Typographical error

“ It is well known to literary people, that, in preparing works for the printer, after the proof sheets have been seen by the author, to go over them again, and clear them of what are called typographical errors—such as wrong spellings, inaccuracies of punctuation, and similar imperfections. ”

“ Typographical errors are shown in the text with mouse-hover popups. Most errors are trivial, such as missing or incorrect punctuation or misplaced italics. Variant abbreviations such as “O.H.G.” for “OHG.” have been regularized to the forms given in the Authorities and Language lists. The word “invisible” in corrections means that there is an appropriately sized blank space in the printed text. ”

“ In dealing with our own older literature we find a considerable difference in degree of typographical correctness; thus the old plays of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are often marvels of inaccuracy, and while books of the same date are usually supplied with tables of errata, plays were issued without any such helps to correction. ”

“ Every effort has been made to preserve the original text, including non-standard spelling and grammar as well as inconsistencies in the transliteration of non-English words (both in spelling and use of diacritics.) Non-standard spelling has been preserved if the word is understandable in context. Changes to the text have only been made in the case of obvious typographical errors and where not making a correction would leave the text confusing or difficult to read. All changes are documented in the notes below. The original text also included an errata page by the author/translator. ”

“ The editor wishes to sincerely apologize.
It is true, finally, that authors owe their wildest thoughts, the most extraordinary expressions, to their kind typesetters, through whose impulses they become the principal sponsors of ideas from so-called typographical errors. For example, the editor spoke, in the second part of his "Night Pieces" (Pag. 326) , of spacious groves that float in a garden. The typesetter was not genial enough, for he set the word groves to be instead graves. ”

“ Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within the text and consultation of external sources.
Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. ”

“ Although every care has been taken to avoid typographical errors, it is necessary to call the attention of authors, and the Secretaries of Societies, to the desirability of forwarding the manuscripts in a more legible form; as, in several instances, the papers had to be re-copied before they were placed in the hands of the printer, thereby greatly increasing the chance of misinterpreting the author's meaning.
Several small errors have been observed since the work has passed through the press, but only those that seriously affect the author's meaning have been placed in an errata slip. ”

“ No carefully prepared table of corrections can make amends for such a fault in a book in which typographical correctness is of the greatest importance. To insert in their places with a pen more than two hundred published corrections is a labor which no reader would willingly undertake. ”

“ Many errors are also made by incorrect application of punctuation marks; as, for instance: An auctioneer, who had a buggy for sale, placed the sign, “Buggy! for Sale,” on an old bedstead near his door. In a short time his attention was drawn to the blunder by the laughter of some who passed. He readily perceived his error, and promptly made the correction. Examples of this kind are countless, of which I here give a few: “Woman, without her man, is a brute,” should be, “Woman,—without her, man is a brute.” A child being asked, “Why should we love God?” ”

“ Proper names, technical expressions, quotations from foreign languages, and frequent change of subject, are all likely to cause difficulty to a scribe and error in his work.
Careful and continuous regard to the various kinds of errors and defaults that are found in transcription will enable us to judge whether a reading which it is suggested stood in the archetype of our text is likely to have been corrupted to the reading, or readings, which stand in the extant manuscripts or editions. ”

“ A misspelled word or an incorrect grammatical form in the letter that you send to a business man may show you to be so careless and inaccurate that he will not wish to have you in his employ. In such a case it is only the avoidance of the error that is of value. You must determine for yourself that the letter is correct before you send it. ”

“ Webster accents the second syllable, and divides “discrep‐ancy”; while Worcester accents the first syllable, and divides “discre‐pancy.” In this, printers and readers must be governed by the “style” of the work upon which they are engaged.
One of the most frequently recurring errors noticed in reading first proof is the placing of an s at the end of a line when it should have been carried over. Corres‐pondence, des‐cribe, des‐cription, Aus‐tralian, are wrong, and are corrected daily; and their reappearance proves that in this, as in weightier matters, “error is wrought by want of thought.” ”

“ No one will question the propriety of saying grammatically correct. Yet the expression is the acknowledgment of things grammatically incorrect. Likewise the phrase grammatical correctness implies the existence of grammatical incorrectness. If, then, a sentence is grammatically incorrect, or, what is the same thing, has grammatical incorrectness, it includes a grammatical error. Grammatically incorrect signifies incorrect with relation to the rules of grammar. Grammatical errors signifies errors with relation to the rules of grammar. ”

“ Now we see why there could not be a more ingenious way of making bad spellers than ‘dictation’ as it is commonly taught. Every misspelt word is an image in the child’s brain not to be obliterated by the right spelling. It becomes, therefore, the teacher’s business to prevent false spelling, and, if an error has been made, to hide it away, as it were, so that the impression may not become fixed. ”

“ Even with all the array of variants, we are (as Whitney notes at iv. 8. 1; vi. 22. 3; 31. 3) at times forced to the conclusion that certain verses were hopelessly spoiled before ever any of the various text-makers took them in hand.
Illustrations of classes of text errors.—I have already hinted at the variety of special investigations to which the mass of critical material here assembled invites. The various occasions of probable error in the transmission of Indic texts have not yet been made the object of a systematic and formal treatise. ”

“ They are weak and therefore hardly adequate to their purpose in aiding the understanding through the eye. Being cast on the upper part of the type body, they leave a blank space below and thus impair the beauty of the line and interfere with good spacing. Certain rules for the position of quotation marks when used with other marks are based upon these typographical considerations rather than upon logical considerations. ”

“ Then I spell-check the text, and also skim through it to look for typos and "categories" of errors to tend to occur repeatedly within the text. One common error is having a single dash instead of two dashes, for example:
He lingered-slowly. as opposed to: He lingered—slowly.
Another common error is a space between a period, exclamation mark or other punctuation mark, and the letter that came before it, such as:
Hey ! instead of Hey!
or " Hey, " instead of "Hey,"
I then use the "Find/Replace" command within Microsoft Word to efficiently get rid of these. ”

“ LXXVI. Here however we regret to find we have both Editors against us. They propose “the definite question,”—
“ ‘Are there, as a matter of fact, places in which we are constrained by overwhelming evidence to recognize the existence of Textual error in all extant documents?’ To this question we have no hesitation in replying in the affirmative.”— (p. 279.) Behold then the deliberate sentence of Drs. Westcott and Hort. They flatter themselves that they are able to produce “overwhelming evidence” in proof that there are places where every extant document is in error. ”

“ The excessive right-inclination of the down-strokes, amounting to 45°, which to the detriment of the clearness and legibility of our handwritings has only in recent times become customary, must in any case be described as an error which nothing justified, not even haste and hurry. ”

“ If the style require a comma before leaders, see that none have been left out; if the style reject a comma, see that none have been left in; in short, see to everything,—and then, on the corner of the sheet, write the word “Press” as boldly as you can, but with the moral certainty that some skulking blunder of author, compositor, or corrector has eluded all your watchfulness.
5 In the Government Printing Office the style omits the “$” in this case,—the sign at top of table or page being considered sufficient.
The errors made by ourselves are those which occasion us the most pain. ”

“ And yet such substitution of one word for another is a constant anxiety to every editor. Some may consider that a competent editor would detect such a gross blunder. Unfortunately, the more familiar the mind is with the correct reading, the more likely is such an error to escape the eye. Your correspondent who did me the favour to point out this blunder will, I trust, receive this explanation, as also your other readers, in a candid spirit. The error has run through three editions, from the circumstance that the first edition furnished the copy for the subsequent ones. ”

“ It offers the readiest means for securing a page of correct reading matter. The mechanical operations are relatively simple. No other process will produce so good a printing surface as quickly or as inexpensively as the typographic method. Serious faults of the original copy, in spelling, use of points, words, phrases, in paragraphing, in spacing of lines, in arrangement of headings, and other errors can be readily corrected in type. The page can be made longer by leading, or shorter by taking out leads. ”

“ The style in which correction marks are made on a proof is an element of considerable importance. Straggling, unsymmetrical characters, disconnected marks placed in the margins above or below the lines to which they relate, irregular lines leading from an incorrect letter or word to a correction, large marks, marks made with a blunt pencil, indistinct marks, a frequent use of the eraser to obliterate marks hastily or incorrectly made, are all faults to be avoided. ”

“ An experienced proofreader does not read a galley letter by letter, but recognizes a wrong type because the natural formation of the word has been broken.
Carrying the experiment further, place in “open formation” the words “Art and Practice of Typography,” and they must be read slowly one word at a time, but group the words closely, as has been done in the lower left of the same Example 508, and the entire group of words can be read practically at a glance. Just as an illiterate person laboriously reads letter by letter, a young child beginning to read will see only one word at a time. ”

“ Examples 157, 158 and 159.—Caslon Oldstyle and Caslon Text are factors in the effectiveness of the booklet of which these three pages are representative. These three examples are additional evidence that type alone when properly used is almost as effective from an advertising point of view as if supported by the best decoration and illustration. It might be said that good typography is to be preferred at all times to poor art work, altho really good art work properly subordinated will undoubtedly add attractiveness and interest to a booklet otherwise well treated typographically. ”

“ Nearly all manuscript copy is indebted to the compositor and proof-reader for the proper punctuation; and many errors in spelling, made by men who probably know better, but write hastily, are silently corrected in the printing-office. Contradictions, errors of fact, anachronisms, imperfect sentences, solecisms, barbarisms, are modestly pointed out to the author by the proof-reader’s “quære,” or by a carefully worded suggestion; and, most usually, the proof is returned without comment,—and none is needed,—corrected according to the proof-reader’s intimations. ”

“ Visual Typographic Type. Nothing is easier to define. In its pure form it consists in seeing printed words and nothing more; in three cases words were seen written. Among some the vision of the printed words was accompanied by a concrete image as in the first type, but only for semi-concrete concepts (dog, animal, color) ; for the higher abstracts (time, cause, infinity, etc.) the typographical vision alone exists. [82] This mode of representation is widely distributed among those who have read much ”

“ TITLE-PAGE OF 1872
Showing the development during the nineteenth century of a severe and uninteresting style
Attractiveness is as necessary to the typography of the general job of printing as dignity and legibility are to a law brief, but, endeavoring to get attractiveness into their work, job printers often go astray. They wrongly labor under the impression that to have a job distinctive it must be made freakish. Typography is not good unless based upon art foundations. ”

“ With such a diversity of Authors of various nationalities, it has been found impossible to maintain uniformity in the arrangement of matter, the use of captions and the form of typographical make-up, without in some measure interfering with the writer's identity of method ”