26Proof-State Sheet G and Stop-Press Correction

Yamada records the existence of a proof-state copy of the outer forme of sheet G in the Bute copy held at the National Library of Scotland.^[167] His article reproduces the four corrected pages, manuscript additions clearly visible, arranged in comparison with the corrected printed sheets. At the point when Yamada wrote his article, he had examined fifteen extant copies of the play. Seventeen copies have been identified to date, and the NLS copy is still the only one to exist in the uncorrected state, all other copies having sheet G in the corrected state.

27From the proof-state of sheet G Yamada infers that ‘stop-press corrections seem to have been a practice of Simmesʼs shopʼ.^[168] He also concludes that the corrections were made in the early stages of the formeʼs printing and that it was likely that the whole forme had been corrected on a single occasion. Yamada notes that the corrector sought to change punctuation marks, correct basic errors, and make some attempt to regularise spelling preferences. However, his task was not carried out entirely thoroughly, nor did he mark letters that were badly inked or printed from worn type. Yamada deduces that the corrector must have consulted his copy due to the addition of ‘atʼ (G1, l. 31), but failed to notice other similar errors.^[169] Nevertheless, Yamada acknowledges the insight such ‘invaluable evidenceʼ as a proof-state sheet offers into proof-reading practice.^[170]

28After perusal of the press variants listed for sheets A, B, D, F, H, and especially sheet G, proof correction can be identified as a regular practice of Simmesʼs shop. Stop-press correction affected sheet A (outer and inner), sheet B (outer and inner), sheet D (outer and inner), sheet F (outer and inner), sheet G (outer) and half-sheet H.