Item 2 - Note from R. W. Chapman to R. B. McKerrow

1 single sheet

Clarendon Press, Oxford.—Comments on the text, and suggests alterations.

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Transcript

The Clarendon Press, Oxford
4 January 1926

Part I
Chapter iii

You do not mention stabbing here, but I see you have it later. The word consute is ingenious, but I doubt if you will get it across. Section is I suppose too vague for your purpose. {1}

Chapter iv, p. 3

I demur to ‘as a general rule’ in line 3. My strong impression is that eighteenth century folios were as a rule sewn in twos. This is certainly true of a multitude of folio pamphlets; and though I have not inspected a very large number of fat folios I think that nearly all I have inspected in my period are in twos. I cannot conceive what the reason may have been for this departure.

Chapter vi, p. 18

You say ‘occasionally octavo’; I should say ‘not infrequently’. If you will look at an eighteenth century part of Thomas Wise’s catalogue I think you will find ‘octavo printed in half sheets’ quite a common entry.

[Chapter vi,] {2} p. 20, line 1

I am not sure that I follow you here. Does ‘this method’ mean ‘the former method’?

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Typed, except McKerrow’s note (see below), a correction, and the reference ‘P4894’ at the head. There is a pencil tick through each paragraph.

{1} McKerrow has written in the margin, ‘Applied to literary content’.

{2} The chapter number, which is repeated from the previous paragraph, is omitted in the original.