Last summer I read Mark Twain's autobiography and my favorite anecdote from the whole book involved a printing accident in his youth. Not having a copy of the book to hand I'll do my best to tell the story from memory—I'm sure Mr. Twain wouldn't mind and I hope sticklers for detail will forgive me if I muddle one or two of the finer points, just this once.
In Twain's youth the great American humorist worked as a printer's devil, a boy who sets type for printing presses. He and a fellow devil had just finished setting the type for a long, tightly-spaced page for a religious tract when they realized they had left out the words "Jesus Christ" near the very beginning. Having strong, personal objections to the extra work that would be involved in re-setting the entire page, the two devils determined that they could—just barely—squeeze in the initials "J.C." at the requisite place near the top. Feeling very pleased with their ingenuity, they ran off the print order and congratulated themselves on a job well done.
The reverend who had ordered the job was not amused when he saw the liberties the devils had taken with his sermon, and he gave the boys the wickedest tongue-lashing possible, adamant that they were never, ever, ever to abbreviate the name of their blessed Saviour in any way. Then he insisted that they re-do the entire print order (which naturally involved resetting the entire page of type), and he left them to their onerous task.
Out of sheer cussedness one of the devils (I forget which one) determined that if the good reverend would not tolerate ANY abbreviation of the good Lord's name, well, then, neither would he. When they re-set the tract, for every reference of the Emmanuel they very carefully set their printing slugs: "Jesus H. Christ."
The reverend was still not amused. He made the boys re-set the order again, but this time Twain felt that it was worth it.
In Twain's youth the great American humorist worked as a printer's devil, a boy who sets type for printing presses. He and a fellow devil had just finished setting the type for a long, tightly-spaced page for a religious tract when they realized they had left out the words "Jesus Christ" near the very beginning. Having strong, personal objections to the extra work that would be involved in re-setting the entire page, the two devils determined that they could—just barely—squeeze in the initials "J.C." at the requisite place near the top. Feeling very pleased with their ingenuity, they ran off the print order and congratulated themselves on a job well done.
The reverend who had ordered the job was not amused when he saw the liberties the devils had taken with his sermon, and he gave the boys the wickedest tongue-lashing possible, adamant that they were never, ever, ever to abbreviate the name of their blessed Saviour in any way. Then he insisted that they re-do the entire print order (which naturally involved resetting the entire page of type), and he left them to their onerous task.
Out of sheer cussedness one of the devils (I forget which one) determined that if the good reverend would not tolerate ANY abbreviation of the good Lord's name, well, then, neither would he. When they re-set the tract, for every reference of the Emmanuel they very carefully set their printing slugs: "Jesus H. Christ."
The reverend was still not amused. He made the boys re-set the order again, but this time Twain felt that it was worth it.
***
Occasionally when exploring an unusual book, a reader might find a small slip of paper glued in with the pages noting a mistake within the text. Printers' devils with more lenient bosses than young Twain used to paste these into books by hand when a mistake was made, rather than reprinting the entire book.
Because publishers try not to let flawed work out onto the market, errata slips have always been fairly rare. Like mistakes in postage stamps or coins, errata slips can significantly increase a book's value to collectors. (For more details, read this excellent article by Kristin Masters: "When Mistakes Are Worth Money.")
When I received my author copies of the paperback edition of Victorian Secrets last week, I was disappointed to see how dark the photo insert had turned out. I hope that purchasers of the paperback will accept my sincere apologies and consider the pictures below as the "errata slip" for this edition.
Please print out and paste these pictures into the back of your paperback copy of Victorian Secrets. It will increase your book's value to future collectors—plus, you'll get to be a bit of a devil.
Because publishers try not to let flawed work out onto the market, errata slips have always been fairly rare. Like mistakes in postage stamps or coins, errata slips can significantly increase a book's value to collectors. (For more details, read this excellent article by Kristin Masters: "When Mistakes Are Worth Money.")
When I received my author copies of the paperback edition of Victorian Secrets last week, I was disappointed to see how dark the photo insert had turned out. I hope that purchasers of the paperback will accept my sincere apologies and consider the pictures below as the "errata slip" for this edition.
Please print out and paste these pictures into the back of your paperback copy of Victorian Secrets. It will increase your book's value to future collectors—plus, you'll get to be a bit of a devil.
Me, before I started wearing a corset
Winter visiting dress, circa 1890s.
Custom corset
Gabriel at a presentation.
Gabriel and I put in an appearance at the State Capital Museum in Olympia.
I get stopped by a photographer en route to the State Capital Museum.
The 2009 Port Townsend Victorian Festival.
An example of the amazing Victorian architecture in Port Townsend, Washington.
Half-in, half-out of an era: Victorian-style gray wool skirt paired with a modern sweater pinned in the back.
At a coffee shop in Port Townsend.
Back to the future: Contemplating the Delorean.
Preparing for presentations.
Writing the text for this book.
Portrait of me modeling Édouard Manet's "Nana," painted by artist Francis Gace.
A presentation on the history of cycling at Port Townsend's 2013 Victorian Festival.
We show off our bikes.
Gabriel learns to ride a high wheel bicycle.
RSS Feed