Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-08
Strange Transformations.

In setting type, printers usually read a
line or two Of the copy and carry this in
their mind while setting 1t up. In this way
many ridiculous misprints occur. Owing to
the similarity in sound of words with en-
tirely different meanings. and to the fact
that the mind of the printer sometimes
wanders from the work In hand, words and
even whole lines undergo strange transfer
nations.
Because of the similarity of the German
word "madchen," meaning girls, and mach
ten," meaning powers, German newspaper
was made to say that Prince Bismarck is
trying to keep up honest and Straightfor-
ward relations with all the girls and an
English paper caused d noted geologist to
assert that The bones found in the SUBJ
representative of the British farmer" The
last word should have been fauna
The mind of the printer must have been
wandering considerably beyond the bounds
of his ALLEY when, in setting Shirley's
well-known lines
''Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in the DUST
he made it,
IAN the low actions of the just
Swell out and blow Sam in the DUST
But the printer who, in setting the text
OF Richard the Third, made the line,
MY lord, stand back and let the coffin pass
read.
My lord. stand back and let the parson cough ~
was only a little mixed in the syllables,
while the man who set,
HE kicked her under the cellar stairs"
instead of
He kissed her under the silent stars
was led into disaster by the similarity in
the sound of words. This last misprint
however, is trifie too good to be true.
and, unlike the others quoted, 1t cannot be
vouched for as having actually occurred.
Leaving out a space between words
frequently causes serious misprints and
also many that are quite amusing John
Hall, in his "Horae Vacivae," published in
tack" and says, Errors in this and war
can be but once amended The space"
was left out between the words "and'' and
war and students immedia tely began a
search for the origin of the word "and-
war 1t was suggested that andirons was
a parallel word of the same genus, and
that the word andwar would certainly mod
ernize into handwar. very laughable
nevor Terrace by the joining of parts of
words. This misprint caused a young lady
to be described without stretched arms"
Due to Penmanship.
Poor penmanship and the bad habit of
using numerous contractions to save time
are also prime causes of misprints. The
author who wrote -. c. first invaded
Britain. etc." using u. c. as an abbrevia-
ton Of Julius Caesar, was needlessly sur
prised when i appeared, Jesus Christ
first invaded Britain, etc." but the author
who wrote Ind. Govt" for indian govern
ment had no reason to think it would be
printed Indiana goat
Horace Greeley, whose ability to write
illegible manuscript is almost proverbial,
once had occasion to quote the line
Its true. It's pity; pity tbs, it's true"
His bad writing appears to have created
a great mathematical doubt in the mind
of the compositor for he made the line.
Its two, it's fifty, fifty tbs, it's five
The Bible has carried more than its
share of misprints, not a few of which
have been serious Probably the most seri-
Gus occurred in the Bible printed by Robert
Barker and Martin Lucas, kings printers
in the reign of Charles l. The word mot"
was left out of the seventh commandant,
and for this the printers were fined $500.
The edition was ordered destroyed, but
six copies escaped the flames and are now
in existence.
In the first edition of the English scrip
lures printed in Ireland, published at Bel
fast in 1716, "Sin no MORE" in Isaiah was
printed, "Sin on MORE" The next year
the famous ''Vinigar Bible came from the
oxford press 1t takes it's name from the
fact that in the running title of the TWEEN
tteth chapter of St. Luke, 1.-THE parable
of the vineyard" is printed 1.-The parable
Df the yinigar."