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iii
There are at least three editions of the January 1742 number of the Gentleman's Magazine. The most obvious point of discrimination is the ornament at the top of p. 3. In A, a sun; in B, a bowl; in C, a cherub.
- Heading of p. 3: / [orn. with sun in center] / THE / Gentleman's Magazine, / For JANUARY 1742. / [row of type orn., square with stem from each side] /
- Coll.: 8°, π2 A-D4 E2 F-G4 [$1 (+B2 C2) signed], pp. 1-3 4-30 31 32-48 49 50-55 56
- "PF": 5-1 13-2 21-3 29-4 37-5 41-6 49-7
- RT: the upper right serif of the first letter, T, does not print on pp. 14, 38, 46, 50, 54
- Copies examined: IEN ICU2 The following copies also contain the ornament with a sun in the center on p. 3, and conform to IEN and ICU2 in respect to broken T's in the RT: MoW TNG MoU IaU OU MnHi I InI OO ODW OMC KyU MiDU InU KU. No further examination of them was made.
Edition A
- Heading of p. 3: / [orn. with bowl of fruit in center] / THE / Gentleman's Magazine, / For JANUARY 1747. / [row of type orn., fleur de lis] /
- Coll.: 8°, π2 A-D4 E2 F-G4 [$1 signed], pp. 1-3 4-48 49 50-55 56
- "PF": 5-1 13-2 21-3 29-4 37-5 41-6 49-7
- RT: Upper right serif of T does not print on pp. 10, 20, 50
- Copies examined: OCU ODa
Edition B
- Heading of p. 3: / [orn. with cherub face and wings in center] / THE / Gentleman's Magazine, / For JANUARY, 1742. / [single rule] /
- Coll.: 8°, π2 A-D4 E2 F-G4 [$1 (+C2) signed], pp. 1-3 4-48 49 50-56 [52 misnumbered 279 at inner corner]
- "PF": 13-2 21-3 29-4 37-5 41-6 49-7
- RT: Upper right serif of T does not print on pp. 22, 26, 32, 40
- Copies examined: WM Mi
Edition C
Of these three editions, A seems to be the earliest. In any case, C is not the original number, for the text on p. 49b contains a cross-reference to the following (February) number of the magazine: ". . . Lords, to be / heard Feb. 4. (See p. 95, 105.)" The reading of A at this point is ". . . Lords, who / appointed them to be heard Feb. 4." B is the same as A here, except that it has a comma after "heard".
The indication of the priority of A to B is that in the common printing practice of the time compositors often increased punctuation, but seldom lightened it. A collation of the text of pp. 3-4 shows the punctuation of B heavier than A in 11 instances, lighter in only one. In 6 instances, B has a comma where A has no punctuation; in 3 instances, a semi-colon where A has a comma; in 1 instance, a colon where A has a semi-colon; in 1 instance, a period where A has a comma. In 1 instance, A has a comma where B has no punctuation. C is lighter in punctuation than B on these pages, but
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