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Ruth Dallas’s Experiment in Form shows some of the intricacies involved in the printing of a book. On display is her first typescript version of the poem ‘September’, a first proof copy with a note asking for a lower-case ‘d’ in the word ‘delicate’, and the author’s revision of the proof with changes involving line indentations. The print process can be long, as in this instance of having to make adjustments to meet the author’s aesthetic requirements as well as facing the physicality of setting individual type, the allowance for spacing, and the all-important layout. The latter, like good inking, is one of the secrets of success in hand-printing.
Layout proof of two poems from Experiment in Form, 1964