The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1889-05-17
TYPOGRAPHICAL BULLS.
Master Productions of the Intelligent
CompOsitor and Wise Proof-Reader.

Master Productions of the Intelligent
Composition and Wise Proof Reader.
The machine printer" or "black-
smith" is one of the chief obstacles
with which writer's have to contend.
He it is who sets up whatever the copy
looks like TO him, regardless as to
whether it makes sense or not. Such
one it was who set up ''Gambetta"
as IL am BETTER" and made heading
intended for Bridge carried away by
drive of logs" read Bridge carried
away by a drove of hogs" Another
OF this ilk made an advertisement
which read, 1.-The Christians Dream;
no cross, no crown" appear as 1.-THE
Christian s Dream; no cows, no cream"
A reporter of Chicago paper once
mentioned an intelligent craftsman as
"a thinking tailor" but the machine
printer who got the take made him
appear as ''thieving tailor" The
proOf-reader was of course responsible
for the error, but the vengeance of the
irate tailor was visited upon the un-
fortunate reporter.
Another Chicago writer described
an exquisite as one ''whOse manners
would adorn drawing-room," but the
minimizing cOmpositor made it read.
''whOse manners would alarm drown
ing man."
The Cincinnati Enquirer once created
a gensine sensation by stating, in dis
play type, that a gang of American
counterfeiters had been shaving the
QUEEN when showing the queer"
was evidently what was intended.
One of the worst instances of mis-
prints caused by bad chirography was
where the heading "A Honeymoon cut
short was printed in full-face as "A
Hungarian cut-throat."
Another equally disagreeable blum
der, to the parties interested, was
where distinguished traveller was re-
ported as having recently died ''in the
richness of SIM" The paper. however,
apologized for this candid admission
on the following day. by saying that
what the editor intended to write was
''the interior of Asia"
Perhaps no newspaper writer was
ever more disturbed by trihe than
was the society reporter who, in de-
scribing the belle of recent fashiona-
BILE party, intended to say ''she looked
an fait," but found that an unfeeling
blacksmith had made it, ''she looked
all fe t."
Of all editorial writer's, Horace
Greeley was most noted for illegible
copy. On one occasion the modern
Franklin" penned something about
Suburban journalism advancing" but
the type setter thinking it one of his
famous agricultural articles. launched
out wildly with the words, Superb
Jerusalem artichokes.
1t is somewhat singular how often
the omission of single seemingly in
significant letter will alter the entire
meaning of a sentence. For instance,
several errors are recorded where the
letter IN" has been omitted from the
word window" invariably placing
widow" in some embarrassing posi-
ton; as where, on the occasion of
street pageant gentleman unwittingly
advertised several widows for hire"
and the even worse blunder, in re-
ligious paper, which gratefully recorded
the fact that ''Mr. - had very gen.
erously placed stained glass widow
in the church at -"
Errors of substitution are usually
caused by bad distribution, Or by let
tiers dropping into an adjoining box in
an over-full case of type. That the
letters go" and "a" are so frequently
transposed is due to the fact that these
letters are kept in adjoining boxes,
and the same rule holds good with re-
gard to other vowels and most fire.
quently used letters. An error of this
description recently occurred in an
article by the present writer, where an
allusion to the time-honored tune of
yankee Doodle" was printed as
yankee Doodle" The proof-reader
who allowed this error to pass evil
IDENTIFY hailed from Canada and con-
sidered the new title as more sugges-
tive and appropriate to the present
day.-N. Y. Epoch.