130; differ in methods of dividing words, 132; sometimes
overruled by author, editor, or publisher, 132, 141; marking of uneven spacing by, 208 double ;
emphasizing sbonld be queried by, 222 ; when rule ' follow copy ' may be put aside by, 238 ; punctuation by, 242, 243, 260; conditions controlling performance of, 294; system pursued by, on books, 296 et seq. verification of connection of old and new matter by, 296, 297 copy should be read aloud to, 298 ; duties of first and second, 298, 302, 303; correction and querying by, 299, 300, 307, 308, 318, 331 should not edit, 300, 308 should work in accord, 30c what is expected of, 305 et seq. suggestions to author by, 30t should have complete file of all work in progress, 308 ; qualifications needed by, 309 et seq. ; on daily newspapers, 315; position of, not enviable, 316, 317; dlfdculties of, 318 (see also note), 337 amateur, 318, 319, 320 (see also note), 321 authors' acknowledg'
;
;
;
;
;
;;
-
;;
Index ment of services of, 321 (see also note) marks or signs used by, ;
322-324
;
long manuscript read
by many, 329, 330; errors by, 355, 356. ^BQ Revisers Proof-reading, difference in methods and performance of, 294; of ordinary news work, 295; cost of, 295, 296 routine of, on books, 296 et seq. time spent in, 298, 299; system of second, 302, 303; qualifications needed in, 309 et ;
;
seq.
;
should not be done me-
chanically or perfunctorily, 312;
on daily newspapers, 315; criti*~ cal, 316; marks or signs used in, 322-324; by the author, 342, 343;
469 marks
italic
note)
;
276
of,
(see
also
braces not regarded as
marks of, 287; summary of characters used in, 288 of early and ;
late editions of English classics, 292 of extracts, letters, or documents, 293; howto acquire working knowledge of, 293 object of, 293 knowledge of, insufficient in ;
;
;
proof-reading, 310 by the author, 339, 340 ;
Quadrats, use
of, in composition of book texts, 183, 184 employed in producing motto indention, 192; spacing with, 207 (Jioie). See ;
^m quadrat and ^n quadrat
errors in, 355, 356 Prose, grave accent rarely used in, 14; short quotations of, 146 Proverbs, verification of, 300 Publishers, right of, to determine spelling, 31 disapprove of small type for abbreviations, 35, 36; of modem books. 113 (see also note
Queries, as to old and new matter, 296, 297 (see also note) to author, 299, 305-308 to editor, 308
not a^eed as to divisions, 128; divisions admitted as un-
indention of paragraphs 161, 162 beginning with, 185; spacing of, 204, 205, 210, 216, 217 used before 1557, 209; a century later. 209; as employed by French and English printers, 209, 210 purpose
;
2) ;
avoidable by, 131 proof-readers sometimes overruled by, 132 determine size of pa^e and type of books, 157; restrict books to ;
;
specified number of pages, 161
hanging and diagonal indentions preferred by, 166, 167 agi-eed on type for notes, 174 parsimony ;
;
of early, 349 Punctuation, supposed faults in, 43. 44 spacing affected by, 204, ;
205;
205
;
dashes used as marks of, before and after quotation-
marks, 216-218; books of authorin grammar, 242 ity on, 241 different systems of, 242, 260; when to follow and when to change, 243, 244 close and open, 244 (see also note), 245, 250, 251; not included in exact sciences, 246; a system of much flexibility, 246; knowledge of grammar valuable as aid to correct, 246, 293 purpose served by marks of, 247; depends on construction, 249, 250; general rules for, 250, 251; obsolete rule of, 254; modern practice of, 254; made difficult by involved construction, 258; most useful rules for, 259; of good books, 260; Dean Alford's, 261 (see also note) invention of marks of, 262 (note 2) ;
;
;
;
;
;
Quotation-marks, use
of,
98-100,
102, 103, 107, 124, 126 (note), 160, 209 et seq., 222, 288, 340; when
needed and when not, 161-163, 210 et seq.
;
old method of using,
;
;
;
of, 210; methods of using, 211, 212; use of single, 212, 213, 218221; omitted in Bible, 213, 214;
not needed for extracts in small should be used only for exact words of writer or speaker, 215; frequently used in editorial comment, 215; punctuation before and after, 216-218; use of, within quotation-marks, 218-
type, 214
;
five series of, 219 (see also note 2), 220; needless use of, 220, rarely used with italic, 221, 340 222; French method of using, French form of, 223 222, 223 regfularity of indention in poetry disturbed by, 224; for titles of
220;
;
;
periodicals, plays, and operas, 225-227; for names of vesof importance in sels, 228, 229 complex literary work, 229; sentences, 251, 252 of later date than other points, 262 (note 2) dash used hy^ French printers as partial substitute for, 273 Quotations, reproduction of, iu text, 43, 331; from obsolete authors, 51 methods of setting, 107; beginning with a capital,
books,
;
m
;
;
;;
;
Index
470 124;
fragmentary, 124; as motspacing of, by French
tos, 150
;
printers, 205; use of quote-marks for, 209 et seq. ; quote-marks not needed for, when in small type, 214 forming part of paragraphs, 214, 215 punctuation before and after, 216-218 use of. within quotations, 218-220; inverted commas mark beginning of, 253; the comma in, 256, 257; usually preceded by colon, 267, 268; verification of, 300, 306. See Ex;
;
;
tracts
evidences of faithfulness of, 293 compositors engaged on, 294 Response, symbol of, 48 Revise, taking of first, 300; author's, 302, 308; distinctive marking of, 308 Revisers, duty of, 300, 301 of linotype composition, 357 Revising, of ordinary news work, 295; cost of, 295; hurried or inconsiderate, 309; of copy, 341, 342 of linotype composition, 357 Roman, abbreviations made for ten-, eleven-, and twelve-point, 49 (see also note) italic mismated with, 96 use of, between quota;
;
;
use of, 71 Readers, variations lu spelling and
re-,
compounding of slight importance to many, 6, 7; books printed in sixteenth century for unschooled, 35 reference figures of slightly bold face helpfm to, 92 (see also note 2) free use of italic ;
;
for emphasis an affront to intelligence of, 96 profuse italic irritating to, 104 (see also note 2); unnecessary display offensive to, 126; books written for eonve ;
nience of, 141, 142, 233 not helped ;
artificial arrangement and mixing of types, 154; accustomed
by
and
to restricted use of italic
small capitals, 156; graduation of types for, 158, 160, 161; of newspapers and of books, 166, 175; 198;
by bad
repelled
spacing,
too free use of quotationmarks implies lack of knowledge by, 210, 211 italic makes titles plainer to, 226 methods of making language clear to, 229 superfluous marks of punctuation not helpful to, 238, 239 correct punc;
;
;
;
tuation makes sentences quickly intelligible to, 247 points should be selected to aid, 262 Reed, Talbot Baines, 163 Reference -marks, 175, 176; superfluous punctuation with, 238, 239 Reporters, use of brackets to inclose explanations or comments ;
by, 277, 279
Reports, use of figures in, 80 Reprints, old, 51; faithful, 138; old method of using quotationmarks for, 161, 162; of seventeenth-century sonnets, 197 use of brackets in literal, 277, 278; passages considered spurious in, usually inclosed in brackets, 279 ;
;
tion-marks,
98,
102,
103,
107
words and phrases preferably put in, 100-102 quoted for names of magazines and newspapers, ;
103 (see also note) in citations, for scientific names, 106, 105 107; contrast between italic and, 107; new faces of, 152; lowercase of, in letter headings, 164 et seq. letters set in, 169 prefeiTed for side-notes, 180 cut-in notes usually set in, 180 for Tcharacters in novels and plays, 227, 228 lower-case of, for subheadings, 231, 232; capitals of, for legend lines, 235; lower-case of, for legend lines, 235 Rules, use of, between text and foot-notes, 177, 178 under run;
;
;
;
;
;
;
ning titles, 178 Savage, William, 49 {note) Scaliger, Joseph, 348 Scarron, Paul, 349 {note) SchoefPer, Peter, 346 Scholars, differing authorities on spelling preferred by, 5; avoidance of diphthongs by classical, 13 (see also note 1) complained of obscurity of early books, 33 use of capital O as interjection in Latin not approved by best, 110; different methods of punctuation practised by, 246 School-books, cut-in notes in, 180; subheadings in, 230, 231 Sciences, signs or symbols in textbooks of, 42 {note 1); abbreviations in works on, 45 Latinized names of, 106, 107; capitals largely used in nomenclature of, 125; punctuation not included in exact, 246 ; little-used terms in, 338 ;
;
;
;
Index Scott, John, 34 Scott, Robert, 35 Script, indention
text, 159; in letters, 169; types selected for, 240; use of dash of,
very-
169 ;
wide indention unpleasing even spacing of, 206, 207 Scriptures, centre-notes in pocket in, 185 ;
editions of, 181 Sections, sign used to indicate, 52 (note) snoulder-notes used in law work to define, 181 self, compounds with., 68 Semicolon, use of, with closing marks of quotation, 217 old teaching as to elocutionary value in compound senof, 245, 246 tences, 249, 250 defines member of sentence, 250, 252, 253 omission of, in simple sentences, 251; use of, in complex sentences, 251253; in modem practice of punctuation, 254; early use ot, 262 ;
;
;
;
;
{note 2) ;
proper function of, 262,
263, 288
no point of intermediate
;
471
importance between comma and, cannot be perverted to 263, 264 other use, 266 seldom used with ;
;
dash, 291 Sentences, in English, intelligible without accents, 14 punctuation of complicated and of short, 245 different parts of complex, 246; names of component parts of long, 247, 250 definition of, 247, 250 omission of comma in direct, 248, 253 use of comma in amplified, 248, 249; construction and punctuation of compound, 249, simple and complex or 250 compound, 251-253 explanatory phrases incorporated in, 255 proper function of semicolon in, period at end of com262, 263 pleted, 268; position of interroand of exclamation in, fation 80-283; faulty construction of, 306 Serials, names of, in roman, 105; in italic, 105 Service-books, symbol of response symbol of versicle in, 48 in, 48 ;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
Shakspere. William, 56-58, 72, 210, 227, 259
Shoulder-notes, use, position, and style of, 181
with, 269, 272, 273 Side-uotes, abbreviations in, 38 et seg.
;
;
for,
;
;
;
;
indention
151, 153, 154, 166, 169; of, 169, 170, 196
Signs, use of, in scientific treatises and text-books, 37, 42 {note 1); scientific, 45; abbreviations conjoined with, 45; mathematical, astronomical, 46, 47 com46 mercial, 47; apothecaries', 47, 48; ecclesiastical, 48; for paragraphs and sections, 52 (Jiote); of reference, 175, 176 used by proof-readers, 322-324 Singular, changes from, to plural, 11, 12 -sion, nouns ending in, 22 Sixtus V, Pope, 348 Slang, abbreviations of, 50 ;
;
;
Small capitals, use of, for abbreviations, 39, 41 abbreviated titles in, 44; numerals of roman, 90, 91; for titles of magnates, centuries, and dynasties, 91, 92; ;
contrasted with lower-ease,
91,
roman numerals of, for foot-
93;
notes and indexes, 93 should be proper intermediate between lower-case and capitals, 93 in ;
;
foot-notes,
103;
for
names of
newspapers and magazines, 104 at beginning of lines of poetry, 108; partiemar use of, in Bible, 109, 110 (see also note 1); for titles of honor or distinction, 117; how indicated in copy, 145; rated as superior to italic for emphasis or display, 145 no taller than round letters of lower-case, 145; characteristics of, uses of, 145 et seg. more 145 useful if taller and wider, 146; how to relieve density of, 148; used with capitals, 148, 150, 151. 166; French, 152; letter headings and signatures in, 153-155, 164 et seq. for reproduction of inscrip;
;
Side-headings, small capitals freely used for, 146 capitals and small capitals an approved style for, 152; in dictionaries, catalogues, and educational books, 155, 156, 240; should agree with types of
unwisely used
italic
105 divisions in narrow measures of, 131; add to expense of composition, 179; type for, 179181 ctit-in notes more troublesome than, 180; spacing of letters in, 206 Signatures, use of ampersand in, 42 (see also note 2); abbreviations in, 43 italic for, 105 capitals and small capitals for, 150,
;
;
;
;;;
Index
472
on tablets, 155; for side-
tions
headings in dictionaries, catalogaes, and educational books, 155, 156, 240 rarely used for emphatic words, 15ti of value when used with discretion, 156; subheadings in, 230, 234; for running titles, ^4; for legend lines, 235 Smith, C. M., 311 iiiote) ;
;
Spaces, disuse of, in abbreviations, old fashion of spacing 39, 41; with two three-to-em, 140 of ;
different widths not possessed by early printers, 142; proper and improper use of, 198 et seq. Spacing, over-wide, 75 of capitals, 113 (see also notes), 203, 204; division of words prevents unequal, 130 injudicious division of words a cause of bad, 138, 139; more attention now given to even, 139, 140 wide and narrow, 143 density of small capitals relieved by hair-, 148; of running titles, 152; ;
;
;
;
objectionably uneven, 184; importance of even, 186; half-diamond indention a cause of bad, 191 of capitals in squared paragraph of narrow measure, 194; ;
even, 198 et seq. of hand composition., 200-202; how to secure even. 202 of lean and fat types, 202; thin, 203 (Tiote) affected by punctuation, 204, 205, 210; of letters, 206, 289; of black-letter, lower-case, and script, 206, 207 of poetry, 208; of subheadings, 232 et seq. See Leading Spanish, division of words in, 144 Spanish Grammar, 144 Spelling, seven approved authorities on, 5; disagreement of dictionaries, writers, and printers with regard to, 5; wor^ of changeable, relatively few in dictionaries, 5. 6 variations of British and American, 6; inconsistencies of authors in, 7 decision of author on, final in printinghouse, 7; difaeult^ of following different authorities in, 7, 8; importance of uniformity in, 8; variable, 8 {note) remarks about variable, 8 {note) author should furnish list of words of peculiar, 9 words of variable, in copy, 9, 10, 61 importance of proper code of, 10 writers apparently indifferent about. 10 debatable forms of, 10; remarks on, 10: correct, ;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
of words ending in -ible, -able, 17; of classical names, 17; of proper names, 25-27 (see also note); distinctively British, 2731; reformed, 31 (see also note); illiterate, 32 (see also ?w>te) supposed faults in, 43, 44; baa, should be repeated in copies of 16,
;
originals, 51; knowledge of, insufficient in proof-reading, 310; obsolete British, 316 (see also note) Standard Dictionary, use of. in United States, 5; spelling of, 8 {note) chemical words in, 18 ;
{note) ;
preferred spellings of, 28
{note 2), 29 {note), 31
Stanzas, numerals of roman small capitals for, 90 States, Southern, use of O in, 15 Northern, use of oh in, 15 ; usual abbreviations of, 53, 54 Statins, Pnblins Papinius, 109 {note)
Statues, use of italic for names of, 104 Steme, Laurence, 259, 271, 273, 278 Stone, clipped words cut in. 33 Stormonth, Rev, James, 328 Stormonth's Dictionary, an authority in En^and and colonies, 5;
known omy by name to manv American proof-readers, 8;
dif-
ferences of spelling in, 28 (see also note 1), 29 (see also note), 31 spelling of, 328 Style, niceties in, 8 ; uniformity of, 78. 157, 158 (see also note), 328; chap-book, 142; characteristics of small-capital, 146, 147; for
side-headings and subheading, 152 types radically different m, ;
159; types identical in, but of different shape, 159, 160; typographic, 305, 310; written code of, 328. See Mannerisms Subheadings, division of words in, 131; in small capitals. 149; in
;
lower-case, 149; capitals and small capitals an approved style for, 152 ; should agree with types of text, 159 regular, 164 : cut-in notes need less space than, 180
;
indention
;
not
needed
under
short, 186; spacing of, 201, 232 et
types selected for, 230-232 omission of period at end of, 268, 269. See Side-headings Subtitles, divisions sometimes unavoidable in, 131 seq. ;
;; ;
;
Index SufBxes, 9, 28-31
16,
18-24, 27 (note),
17,
divisions in square-set, 131 of chapters, 148, 149; type and indention of, 187, 188 Swift, Jonathan, 246 Syllables, in pronunciation and compounding, 63 {note)', when accented with dieresis, 64, 65 ;
numerals of one and two, 66, prefixes of one and two, 73; divisions on, 128-130, 132 et seq., 198, 199 theory and practice of making, 144; on the shortening and the accenting of .final, 286 ;
Symbols, use of, in scientific treatises and text-books, 37, 42 {note 1)
Tables, neat arrangement of figures in, 37 abbreviations or contractions in, 37, 39 et seq. piecefractions should not be used with solid fractions in same, 83 use of ciphers in, 84; figures indispensable and cast on en body ;
;
;
for, 85, 87, 89 old-stj^le figures in solid, 90 {note) italic for headings of, 105, 231 (see also note); of contents, 126, 127, 148, 149; di;
;
visions in narrow measures of, 131 selection of type for, 157, 158 inverted commas as sign (note) for ditto in, 253; use of hyphens to form leader lines in, 286, 287 Teall, F. Horace, 62 (see also note), 143 Tennyson, Alfred, 334 (note), 351 Tense, obsolete or Httle-used forms of past, 8, 9 Terminations, divisible, 135, 137, 138 Terminals, consolidated, 73 Terminology, scientific, 45 Terms, chemical, 18 (see also note) abbreviations of scientific, 60; little-used, 338 ;
;
Territories, for, 53, 54
old-style figures in lower-case, 90 {note) roman numerals in lower-case, 91 type selected for, 92 {see also note 2); italic approved for book, in sixteenth century, 94; use of italic for emphasis in, 96; certain proper ;
Summaries, use of capitals in, 126, 127
473
usual
abbreviations
Text, abbreviations or contractions in, 37 (see also note), 38 et marks of reference in, 42 seq. (see also 7iote 1) use of ampersand in, 42 (see also note 2), 43 extracts, quotations, and docuuse of ments inserted in, 43 capitals and of small capitals for abbreviated titles in, 44; use of words for numbers in, 76 figures not pleasing but sometimes necessary in descriptive, 84, 85; ;
-,
;
;
;
names in, italicized, 104; italic for citations in, 105; commentaries in, italicized and bracketed, 107; quotations in type of, 107 use of capitals for titles in, 111, 112 when quotations should he capitalized in, 124 capital letters as means of distinction or display in, 124-126 of serious or standard books, 125; dislike of abbreviations in, 144; long and ;
;
;
;
short quotations introduced into, 146; leading of small capitals and of lower-case, 149 small capitals rarely used for emphatic words of, 156; whether leaded or solid decided bv publisher, 157; proper type for, 158-161; inserts in type smaller than that of, 161, 163, 164; regular subheadings of, 164; honorary titles in lower-case of, 170 leading of, 174, 175; separated from notes ;
;
by hair-line rule, 177, 178; cut-in notes in roman lower-case thi-ee sizes smaller than type of, 180; composition of book, 183, 184; indention of extracts in, 195, 196; five-to-em- or hair-spacing of lines of, 201; spacing of, at side of illustrations, 206; purpose of quote-marks in, 210; titles in foot-notes
and in, 226
spacing of illustrations in, 233, brackets 234, 236 (see also note) and parentheses in, 239; use of brackets to inclose interpolated words in, 277. See Composition Text-books, signs or symbols in, 42 (note 1) abbreviations in, 48; for study of close pointing, 259 standard, 305 The. See Article Ther Hoernen, Arnold, arable figures first used by, 89 Time, on the use of words and of figures for statements of, 82 -tion, nouns ending in, 22 Title-pages, use of ampersand in English, 43 small capitals used ;
;
;
for honorary titles in, 44, 45 roman numerals used for dates in, 87 et seq. division of words in, ;
;
;;,
;;;
Index
474
131; chap-book style of, 142; so-called artistic, 143 small capitals freely used for catch-lines made attractive or reof, 146 pelling, 182, 183; importance of suitable blanks for, 183; half;
;
diamond indention used in, 189191; motto indention used by French printers in, 192; squared indention in favor for undisplayed parts of, 193, 194; spacing of display lines of, 201, 204 uncouth, 208 {note) omission of period at end of displayed lines in, ;
;
268, 269 without points, 289, 290 Titles, abbreviations of, 43-45, 60, 290; compound civic and military, 68 roman numerals in, 91 use of italic for running, 94, 97, ;
;
in works on bibliography, 105 orm102; in foot-notes, 103; nary book-work, 103 (see also note) ; of books, periodicals, plays, and pictures. 111, 112; long or complex, 112; capitals preferred for, 112, 113; of corporations,|113, 114 of honor or distinction, 114-118 capitalization of compound, 116, 117; use of capitals for running, 126, 127, 151 ; small capitals used for running, 140, 151 suitable type for, ;
m
;
;
;
and spacing of, running, 151, 152, 157; should agree with types of text, 159 ; honorary, in letters, 170; needless use of quotationmarks for, 221 use of italic and of quote-marks for, 225-229; exactness in citing, 226 ; omission of period at end of running, 268, 269 Toresani, Andrew, 175 (note) Treatises, abbreviations in scien;
tific,
37
study of authoritative,
;
125; on punctuation, 241; grammar, 241
on
Trench, Richard Chenevix, 58, 220 (see also note 2)
;
artificial
arrangement and mix-
ing
154; for side-headings, size and style of, for
of,
155, 156 ;
books determined by publisher, should be selected before copy goes to compositors, 158 157;
(see ^so note), 159; tiniformity needed in pages of, 159, 160 suggestions for graduating sizes of, for 160, 161 for inserts, 161, 163 letter headings, 163 et seq. abandonment of ornamental, 167 honorary titles in lower-case of text, 170; for notes, 174, 175; signs of reference in font of book, 175; for side-notes, 179for cut-in notes, 180, 181 181 for centre-notes, 181 for shoulder-notes, 181; for title-pages, very wide indention un182 pleasing even in script, 185 uniform indention of two or more sizes of, 187 distinction in subject-matter shown by change in ;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
size
and style of, 187;
half-dia-
mond indention for display of, 190 plain and undisplayed, 195 spacing of, 198 et seq., 289; lean and fat, 202; quote-marks not needed for extracts in small, 214; for subheadings, 230-232; for legend lines, 235 et seq. tot explanatory descriptions foUowii^ legends, 237, 238 for side-head;
;
;
ings, 240; condensed two- line, 289; danger of meddling with, 356; all unmarked changes in,
should be "ringed " by compositor, eleetrotj^er, or pressman, See Lett&rs 356, 357. Type-founders, medieval abbreviations reproduced by American, 49 (see also note); French, 152; over-prominence of parentheses
made by, 276 solid and sectional braces furnished by, 287, 288 Type-setters, qualifications needed by, in proof-reading, 314, 315; daily performance of, 336, 337. See Book-printers. Compositors, Job-printers, and Printers Type-setting, laborious methods of, 167; early days of, 199; cost of proof-reading compared with that of, 295. See Composition ;
Turner, Sharon, 332 {noU) Type, how to minimize expense of alterations in, 10; books in roman, printed in sixteenth century, 35 use of small, for abbreviations, 35, 36; ordinary font of ;
57 ; arabic figures of book, 87, 88 for text and notes,92 (see ^so note for quotations, 107 ; rigidity 2) of, 138 (see also note) five correlated series in complete font of, 145 capitals and small capitals an approved style of, for ;
;
;
side-headings and subheadings, readers not helped by 152, 230
Type-setting machines, composition on, 96 use of italic and small ;
capitals curtailed by, 96, 97, 156
;;
;;
Index special ad,iustineut of spaces impossible in, 200; bad copy not accepted for, 344 expert compositors on, 354, 355 Type-wi-itin^, old method of printing in fashion of, 142 Typogi-aphia, 95 Typography, niceties belonging to :
grammar rather than to,
8,
9
revival of old fashion in, 99 proper nse of italic a help to aood. 104, 105; unknown reiormer of. 130; new school of, 131, 149, 193, 207 (note), 2S7; old method of, 142 tendency of modern, 1G7; distinct branch of graphic arts, 167; fifteenth-century school of, 203 {note) Kelmscott school of, 236 ^ood general rule in, 238 errors in early, 346 ;
;
;
;
See Printing
et seq.
Underscorings,
for
italic,
small
capitals, and capitals, 340 for display, 340 United States, dictionaries used in, 5; new places recently named in, ;
methods of dividing words See America in, 129, 130. 25;
University Press, 35, 140 Usage, writers not governed by, 6 mannerisms in writing confinned
475
discrepancy in, 141; spelling of, 328
Whittingham, Charles, 290
Wicked Bible, 348 Wilson, John, 135
143, 220
(note),
(7iote 1), 320 (note)
Windelin of Speyer, 34, 99 Woodcuts, legend lines under, 234 Worcester's Dictionary, an authority in United States, 5; preferred spellings of, 28 (?j.o(e 2), 29 (note),
31 the word discrepancy in, 141 Words, diiferences of dictionaries ;
in spelling of, relatively few, 5, 6; divergences in compounding of, 6, 7 variations in British and American spelling and compounding of, 6 efforts of editors ;
;
and proof-readers for consistency in compound, 7; decision of author final in spelling and division of, in printing-house, 7; formation of foreign, in plural, 8, 9; use of accents and diacritical marks in English, 9; ending in
-able, -ible,
-ent,
-er,
16, 17,
-or,
9,
-ant,
-ise, -ize,
18-21 (see also
author should furnish list of prefeiTed spellings of peculiar, 9; made uncertain notes), 23, 29, 30;
by illegible writing, 10; spelling of,
in the plural, 11, 12
;
Latin
and Greek, 13 (see also note 1)
by, 6
French, 13 (see also note 1) accenting of, 14 ending in -in, -ine, ;
Verbs, capitalization
book
in
of,
127; division of, 135; use
titles,
of comma with, 253, 254 Verses, period not needed after figures at beginning of, 93 first ;
word of, capitalized, 107, 108; notes composed of, 179 Versicle, symbol of, 48 Vessels, use of italic for names of, 104; quote-marks for, 228, 229 Vocative, use of exclamation-point in, 14, 283 Vowels, use of an before words beginning with, 13 pronunciation of Greek < before, 18; dieresis always on second, 64, 65 division of words on, 128, 129, 137 Vulgate, errors in early edition of, 348 ;
;
Webster,
Noah,
134
{note),
316
(note), 328 ;
5;
(note
preferred spellings of, 28 29 (note), 31; the word
2),
spellings of in -sion and irregular forms of, 22 -tion, 22 in-ance, -ence, -ancy, -ency, -ant, -ent, 23, 24; special lists of some variable, 27-31; in -our, 28, 29 (see also note); in -ment, 31; clipped, as old as wi'iting, 33 must be in full where space perabbremits, 37 (see also note) viated, in technical and scientific works, 37 on spelling out and contraction of, 38 et seq. abbreviation of Latin, 49; foreign or little-used, 60, 338; compound, 61 et seq. good writers do not favor increase of compound, 64; useless hyphened, 65; consolidated, separate, and hyphened, over-wide spacing 70 et seq. caused by compound, 75 in legEd documents and formal writings, 77 (see also note), 78, 79; in newspaper and job work, 77, 78; in same sentence with figures, 80 -ide,
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
Webster's Dictionary, an authority in United States, 5 latest edition of,
;
18; new chemical, 18 (note) -id,
;,
476
Index
degrees of inclination should be expressed in, 81 nse of, for qualifying numerals. 81; for statements of time, 82 expression of amounts in, 82; used for isolated vulgar fractions, 83 for numerical names of streets and avenues, for regi85, 86 (see also note) ments and corps of the army, ^, 87; used instead of roman numerals, 91, 92; use of italic for ;
;
;
;
foreign,
;
99-102,
97,
222;
105,
quoted from Greek or German, 98 incorporated in English lan;
guage, 100, 101; italicized and accented, 102, 105-107; inconsistencies in capitalization of qualifying, 120 en dash for compound, in line of capitals, 126; division of, 128 et seq. compounded from Greek or Liatin, 129 unequal spacing of, 130; derived from foreign languages, 142; proper rendering of printed, 1^ books on division of, 143, 144 division of foreign, 144; useless display of 164; reuef of surrounding blank needed by printed, 182; old methods of huddling, 183 {note) diagonal display of, 195 spacing division of, on of, 198 et seq. syllables, 198, 199; old fashion of aistingnishin^, 213 use of quotemarks for criticized. 215; quotations of isolated, 216; place of quote-marks should be determined only by quoted, 217 use of comma with certain, 254; clauses beginning with limiting, 256; dash once used to indicate suppressed, 269 use of brackets to inclose interpolated, 277 compounded with hyphen, 286 spelling out of foreign or unusual, 198; verification of scientific, 300 of foreign, 306; ambiguous or improper, 306 ;
;
_;
;
;
-,
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
Working-man's Wayin the World, 311 (note), 312 (noU) Writers, differing authorities on spelling preferred by, 5 changes in word forms originate with, 6; liberties taken by some, 7 precautions observed by disciplined, 10 imperfect copy furnished by, 10, 299, 317; intersections O and oh used interchangeably by, ;
;
;
14; classical forms script of educated, 17 ;
spelling used by, 31;
m manu-
reformed ignorant,
tenacious about spelling and expression, 32 abbreviations readily made by early, 35 ; abuse of abbreviations by undisciplined, 38; compositors should follow copy of educated, 43, 44, 50, illiterate or 60, 327, 330, 331; careless, 44, 327; do not favor compounds, 64; of increase spelled-out words preferred innumerals by roman of stead many, 91, 92 free use of italic for emphasis shows bad taste of, 96 capitals not used for emphasis by exact, 126; how small capitals are indicated by, 145; small capitals for signatures of, ;
;
;
150, 151; mannerisms of, 163 et sea. ; quote-marks should be used only for exact words of, 215;
methods of advertisement, 222; treatises on punctuation for undisciplined, 241 ; punctuation by disciplined, 243; study of punctuation in good, 259; dash used as substitufe& for other points by, 269, 270; loose phrasing of undisciplined, 307; negligences of, 317, 318; copy of professional^ 334 (see also note). See Authors Writing, authors apparently indifferent about, 10; words made uncertain by illegible, lOj formation of plurals in scientific, 11; illiterate, 32, 108 (see also note) ; clipped words as old as, 33; abbreviations in descriptive, in eighteenth century, 35; common abbreviations in epistolary, 36; importance of distinctness in, 38, 333 et seq. ; carelessly prepared, 43, 317, 318; free use of arable figures in, 76 ; words preferred in form^ 77 (see also note) ; spelled-out words sometimes obligatory in compact, 79 arable figures used for dates in ordinary, 81 ; statements of time in formal and in rapid, 82 use of capitals in formal. 122; in some kinds of descriptive, 1^; treatises on punctuation of, 241; :
open punctuation in ordinary descriptive, 244; for the press. 317, 318, 343, 344; errors caused by bad, 352, 353
Zodiac, signs of, 47 Zoology, use of capitals and italic for names in, 106, 107