San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-05-02
TYPOGRAPHICAL M&SHAPS.
some of the Mirth Provoking Contortions
INDUCED In by Types.

some Of the Mirth Provoking Contortions
INDUCED In by Types.
A Chicago writer described an exquisite as
one "whose manners would adorn drawing
ROOM" but the unthinking compositor made
1t read, whose manners would alarm a
drowning man"
The Cincinnati Enquirer once created a
genuine sensation by stating, in display type,
that gang Of American oounterfeiters had
been shaving the queen" when Showing
the queer" was evidently what was intended.
One Of the worst instances Of misprints
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 blunder, to
the parties interested. was where distin-
guished traveller was reported as having re-
Gently died 'in the richness Of sim" The
paper, however, apologixed 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 So
ciety reporter who, in describing the belle of
a recent fashionable party, intended to say
"she looked au fait," but found that an un.
feeling blacksmith had made it, ''she looked
all feet"
OF all editorial writers, Horace Greeley
was most noted for illegible copy. On ono
occasion the modern Franklin" penned
something about Suburban journalism ad
vancing," but the type setter, thinking it one
of his famous agricultural articles, launched
out wildly with the words, Superb Jerusa
lem artichokes."
1t is somewhat singular how often the omis
sion of a single seemingly insignificant 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 a
widow" in some embarrassing position; as
where, on the occasion of a street pageant a
gentleman unwittiugly advertised several
widows for hire" and the even worse blum
der, in a religious paper, which gratefully !
recorded the fact that Mr.. - had very
generously placed stained glass widow in |
the church at --.n
Errors OF substitution are usually caused |
by bad distribution, or by letters dropping |
into en- adjoining box in an over full case of
type. That the letters ''o'' and 'a' are so |
transposed is due to the fact that |
these letters are kept in adjoining boxes, aud |
the same rule holds good with regard to other |
vowels and rsost frequently used letters. An |
error Of this description recently occurred in |
an article by the present writer, where an |
lllusion 10 the time henored tune of Yankee |
Doodle" was printed as Yankee Doodle. |
The proof reader who allowed this error to |
sass evidently hailed from Canada, and con-
'idered the new title as more suggestive and |
appropriate to the present day
A poem h the SOmerville (Mass) Journal |
once contained this remarkable stanza:
Who took ME from my childhood's home.
And said he'd love me all alone
And forImysacTifce atonel {
Dickinson Ny husband.
Dickinson" was not the husbands name: |
t was simply quad put in wrong side up,
showing the makers name, which is usually |
stamped on the bottom Of type.
We will close our citations of some of the
jOrments of Typography by mentioning what
S perhaps the most important printers blum
Ter on record. 1t is said, on the authority of
the historian Kinglake, that it was the in
cntion of Louis Napoleon to call himself |
imply Napoleon, and that the title, Napoleon
III, was due solely to an error of the types
lust before the coup detat, a minister of |
the home office, busy preparing public senti-
neat, wrote: Que lie mot d. Ordre soil viv6
The printer took the exclama-
ions for Ill" and 50 the proclamation
vent out, was copied by the press, and incor
aorated in public speech. 1t was no time for
explanations, and so the nephew of his uncle
adopted the tite.-ChaTles F. Adams il