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THE MECHANICS OF PRINTING removed for the next use. An apt illustration of that fact was recorded by historian Cecil Alter following an interview with Will Dobson, a youthful Kanab publisher during the early 1900's. His recollection of joining J. G. Spencer in taking over the failing Kanab Clipper is guaranteed to evoke a chuckle from all newsmen who remember hand-set type: "Finding the type encrusted with old, hardened ink, the accumulation of years, we emptied all the cases, news and display type, together in one hopeless mixture into a tub of hot lye water. A thorough washing and rinsing made it look almost new. But the job of distribution took three days and nights, and then only to discover that the b's, d's, p's and q's had been cased together and that there was not enough type for all the boxes. "In setting up a sermon," Dobson remembered, "God became 'Gob,' 'Gop,' or 'Goq.' A shortage ofl's and s's necessitated the substitution ofj's and z's. A worthy subscriber named 'McAllister,' became 'McAjjizter' and other spellings were equally 'ridicujouz' and got more laughs than the joke column." Typesetting was by no means a "man's world." Ladies brought skill to hand-setting type and, in some cases, were more competent at spelling and reading than their male counterparts. Many early-day printers had scant training and their journalistic competence was questionable. Though chauvinism wasn't a household word in that day, male printers refused to acknowledge that girls were often more knowledgeable than men. A "house" ad in a St. George weekly which has been widely circulated as typical of recruiting efforts for typesetters in that era read: "Wanted Immediately - A young lady between the ages of 10 and 15 years to learn the art of Type Setting. Must be Quick and Active, able to read common writing and not Afraid to Work. Steady employment guaranteed when competence is gained." Several early members of Utah State Press Association were ladies who'd trained as typesetters for the Deseret News and later became involved in publications targeted to female readership. Among them were delegates of the Women's Exponent and the Young Women's Journal. 211 |
