Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1858-08-06
Among the Types.

Among the Types.
We presume that every person who has
ever written for the press, has been at times
mortified, as often, perhaps, been made to
smile, at the sad work made with his manu-
script by the wrong position Of those queer
little bits of metal, called type. The plain
est manuscript, as well as the most illegible,
is not free from such annoyances; for often
when the printed impression is seen, it reads
right wrong, instead of conveying the mean
ing of the writer. We have noticed some
queer blunders within the time we have
been among the types. We recollect an in
stance in the winter Of 1856, at the time
the newspapers gave an account Of President
Pierce turning his back on Senator Hale;-
the Tribune defended the President and said:
"But this gratuitous visit-taking two ladies
with him-has very much the look of an at
tempt on the part of the Senator to get be-
hind rampant Of dignity" &c. &c. The
compositor made "dimity" Of the word
dignity" which placed the Senator in a
more awkward position than the Tribune
intended, no doubt.
About year since correspondent visited
Bluehill to attend meeting Of the friends
Of music; and giving an account Of it to be
published, he stated that on arriving at Blue
hill he found that about $50 of the good
folks had gone down to Long Island in a
schooner, and in sail boats blueberrying.-
The compositor in setting up the word''b blue
berrying'' had II rcod bluttcring.'' This
might have been the case, possibly, if the
picnic had been postponed until after the
singing.
In the communication Of "Well Wisher. ="
in the last American, where it reads ''the Low.
ers of good order" &c, &c, the word
"order" was changed to cider" which
made the sentence read funny enough for a
temperance article. But the most provok-
ing blunder occurred in making use of a
wrong heading to the remarks on resolu.
ton of the Buchanan Columbia Convention
in the last number of the American We
wrote the article as q continuation Of the
one the week before, and the heading then
used, was left standing to be used again
We gave directions to the compositor ac-
cordingly; but instead of doing as directed,
a heading was taken that had been left
standing over two weeks, and used in max
ing some remarks on the Republican con-
vention. We did not see the proof, and
therefore the wrong head was placed on the
wrong shoulders. Such mistakes are pro-
voking; but what office is free from them;
especially country Office that has to be
carried on short handed, and at seasons, no
time given to correct proof. Some items
which ought to have been credited to the
Machias papers, also appeared in our last
issue, which many people wondered at, and
supposed could not relate to transactions in
our village. They were not loaded items,
and Of course the reader should have known
that the proper credit had been omitted by
mistake.
Some people cannot 90 to market and
purchase half dozen different articles for
family use without making more or less
blunders in some way connected with the
transaction; yet it is wondered that printers
in getting upa newspaper containing each
week, of new matter, from sixty to seventy
thousand ems, perhaps making $50, 600 diff
fercnt pieces of type, should make any blum
ders at all; while the placing in a wrong
position of any one of these many thousand
pieces, is an error, and one of which some.
body will complain. Every thing connected
with the country press has to be conducted
on an economical scale, that those CARRYING
them on may keep out Of the poor house,
and half of the time no opportunity is allow
ed to read more or less of the proof. Under
such circumstances is it strange that errors
occur?