PRINTERS AND AUTHORS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XX, Issue 1168, 10 December 1863, Page 3

PRINTERS AND AUTHORS.

Extracted from ' The Queen.' Gentle writers, —I crave yonr attention for a fewbrief moments, while I offer one or two pertinent observations, in which you, I, our Editress, and the printer—indeed all printers—are alike interested. When you receive your copy of ' The Queen,' or any other Paper, nicely printed, neatly folded, and artistically put together—complete, in fact, in all its compartments, you can have little idea how, and under what trying circumstances it was produced. You do not know the details—how should you ?, Let me enlighten you on one point only. Imagine all the rest, if you can.—Poor Printer! Without wandering from the object of this Letter, let me speak simply of the MS. copy; that is, the written material furnished you (and myself), and sent to ' The Queen' to be put into type by the Compositors. How do you usually pen it? Is your caligraphy marvellously beautiful—very distinctly legible,—or is it the reverse ?Is it written on one side of your paper only, or on both sides? If the latter, it is not divisible. No two compositors can be occupied on it, at one and the same time. Thus, much valuable time is irrecoverably lost. Write invariably, if you please, on the first and third page 9 (only) of every sheet of paper you use for the Printer. They can then be detached. A printer's time is always valuable as gold; but, towards the end of the week, treble work at least has to be done in single time! Imagine then the fix of a Compositor, when he is so puzzled to decipher your wretched handwriting (the article sent in, perhaps, at the eleventh hour,) that he requires at least thrice the time for the purpose that would, under other circumstances, be amply sufficient. The loss to him is serious. He can make no charge for it.—Poor Printer! Nor is this all. People will rarely make any allowance for a " Printer's error." They forget he is obliged to do the best he can under untoward circumstances. He has no living author to refer to only his (or her) MS. Now, if he cannot read what you write, how can he be expected to print what you say you intended to write, but did not write ? Every week, in the mass of Correspondence that falls to my own share, there are some letters very closely and illegibly written—so illwritten, in fact (sometimes " crossed "), that, in pity to the printer, I abridge, copy, and send them down in a new form. Think of the labour and time this occupies . Hut I feel for the—" Poor Printer." Now all this, and much more that will readily occur to a reflective mind, arises from sheer idleness and carelessness. Private people who write a letter or an article for publication, have far more time at their disposal than a printer can have ; and as tor Editors, they cannot possibly, as a rule, rew "*® communications they receive. Hence, many of these latter fvßrv properly) find their way nnread, into !h e Ay mate a cheerful Christnm aj I do, all the inns and oats ofjil'rinting Office it has often been a matter of wonder to me that the men perform their work half so efficiently as they do, considering the fearfully adverse circumstances by which they are surrounded. Leaving the Compositors for the present, mark the responsibility of the "Reader" and the Pressman. In Stevens Bvo. edition of Shakspeare, for instance, every page ("text and notes) contains 2680 distinct pieces or metal. This, in a sheet, amounts to 42,880. Any one of these pieces, if misplaced, would der. With this curious fact (only one adduced out of millions) before our eyes, surely we ? 0 ™* miserate the printer and deal more gently with occasional error? . ... „ As regards writing legibly, distinctly, with a pr£ per space between each line, and on one s.de of he paper only—these are indispensably requisite, buch precautions would prevent mistakes, !l 1-wiill, disputes, and complaints, while, at the same time, thev would coufer on the poor, honest compositor, a favor for which he would ever feel most grateful to the writers. His eyes too —they would last, who can tell how much longer? . ~ Ido not say that lam free from blame in this matter No! I often write what I cannot read when I have written it! Down it goes to the poor printer. Up it comes again to me, in print, and positively free from error ! But the cause of my writing hurriedly, originates in the illegible MS. of my correspondents. Being frequently pressed for time, I can only just contrive to copy their communications, and make them better than the Originals. As good luck will have it, my scribble is well known to the printer; and so,—" All's well that ends well." 5 Now all this might; be easily remedied, by every writer devoting only a few more minutes of his time, at home, to the worthy printer. This 'would, moreover, lead to a better style of writing altogether, and. tend greatly to self-improvement. Verbunt sat ' " WntiiAM Kroo..