Learned Correctors as Technical Editors: Specialization and Collaboration in Early Modern European Printing Houses

Edward A. Malone Missouri University of Science and Technology

Abstract

The technology of movable type in early modern Europe created new communication challenges (e.g., typographical errors) for book producers. These challenges were greater with books written in learned or foreign languages or about scientific or technical subjects. Printers experimented with different strategies to ensure correctness, but the best solution came from delegating jobs to specialists. Freelance scholars were employed by authors, printers, and booksellers to correct books before publication, and some of these learned correctors were early versions of technical editors. Their history may offer insight into current communication concerns, such as the role of learned correctors in our present technological age.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2006-10-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651906290232
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Cited by in this index (3)

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication

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