[Dragaera] Typesetting punctuation - 2 spaces or one? (was: Re: A Paarfict Storm)

[Geri Sullivan]

At 11:52 AM -0800 1/20/08, Rick Castello wrote:
>On Sun, January 20, 2008 9:41 am, David Dyer-Bennet wrote:
>
>>>>>  Diana wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>  A very minor note, again regarding spacing: double spaces after
>>>>>>  periods (or other forms of punctuation) are unnecessary unless one is
>>>>>>  using a typewriter font (which I sincerely hope the final product will
>>>>>>  not be).
>
>      I don't work in the business, and had made only note of a change in this
>      regard in subtle passing - when did this happen, and why?
>
>      I'm curious.

Just what's changed is a matter of perspective. I don't know the full 
history -- a single space after periods was the established 
typographic style when I got into the design field in the early 
1980s. Looking back, I see that single space was the standard used by 
American Type Founders in their 1923 Specimen Book and Catalog. It's 
an 1,100+ page work of remarkable beauty (for font geeks, anyway). It 
starts out proclaiming and explaining "why the printing of 1923 is 
superior to that of 1900." There was still a hyphen in "to-day" at 
that time, but only a single space after each period.

There appears to have been a period in the 1800s and early 1900s when 
a second space became the norm. I have several other books from the 
1920s through 1940s that were typeset with a second space. The books 
were printed (and presumably typeset) in the US and the UK, and 
include industry volumes such as "Lettering for Printers & Designers" 
and "Printers' Accounts."  The books I checked from the 1940s had a 
mix, some with two spaces, some with one. I only have a few books 
readily at hand from the 1950s and early '60s, but all of those went 
with a single space after periods.

 From "The Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web":

"In the nineteenth century, which was a dark and inflationary age in 
typography and type design, many compositors were encouraged to stuff 
extra space between sentences. Generations of twentieth century 
typists were then taught to do the same, by hitting the spacebar 
twice after every period [full stop]. Your typing as well as your 
typesetting will benefit from unlearning this quaint Victorian habit. 
As a general rule, no more than a single space is required after a 
period, colon or any other mark of punctuation."

http://tinyurl.com/2nygva

Another web page blames high school typing teachers for the use and 
proliferation of the second space. That makes sense in terms of how 
it carried into the age of desktop publishing, since most people 
doing computer layout are not trained or experienced typographers.

There's also a good overview of the basic arguments for and against 
in the "Spacing after Full Stop" section of the Wikipedia article on 
full stops (periods):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_stop

Geri
-- 
Geri Sullivan     gfs at toad-hall.com