Capitals | Page 7

contents of DeVinne's
Correct Composition shows this method of treatment.
CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
Preface vii
I Spelling 5
II Abbreviations 33
III Compound Words 61
IV Figures and Numerals 76
V Italic 94
VI Capital Letters 108
VII Division of Words 128
VIII Small Capitals 145
IX Extracts and Letters 157
X Notes 171
XI Indention 182
XII Spacing 198
XIII Quotation-marks 209
XIV Subheadings 230
XV Punctuation 241
XVI Proof-reading 294
XVII About Copy 327
XVIII Errors of the Press 345

Appendix 359
Index 447
Small capitals are best for subheads when of not more than two lines. If
the subheads are longer it is best to use lower-case.
Signatures and credits are often put in small capitals. It is usually,
however, better to use italics for the purpose. There is no need of a dash
to connect the name with the quotation. When two or more quotations
from the same author are used as mottoes, with reference to the works
from which they are taken or the occasion on which they were said, the
name of the author may be put in small capitals in a separate line, the
name of the book or speech in italics, and the occasion in smaller
roman type.
Numerous signatures to a document or petition, such as the Mayflower
Compact or the Declaration of Independence, are often set in columns
using capitals for the initials and small capitals for the rest of the name.
Full capitals are too large for the purpose.
We therefore, the Commissioners for the Massachusetts, Connecticut,
and New Haven, do also, for our several governments, subscribe unto
these.
JOHN WINTHROP, Governor of the Massachusetts THOMAS
DUDLEY THEOPHILUS EATON GEORGE FENWICK EDWARD
HOPKINS THOMAS GREGSON
Dedications of books are commonly set in small capitals. As these
dedicatory formulas are ordinarily brief there should be wide leading,
good display, and care as to margins. The author will often give very
definite specifications as to the arrangement of his copy in lines, and
this will sometimes cause difficulty, occasionally compelling the use of
too small type. The author's specifications must be followed if he
adheres to them.
Small capitals are much favored for running titles of pages. Full

capitals are much more effective and are to be preferred where the
words are few. Small capitals of 12 or 14 point body are distinct but
smaller sizes are crowded and hard to read. This difficulty can
sometimes be remedied by hair spacing. Over spacing of such lines is
objectionable though it has sometimes prevailed as a temporary
fashion.
Small capitals used in running titles are exposed to heavy wear and
their shallow counters are liable to get choked up with ink. Capitals of
the monotint or of a light-faced antique are sometimes selected for
books frequently reprinted where the wear on the exposed running titles
is very severe.
In reprinting letters it is common to use small capitals for the name of
the place from which the letter was written, for the name of the
addressee, and for the signature. In job and advertising work the name
of the month and day and date are generally put in lower-case of the
text letter. This rule is not followed, however, in books. When the
heading of the letter is very long lower-case letters are preferable to
small capitals under the general rules of taste which govern the use of
types. The salutation, Dear Sir, Gentlemen, or the like, does not need
small capitals. It is better printed in italic lower-case with a colon (not
followed by a dash) at the end. If the matter is double leaded the
salutation may go in a line by itself, otherwise conforming to the rules
just given.
Reprints of formal inscriptions on tablets and the like are often made in
small capitals surrounded by a border. There should be a good relief of
white space between the type and the border.
In the Bible and in hymn books the words LORD and GOD are usually
set with full capital initial and the rest of the word in small capitals.
This is, of course, a method of showing veneration and at one time it
was customary to print all names of spiritual or temporal dignitaries
and magnates or even ordinary names in small capitals. This practice
still lingers in a few newspapers which print the names of persons, even
those of small consequence, in small capitals, especially on the editorial

page.
The tendency is steady toward the discriminating use of capitals, small
capitals, and italics. More and more we restrict the use of marks of
emphasis to the really necessary places leaving the words to tell their
story without outside aid.

SUGGESTIONS AS TO TYPOGRAPHIC USE OF CAPITALS
Capitals are too strong to be used with Arabic numerals. This fault of