The Preparation of Illustrations for Reports of the United States Geological Survey / With Brief Descriptions of Processes of Reproduction

by John L. Ridgway

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LITHOLOGIC SYMBOLS USED IN STRUCTURE AND COLUMNAR SECTIONS TO REPRESENT DIFFERENT KINDS OF ROCK

Unmounted prints are always preferable for use in making illustrations. A group that is to form a single plate should be placed in an envelope bearing the number of the plate and its title, and each print of the group should bear a corresponding number, written in pencil on its back. The envelope will protect the prints and keep them together, and the numbers will identify them. Red ink should not be used to mark photographs, as it is likely to penetrate the coating or even the fiber of the paper, so that it can not be erased.

If a print is of doubtful quality two copies of it should be submitted—one glazed, the other having a dead finish or "mat" surface, which is generally preferable if the print must be considerably retouched. The best prints for use as illustrations are those made on "regular" or "special" semimat velox and glossy haloid papers. The author should indicate prints that may be grouped together according to their relation geographically or by subject. Generally two half tones will be combined on a page, and the list of illustrations should be prepared accordingly.

With slight trimming and reduction, three photographs measuring 3¹/₄ by 5¹/₂ inches may be made up one above the other to form a full-page octavo plate. Four photographs in which the longer dimensions represent vertical distances may sometimes be used if they are placed sidewise on the page, with side titles.

Some photographs may be reduced to the width of a page by trimming instead of by photographic reduction, which may involve loss of detail. The author should clearly indicate the extent of such trimming as they may bear without loss of essential details. The trimming is best done during the final preparation. A line should not be drawn across a photograph to mark such trimming, but the position of the line or lines should be indicated either on temporary mounts, on the backs of the prints, or by a statement, such as "One inch may be cut off on right, one-fourth inch on left, and one-half inch at bottom."

COPYRIGHTED PHOTOGRAPHS.

Section 4965 (ch. 3, title 60) of the Revised Statutes, amended by act of March 2, 1895 (Stat. L., vol. 28, p. 965), provides that no copyrighted photograph may be used without the consent of the proprietor of the copyright in writing signed in the presence of two witnesses. A penalty of $1 is imposed for every sheet on which such a photograph is reproduced without consents, "either printing, printed, copied, published, imported, or exposed for sale." An author should therefore obtain the written consent of the owner of a copyrighted photograph to use it, and the letter giving this consent should be submitted with the illustration.

SOURCES OF PHOTOGRAPHS.