.
STYLE MANUAL
OF THE
GOVERNMENT PRINTING
OFFICE
COMPILED UNDER DIRECTION OP
THE PUBLIC PRINTER
WASHINGTON, D. C.
1922
STYLE MANUAL
OF THE
GOVERNMENT PRINTING
OFFICE
COMPILED UNDER DIRECTION OF
THE PUBLIC PRINTER
WASHINGTON, D. C.
1922
PREPARED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF
GEORGE H. CARTER
Public Printer
BOARD OF REVISION
HERMANN B. BARNHART
WILLIAM H. CORNISH
JOHN GREENE
WALTER R. JOHNS
JOHN P. MURRAY
CHARLES E. YOUNG
Washington, D. C.
February, 1922
EXTRACT FROM THE PUBLIC-PRINTING
LAW OF JANUARY 12, 1895 : : : : :
SECTION 51. The forms and style in which the
printing or binding ordered by any of the depart-
ments shall be executed, and the material and the size
of type to be used, shall be determined by the Public
Printer, having proper regard to economy, workman-
ship, and the purposes for which the work is needed.
in
STYLE SUMMARY.
Page.
Approval by the Joint Committee on Printing and the Permanent Conference on Printing vm
Authors and department editors, suggestions to 1
Composition, rules and style of 11
Abbreviations 27
Addresses 38
Authority 1 1
Bill style 47
Capitalization 11
Guide to capitalization 20
Court of Claims headings for records and briefs 52
Court style 50
Datelines 41
Figures 30
Follow, follow lit., reprint, etc 47
Foreign governments, table of principal 14
Hearings 43
Introduction 11
Italic 47
Leader work 37
Miscellaneous 47
Orthography 44
Punctuation 42
Signatures 39
Supreme Court headings for transcript of record and for briefs 53
Tabular work 32
Testimony 43
Compound and noncompound words 189
Compound words, list of 190
Congressional Record style 78
Addresses and signatures 85
Call of the House 84
Capitalization 78
Caps and small caps, use of 80
Congressional proceedings 87
House 94
Adjournment, recess, and evening session 98
Amendments 98
Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union 95
Conference report and statement 96
House briefs 99
Pension bills 97
Senate 87
Amendment, third reading, and passage of a bill 89
Bills considered as in Committee of the Whole 91
Confirmations 93
Forms cf amendments 90
Injunction of secrecy removed 92
Nominations 92
Rejection 93
Third reading and passage of a bill 89
Withdrawals 93
Contractions 78
Credits 85
Extracts 85
Figures 79
Forms for speech heads 86
Forms of titles : 84
Generalrules 78
V
VI SUMMARY.
Congressional Record style Continued. Page.
Italic 79
Miscellaneous 79
Pairs 84
Parentheses and brackets 81
Punctuation 81
Voting by yeas and nays 83
Votingin the House andin Committee of the Whole 82
Congressional Record index style 102
Rules and examples 102
Semimonthly history of bills 104
Semimonthly index 102
Copy editors, compositors, operators, readers, and revisers, instructions to 5
Composition 6
Editing copy 5
Reading and copy holding 6
Revising 7
Signature marks 9
House Journal index style 118
History of bills in House Journal 118
Index in House Journal 118
Journals, House and Senate, style of 105
General rules 105
House 107
History of bills in House Journal index 118
Index in House Journal 118
Instructions for setting votes in House Journal 114
Senate 105
History of bills in Senate Journal index 115
History of bills under names of Senators introducing them 116
Index in Senate Journal 115
Instructions for setting votes in Senate Journal 114
Style of Senate omnibus bills 117
Nominations, reports, documents, and laws 54
Dating proclamations , commissions, and similar Executive documents 75
Executive Calendar 60
Executive Journal extracts 60
General rules for nominations 54
Messages 58
Reports, documents, and laws Cl
Samples of laws 75
Samples of nominations 55-57
Withdrawal 58
Railroads, titles of 138
Reports, documents, and laws 61
House documents 63, 71, 73
Engineer document 63
Estimates of appropriations 71-75
House reports 61, 62, 68
Conference report 68
Pension report 62
Senate documents 66, 70
Conference report printed as Senate document 70
Court of Claims document 66
Senate report 65
Specification style 120
Abbreviations 120
Capitalization 121
Compounds 120
Divisions 123
Figures 121
Gothics 123
Italics and roman 122
Orthography 123
SUMMARY. VII
Specification style Continued. Page.
Plurals 123
Possessives 122
Punctuation 120
Reference letters and figures 122
Samples of headings 124
States, Territories, and counties, list of 152
Title-pages, Senate and House hearings .* 76, 77
Useful information 126
Accented letters frequently used 130
Astronomical signs 129
Average number of words in a line and page and number of ems in a page 131
Bookbinding 187
Chemical elements and symbols 127
Dimensions of type pages and trim of printed books 130
Electrotype-foundry work 179
Greek alphabet 129
Imposition 161
Increase of text by using leads 131
Length of page 130
Making-up 161
Mathematical signs 129
Metric tables 128
Capacity 128
Common measures and their metric equivalents 128
Length 128
Surface 128
Weight 128
Miscellaneous tables 126
Names of the months in five languages 129
Number of words and ems to the square inch 131
Plate dimensions 181
Presswork 182
Principal and guide meridians and base lines 137
Relative number of ems in a page 131
Roman numerals 129
Rule cut to 6-point in 8-point tables 133
Scale for indexing 188
Signatures for eights and sixteens 135
Standard set measurements 132
Standard sizes of books and paper 178
Unit value of l|-point rules 133
Unit value of 6, 8, and 10 point monotype characters 134
United States equivalents of weights and measures used in foreign agricultural statistics 136
Values of foreign coins 126
APPROVAL BY THE
JOINT COMMITTEE ON PRINTING
Congress of the United States,
Joint Committee on Printing,
Washington, February 4, 1922.
Dear Sir: Receipt is acknowledged of the proof pages of the
Government Printing Office Style Manual for inspection and
approval.
The Style Manual as compiled and submitted is approved by
the Joint Committee on Printing.
Respectfully,
GEORGE H. MOSES,
Chairman.
To the PUBLIC PRINTER,
Government Printing Office.
RESOLUTION OF THE
PERMANENT CONFERENCE ON PRINTING
The following resolution was unanimously adopted on Janu-
ary 11, 1922, by the Permanent Conference on Printing, composed
of representatives of the various executive departments and inde-
pendent establishments of the Government, as organized with
the approval of the President and the Director of the Bureau of
the Budget:
RESOLVED, That the Government Printing Office
Style Manual as compiled under direction of the Public
Printer be approved and adopted as the style to be
followed in all Government departments and independent
bureaus on and after February 15, 1922.
vm
SUGGESTIONS TO AUTHORS AND DEPARTMENT
EDITORS.
Copy should be carefully edited, in accordance with the style laid down in this Style
Manual before being sent to the Government Printing Office ; that is, editing should
not be done on proof sheets.
This STYLE MANUAL is intended to facilitate public printing. If those submitting
copy for publication will carefully observe the following suggestions, they will con-
tribute materially toward that end.
Copy should be sent flat, numbered consecutively, typewritten if possible, unless
reprint, and each page should begin with a paragraph, as the passing of "run downs"
is an expensive operation.
The Government Printing Office style must be followed in department printing
in all cases.
Write on one side of the paper only. Duplicate copy of reprint must be fur-
nished when possible if both sides are to be used.
Authors and departments are requested to send to this office the first sheets of
copy, not the carbon copies, for the first sheets are much plainer than the carbons.
This is especially requested for copy in foreign languages and copy containing figures.
Proper names, foreign words, and technical terms should be written plainly and
verified. Illegible signatures and figures should be rewritten. Corrections of figures
should not be written over the originals.
Manuscript and typewritten copy in a foreign language should be marked accu-
rately to show capitalization, punctuation, accents, etc.
Abbreviations should not be used unless they are to be printed as written, in
which case they should be marked "follow."
Answer all queries on proof, as delay and errors often result from neglecting them.
All tabulated statements should be written on separate sheets; that is, end the
preceding paragraph of text on one sheet, place the table on the next, and commence
the next paragraph on the following sheet.
Reference marks in text and tables should be arranged consecutively across each
page. (See table, p. 36.)
Photographs, drawings, etc., for illustrations should accompany manuscript, each
bearing the name of the publication in which it is to be inserted and the figure num-
ber or plate number. The proper place for each illustration should be indicated on
the copy by title, legend, or otherwise.
If a publication is composed of several parts, a scheme of the desired arrangement
should accompany the first installment of copy.
All corrections should be made on first proofs submitted, later proofs being intended
for the purpose of verification only. Plate corrections will be made only when abso-
lutely necessary.
Requisitions for work containing illustrations should give explicit instructions as
to whether or not illustrations are to be furnished by the Government Printing Office,
giving the number and indicating the process of reproduction. Instructions should
be given on the margin of each illustration if reduction is necessary.
A publication containing illustrations should be accompanied by a letter certifying
that the illustrations are necessary and relate entirely to the transaction of public
business. (See 33 Stat. L. 1213.)
Samples are desirable and should be furnished if possible. They should be
plainly marked, showing clearly whether intended for style of type, size of type
page, paper, trim, lettering, or binding.
1
S7>YLE MANUAL.
It is imperative that corrections should be marked on the margins of a proof sheet
opposite the indicated errors. Do not attempt to make a correction by writing over
the print or between the lines. Errors marked in this way are in danger of being
overlooked and are generally illegible.
Proofs read by authors or department readers should be marked to conform to
the following style:
Period.
) Comma.
- Hyphen.
! Colon.
5 Semicolon.
^ Apostrophe,
[notations.
Em quadrat.
One-em dash.
Two-em parallel dash.
^ Push down space.
^ Close up.
^ Less space.
/\ Caret left out, insert.
^/ Turn to proper position.
77^ Insert space.
T or 37 Move to left or to right.
// or L-i Move up or move down.
A/L. Transpose.
..-or xiGT Let it stand.
<~ Dele take out.
<2> Broken letter.
Paragraph.
No paragraph.
: Wrong font.
Jr Equalize spacing.
Capitals.
Small capitals.
Lower-case.
Superior or inferior.
Italic.
Homan.
Brackets.
Parentheses.
SUGGESTIONS TO AUTHORS AND DEPARTMENT EDITORS,
TYPOGRAPHICAL
. C-. irfdoe^ not appear that the earliest printers had
any method A of v '^orrecting^errors v ' before^ the form
/ wafPon the press/ The learned ! Fk& - isw*f cor-
/ rectors of the first two centuries of printing were
not proof/readers in our sense/ they w/ere rather
what we should erm office editors. Their labors
were chiefly to see that the proof corresponded to
the copy, but that the printed page was correct
in its /atinity-4b6d^t?^e>f^^Grg- thcre^ and
that the sense was right. They cared -fetrt little
about orthography, bad letters A or purely printer^
errors, and when the text seemed to them wrong
they consulted fresh authorities or altered it on
their own responsibility. Good proof s A in the
modern sense, were ^^possiBle until professional
readers were employed/ men who [hadj first] a
printer's education, and then spent many years
in the correct|6n of proof. The orthography of /
English, which for the past century has under A */
gone little change, was very fluctuating until after '/\'
the publication of Johnson's Dictionary, and capi-
tals, which have been used with considerable reg- _r% ft
ularity for the past(8) years, were previously used
on the [miss fofyhit^ plan. The approach to regu-
2// A larity, so far as we have/ may be attributed to the
/ growth of a class of professional proof readers, and
fr / it is to them that we owe the correctness of mod-
jR I As ern printing.^ More er/ors have been found in the
/ Bible than in any other one work. For many gen^,
erations it was frequently the case that Bibles
were brought out stealthily, from fear of govern-
C jnental interference. /\ They were frequently
printed from imperfect texts, and were often mod- ff
ified to meet the views of those who publised ^
/7 them. The story is related that a certain woman
C? in Germany, who was the wife of a printer, and &..
/I had become disgusted with the continual asser- /
^ /-j~. /ICTTL* tionjf ofi the I superiority^ of man over woman which
/ O'l she had heard, hurried into the composing room
/ - while her husband_ was at supper and altered a
sentence in the v JKible, which, he was^printing, so
that it readJ^ar^instead of A Herr, A thus making
the verse read "And he shall be thy fool" instead
of '^(nd he shall be thy/ord." The word^not.
was omitted by Barker, the fang's printer in En- / /
gland inl632,inprintmgtheseventhcommand|ment A (*>/
He was fined .(1000 on this account.
INSTRUCTIONS TO COPY EDITORS, COMPOSITORS,
OPERATORS, READERS, AND REVISERS.
EDITING COPY.
The first duty of copy editors is to mark those things which are not readily under-
stood and to indicate headings, indentions, dashes, new pages, new odd pages, and
such other matters as are necessary to give the completed book a good typographic
appearance. Mark size of text type and whether it is to be leaded or double leaded,
etc.; verify folio numbers, and plainly indicate references, footnotes, cut-ins, etc.
Copy not otherwise marked will be set solid.
It is not absolutely necessary to mark again anything which has been plainly indi-
cated at the beginning of a sheet, as the preparation is to be followed if the same
thing should appear more than once on the sheet; but on copy marked "follow" the
preparation must be carried throughout.
Copy which is ordered to be kept clean and returned intact must be marked
as lightly as possible, so that erasures may be easily made.
Copy editor's instructions, which accompany each job, are written to cover the
general style and certain peculiarities or deviations from style. These instructions
must be followed.
The following rules will apply to manuscript, typewritten, or printed copy:
Abbreviations.
In marking abbreviations to be spelled, copy editors must show wh^t the spelled
form will be, unless the abbreviations are common and not susceptible of two con-
structions.
Addresses.
Mark caps, small caps, italic, and abbreviations, indicating where lines are to be
broken if necessary.
Capitalization.
Capital and lower-case letters must be indicated, especially unusual forms.
Decimals.
In figure columns containing decimals, editors must indicate at top of each folio
the number of decimal places necessary to align the points.
Footnotes and References.
Footnotes and references should run consecutively from 1 to 99. Copy editors must
see that references and footnotes are plainly marked and indicate full, half, or third
measure. Last footnote number must be given to chief reviser, who will enter it
on his copy book, so that there will be no question as to the next footnote number.
(See also Page and stone revising, p. 7.)
Headings.
Mark case number of headings on each sheet once; if two or more sizes are used,
mark each in every instance; indicate italic, small caps, and caps and small caps,
specifying size of type.
Pick-up.
Always indicate jacket number of job from which matter is to be picked up.
5
6 STYLE MANUAL.
Reprint Copy.
Copy editor must ascertain whether reprint can be picked up; and if it can, he must
state the jacket number of the pick-up.
Signs, Symbols, Etc.
In text and tables all signs, symbols, dashes, superiors, etc., must be plainly
marked; write names of Greek letters when used, as they are frequently mistaken for
italic or signs.
The symbols Al, 01, Tl are sometimes mistaken for Al, 01, Tl in typewritten
matter. Copy editors must indicate that the character is an "1," not the figure 1.
Casting Tables.
In making cast for tables care must be taken to allow sufficient space in columns for
the footnote figures. (See p. 36.)
COMPOSITION.
Compositors and operators are directed to study carefully the rules governing com-
position. A failure to do this will show plainly on the proof.
Every precaution must be taken to prevent the soiling of proof sheets, as it is neces-
sary for the reviser to see clearly every mark on the margin of a proof after it has been
corrected.
After a proof is read the first time, if a word or line is pied or a "drop-out" occurs,
it is the duty of the workman to call attention to it in writing on the latest proof sheet.
If a proof sheet is not available or immediately at hand, the types involved must
be placed feet uppermost when returning them to position. This direction is for all
who handle type.
In correcting matter set on the linotype machine, care must be taken to insert cor-
rected type slugs in their proper places and to remove only such type slugs as contain
errors. Matter must be "run down" to see that lines have not been duplicated or
eliminated. If in doubt, read the slugs.
It is often impossible to decide whether a poor proof is due to bad type or cold
metal or only to a poor impression; therefore, in order to insure accuracy and to save
time, the operator must indicate such portions as have been reset.
Do not make corrections when queries are in a ring, as the queries are intended for
the author.
READING AND COPY HOLDING.
Foremen of composing rooms will see that copy editor's instruction sheet is sent
to proof room with first installment of each job.
Readers must consult copy editor's instruction sheet.
Speed is desirable and must be aimed at, but accuracy is of first importance.
If the reader detects inconsistent and erroneous statements, obviously made by the
writer through lapse of memory or slip of the pen, it is his duty to correct them.
He must know, not suspect, that they are errors, and be prepared, if called upon, to
vindicate the soundness of his correction by recognized authority. If he does not
know, he should query.
When the grammatical construction of a sentence or clause is questioned by a
reader and it seems desirable to change the form, indicate the proposed correction,
add a query mark, and inclose all in a ring. If a statement of fact is thought erro-
neous or is doubtful, underscore the matter in doubt and carry query mark in ring
on margin.
Queried corrections inside a ring are not to be made, but are intended to go to the
author. If it is desired to have a correction made and the query stand for the
author, place query outside the ring.
Proofs which are not clearly printed or which are in any manner defective must
be refused.
INSTRUCTIONS TO COPY EDITORS AND OTHERS. 7
The manner in which correction marks are made on a proof is an element of
considerable importance. Straggling, unsymmetrical characters, disconnected marks
placed on the margins above or below the lines to which they relate, irregular lines
leading from an incorrect letter or word to a correction, large marks, marks made
with a blunt pencil, indistinct marks, and a frequent use of the eraser to obliterate
marks hastily or incorrectly made are all faults to be avoided. In reading proof of
wide tables, the reader should take advantage of white space as near as possible to
the error and place the correction therein, thus aiding all who have occasion to
handle the proof afterwards. Obliterate entirely a broken or defective figure and
rewrite it in a ring.
In marking errors in display type always indicate the case number.
On discovering any wrong-font matrices readers must immediately notify referee,
who will at once send notice to the operator.
Readers must never make important changes in indentions or tables without con-
sulting the referee or copy editor.
The marks of the copy editor must be given consideration by all, as he is in a
position to know more about the peculiarities of a job than one who reads but a small
portion of it.
Instructions on copy as to the confidential nature of work, number of proofs, size
of paper, number of copies, location of illustrations, new pages, new odd pages, etc.,
must in every instance be carried on proof eheet by readers. Inpassing ''rundowns,"
the galley slug of the following galley must be carried on copy where break occurs.
Folios of copy must be "run" by copyholder on first reading of proofs. This
applies to all work and is especially important on indexes.
In reading copy avoid an unnecessarily loud tone of voice. Remember that small
words are as important as large ones, and should be pronounced distinctly. Plurals
must be clearlv sounded.
REVISING.
Galley Revising.
The importance of revising proofs well can not be overestimated. While a reviser
is not expected to read proof, it is not enough for him to follow slavishly the marks
found on the proof sheet. He must see that all corrections have been properly
made in the type, that words or lines have not been transposed by the compositor in
making the corrections, and that the rules governing spacing, division of words, and
good printing generally have been observed. The reader or reviser who passes bad
spacing will be held at fault.
A reviser must not remodel the punctuation of the readers or make any important
changes in the work. If he thinks that an important change should be made, he
must submit the proposed change to the foreman for decision.
All instructions on proofs must, in every instance, be transferred to revised sheets.
All queries made by readers must be carefully transferred to the revises.
Every paragraph in a proof containing an alteration which makes one or more over-
runs should be reread as first proof.
Revising must be done with reasonable dispatch, but good work must not be
sacrificed to haste.
The slug number of the corrector must be marked on revises if errors have been
made by him in correcting.
Page and Stone Revising.
Page and stone revising is work which requires great diligence and care. Not
only must the reviser see that the rules governing the work of those who precede
him have been followed, but he must be on the alert for a multiplicity of points not
coming within their sphere.
Special care must be exercised in revising linotype matter. It is necessary to read
the lines in which corrections have been made, to see that the line has been inserted
in the proper place and that the lines above and below it have not been disturbed.
Revisers must promptly notify the foreman of the proof room when variations from this
Style Manual are being made by department readers.
8 STYLE MANUAL.
General rules only can be given to guide the reviser. He handles a variety of
work and must decide each point as it presents itself. He is cautioned never to allow
his work to get behind (calling for assistance when rushed) and never to sacrifice,
accuracy for the sake of speed.
The following rules must be carefully studied:
1. See that the proof sheets are clean and clear; send for another proof in case they
are not.
2. See that galley proofs run consecutively and, in continuous make-up, that galley
slips connect, before beginning the page revise.
3. See that page folios are consecutive, that running heads are correct and uniform,
and that the proper signature is correctly placed. If an error is found in running
heads or in signature, notify chief reviser immediately, so that the correction may
be made in other forms of same job. (See note regarding signature numbers, p. 135.)
4. Revise carefully, observe connection between pages, carry all unanswered
queries if the proof goes again to the author, or if not see that all queries are answered,
and take care that continued and repeated lines are free from errors.