Typesetting pangram
A couple of years ago, while visiting Robert Smail’s Printing Works in Innerleithen, Scotland (a Scottish National Trust property and an absolute must-see for anyone interested in printing history and letterpress!) I met a charming Scots ex-comp who wrote down for me a pangram that concerned typesetting. It was along the lines of ‘the art of composing type….’ and, as a pangram, used every character in the alphabet. Think ‘the quick brown fox….’ but with a typesetting theme.
Stupidly I recently had a major tidy of my office, with predictable results, and can’t now find the scrap of paper on which it was written. Does anyone know this pangram and can remind me how it goes?
Thanks in advance,
Geoff
the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog
Geoff, The following is not directly related to Your quest but is basically, from the same stable and origin:- i.e. from the Monotype KEYBOARD training and instruction manual, Yes of course *The quick brown fox etc., but also *Now is the time to come to the aid of the Party/Country* in very repetitive form to raise the speed of >Keying< (probably and also on Typewriter training !)
Including the, the, the, & they, they, they, repeatedly also for speed and accuracy, presumably for the same reason.
The Monotype Manual also suggests a card divider diagonally down the natural break between the Left hand & Right hand keys, to persuade would be operators to finger the keys correctly, and without reference to the positions of either. - Whilst following and reading the Copy.
Used to be described as Touch Typing, Monotype & Typewriter.
Between the mid 50,s until the mid 80,s A Monotype keyboard operator on bonus,and without being blistered by the Proof reader, could sustain a maintain just short of 100,000 Thousand *Ens* in an 8 hour shift.
Of course, the Keyboard op. could include on the time sheet, time spent >keying< standing spools held over from before, i.e. Running headings, Chapter headings, Folios etc. etc.,
The Caster operator also had a few bonus enhancing tricks, ??
Good Luck. Mick.
Not the most elegant, but claims to be from the Inland Printer:
Dexterity in the vocabulary of typesetting may be acquired by judicious and zealous work.