p. 172 | PRESERVING "COPY."

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Mar 17, 1887

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 13, No. 11.

PRESERVING "COPY."

A NOVEL method has been adopted by the Century Company for preserving the sheets of their great dictionary. Over 25,000 sheets of "copy" have thus far been prepared, and how to insure them from any possible contingency, as in the case of fire, was the problem. It is necessary to keep this large mass of manuscript in the printing office for frequent consultation. But if it were destroyed, the loss would be irreparable. It was proposed to insure the "copy" for $150,000, but the insurance money would not have replaced the loss. Finally photography was suggested, and the idea has been successfully carried out. Each sheet of "copy" which is 8x12 inches in size, has been photographed and reduced to a size measuring only 1 3/4x2 inches. All the words can be read with a magnifying glass. The reduction is for convenience in storage and handling. The negatives are preserved, and

the entire 25,000 would hardly more than fill a large bureau drawer. These negatives can be enlarged to any size which may be convenient. Should the manuscript now come to grief, these negatives would furnish a ready means of reproducing it in a very short time, and the cost for the whole 25,000 will not exceed $300.—Selected.