An Encyclopaedia of Book-making
The Making of Books. By SeSn lennett. (Faber. 425.) THE informality of Mr. Jennett's book is its most individual feature. Admittedly—perhaps inevitably—he slips into historical and tech- nical austerity when the printer in him takes command ; but when he has a chance to write of conflicting tastes, he states his own with engaging modesty and gives his readers leave to differ. Which, to their great satisfaction, they will sometimes do. The Making of Books (a faintly arty-crafty title, yet what alter- native do we suggest ?) is a comprehensive and skilfully condensed survey of the developing processes of book-production and book- design from the earliest times to the present day. As a work of reference it will be permanently valuable ; for it has something for everyone, and the extent and variety of its subdivision enable a printer, a binder, a publisher, even an author, to turn at once to the section which is his particular concern, and to benefit from Mr. Jennett's knowledge or advice. Because this book is an encylo- paedia rather than a manual of book-making, very few individual reviewers are competent to discuss it as a whole, and to this elite the present writer does not belong. The history, technicalities and mechanics of typefounding, composing, printing, reproduction of illustrations, paper and binding are beyond his understanding ; even type-design, text lay-out, display and binding styles cannot provoke him beyond the bounds of personal experience, personal taste, a protracted involvement in.publishing and a certain amount of anti- quarian knowledge. Within these bounds he will take incidental advantage of Mr. Jennett's invitation to differ.
The chapter on the printer's reader deserves a cordial welcome. This unobtrusive but vitally important member of a printing-house seldom receives the recognition he deserves. But Mr. Jennett, in his laudable anxiety to claim full credit where too little credit is usually given, is a shade unfair to authors and publishers. The main reason why most authors are unreliable proof-readers is not that they cannot spell or write legibly, but that the author's primary duty is to read his proofs for sense, and that it is almost impossible simultaneously to spot literals and imperfections of style or expres- sion. Of course he can persuade some luckless intimate to check his final text or even himself give the proof two readings ; but these precautions cannot rival in accuracy the trained eye of the printer's reader.
On behalf of the modern publisher it must be pleaded that he (and usually at his own expense) shoulders the main responsibility for detecting libel. Further, in such libel cases as I personally recollect, the publisher, so far from demanding that the printer's plant be thrown into the stockpot, has carried the printer on his back. One further point before passing from printing to design. I note the absence of any reference to punctuation. The automatic imposition by the printer of a "house style" on manuscripts differently (and often eccentrically) punctuated can lead to harsh exchanges in a publisher's office. You reply that the author should endorse his manuscript: "Please follow punctuation." True ; but " shoulds" are dubious safeguards, and a printer's query in time might save nine.
Mr. Jennett is agreeably provocative about headlines. I think he undervalues the utility of "page headlines," especially as he dislikes synopses as part of a chapter-head. In using full-length biographies I have found changing headlines invaluable as aids to
I reference, and a contents list with synopses (no need to repeat them with each chapter) equally helpful.
In the course of the sections dealing with contemporary binding practice, Mr. Jennett makes a number of recommendations. I rejoice to find him a "runner-down" in the matter of spine-lettering ; strongly query his assumption that the modern end-paper is per- manent and should be used for matter essential to the book, and reflect sadly with what joy the publisher of today would follow him in rejecting the picture-jacket altogether (incidentally, and in this connection, Mr. Jennett is historically vulnerable over pictorial casings of the nineteenth century) if only his trade customers would agree. Finally and audaciously I take diffident exception to the placing of the illustrations in this otherwise admirably designed work. If all full-page plates were together at the end, with number-references in the text rather than with page-references in the list of illustra- tions (and none in the underlines), it would be easier to turn up any one plate, and the numerous running heads which are at present killed by the interpolation of a full-page reproduction would
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