Punctuation

Punctuation is credited to Frederick W. Hamilton and describes itself as a primer of information about the marks of punctuation and their use both grammatically and typographically. The preface says the book makes no pretense at originality and that the author has endeavored to adapt the best of the contents of works by the best authorities on the subject to the use of printers' apprentices. The text states that punctuation, intended for the sole purpose of making the text intelligible, must depend in the last resort on a correct understanding of the text. The example "The prisoner said the witness was a sneak thief." is set beside "The prisoner, said the witness, was a sneak thief." with the remark that the meaning depends entirely on the presence or absence of the two commas.

The text sets an exercise: "Punctuate the following in two ways: one to represent a very bad man, and the other a very good man". Rules in the text say that the interrogation point is used at the end of every direct question and that the exclamation mark is the mark of strong emotion.