Special

Subjects

TXagrcun shewing arrangement Kote ■ inner columns of Commentary narrow (Text cols eejuaJ)

Fig. 202.

printed in large type, the commentary, in smaller
type, surrounds it; such portion of the text being
printed on each page as will allow sufficient sur¬
rounding space for the accompanying commentary

334

is very short, it does not fill the page. This is a
free and natural treatment of the greatest conveni¬
ence to the reader, for illustration and text are always
in juxtaposition. And though the size of the type
and the amount of the text are varied, yet the uniform
top margins, and the uniform treatment and arrange¬
ment of the woodcuts, harmonise the pages, and give
to the whole book an agreeable effect of freedom
combined with method.

An old way of treating a text and its commentary
is indicated by the diagram (fig. 202). The text is

on that portion. The proportions and treatment of
every page are uniform (note, particularly, the uni¬
formity of the upper parts of the pages, five lines
of commentary being allowed to enclose the text,
or bound it above, on every page) with the exception
that the height of the text-column varies—one page
having as few as three lines of text to the column,
another having fifty-nine lines. This free treatment
of the text gives a charming variety to the pages.

Poetry.—A broader and freer treatment is desirable
in the printing of poetry. The original lines and
the arrangement of the verses should be more gene¬
rally preserved. And though the opening lines of a
poem may sometimes be magnified by printing them
in capitals—which necessitate their division—to
sacrifice the naturally varying line to the “even
page” is questionable, and to destroy the form of a
poem in order to compress it is a “typographical
impertinence” (see p. 61).

Decoration of print *

MUCH MAY BE DONE BY
ARRANGING IMPORTANT
TEXT IN “ITS OWN” CAPITALS;
OR BY THE OCCASIONAL USE
OF EXTRA LARGE CAPITALS.

For special letters or ornaments, woodcuts are
best (see p. 328). The early printers generally had
little, simple blocks of ornamental devices which
might be used separately, or be built up into a frame
border for a whole page—a simple method and
effective, if used reasonably.

335

Special

Subjects