Editor
Decided which pieces went into the issue, in what order and at what length. Set the overall tone of the issue and often wrote short unsigned items personally.
People
People and authors
Every issue depended on a whole chain of people. Some gathered and edited the copy, others set it from individual pieces of type, others assembled the type into finished pages, and still others drew and prepared the illustrations. Once the run was printed, it was the turn of those who delivered the issue to subscribers and sold it on the street. We describe roles and trades without names: to read old periodicals, it matters more to understand how the work was organized than to remember who did it.
A typo in an old issue is evidence too: it shows how hard the typesetter was rushing the night before the paper came out.
How this section works: we write about the jobs no issue could come out without, and we don't name names. That way the material is useful for any bound volume, not just one particular publication.
Who made the issue
Six roles without which an issue would never have reached its readers.
Proofreader
Read the proofs and marked errors in the margins with special symbols. Thanks to that attention, the text ended up with fewer typos, dropped lines and transposed letters.
Typesetter
Built lines from individual pieces of metal type, letter by letter, and later worked at a typesetting machine. Whether the issue made its deadline depended on the typesetter's speed and care.
Makeup editor
Assembled whole pages from finished type, headlines and printing plates: spread the material across the columns, placed the rules and made sure the page looked orderly.
Illustrator
Drew pictures for the issue and prepared them to be turned into printing plates, keeping in mind how a drawing would hold up on newsprint and at what size readers would see it.
Newsboys and circulation desk
The circulation desk kept lists of subscribers and their addresses, while newsboys delivered issues door to door and sold them to passersby. Without this quiet work, the print run would have stayed piled up at the printing plant.
Telling an author from a pen name or an editorial byline
- A full byline with a first and last name usually points to the author, but it doesn't guarantee the name is real.
- Initials, a single letter or an invented word in place of a surname often signal a pen name, and one person might use several at once.
- An unsigned piece on the front page or in a regular section was often written on behalf of the editors rather than a single staff member.
- A line such as “from the editors” or a collective signature tells you outright that the piece speaks for the publication.
- Reprints from other publications are often marked with a source line at the very end of the item, so check the last lines.
- If the author matters to your research, compare the byline across several issues: a recurring pen name can help you gather one person's writing.
- When citing, reproduce the byline exactly as printed, and don't reveal the person behind a pen name without solid confirmation.
Related reading
- History
The Russian spelling reform and how the look of the magazine page gradually changed.
- Analysis
What makes up an old newspaper page, and how to tell from the print itself how an illustration was made.
- Events
Periodical exhibitions, library open days, talks on print graphics and paper conservation workshops, and how to check a listing.
- Collections
Three reading paths: for first-timers, for family historians and for keepers of a bound volume at home.
- Articles
The magazine's six topics, from how an issue is built to caring for a bound volume, plus our article catalog.
Sources
- Retropressa editorial materials
- Reference materials on the Russian spelling reform
Facts about the Russian spelling reform come from reference materials; everything else is described in general terms, without reference to specific publications. Check reading room, exhibition and lecture hours with the organizers.