kittybeast
Member
Great pics Wiz!! You and the wife look all comfy, cozy in the pics. Listeneing to Zepp and those pics you took...it doesn't get any better! Glad you had a great time!
My week in England - or - how I met Ian, James, and Lars
- Thread starter ElectricWiz
- Start date
ElectricWiz said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printer's_devil
Derivation of the phrase
The origin of printer's devil is not definitively known. Various competing theories of the phrase's origin follow.
Printer's devil has been ascribed to the fact that printer's apprentices would inevitably have parts of their skin stained black from contact with the ink involved in the printing process. As black was associated with the "black arts," the apprentice came to be called a devil.
Another origin is linked to the fanciful belief among printers that a special devil haunted every print-shop, performing mischief such as inverting type, misspelling words or removing entire lines of completed type. The Apprentice became a substitute source of blame and came to be called a printer's devil by association.
A third source involves a business partner of Johann Gutenberg, one John Fust, who sold several of Gutenberg's Bibles to King Louis XI of France and his court officials, representing the bibles as hand-copied manuscripts. When it was discovered that individual letters were identical in appearance, Fust was accused of witchcraft—the red ink text was said to have been written in blood, and Fust was imprisoned.
Though Fust was later freed after the bibles' origins were revealed, many still believed he was in league with Satan, thus the phrase.
Another possible origin is ascribed to Aldus Manutius, a well known Venetian printer of the renaissance, and founder of the Aldine Press, who was denounced by detractors for practicing the black arts (early printing was long associated with devilry). The assistant to Manutius was a young boy of African descent who was accused of being the embodiment of Satan and dubbed the printer's devil.
Finally, English tradition links the origin of printer's devil to the assistant of the first English printer and book publisher, William Caxton. Caxton's assistant was named "Deville" which naturally evolved to "devil" over time, as that name was used to describe other printers' apprentices.
Some famous writers served as printer's devils when they were young, such as Walt Whitman.
Cool. I had read about the first possibillity there....the dirty little apprentice thing. I love this weird old phrase-ology/history stuff. It's no longer a print shop as you can see in the picture, but the building and devil are original, though obviously painted again over the years.
Bryant
Mr. Sleepy
ElectricWiz said:Yeah, I've noticed that too. We both have that slightly feral, slightly bug-eyed, hairy 70s guy look. I just grew the beard back after not having one for about 5 years. The gray was a surprise! Ah well. When I saw him in the train station I was really sorry I couldn't get a picture with him because it would have sort have looked like a before and after photo.
Ha ha ha looks like you had a great time in England. Great post !! Anyway about the Ian Anderson look, you remind me of him, but also a bit of the lead singer of The Spin Doctors. That's not a bad thing, though. As terrible as 90's pop music was, I actually dug The Spin Doctors.
Bryant
Hey, thanks to all for comments on the pics, well wishes on the trip etc. Again, it was a blast. I hope to go back before too long. I'm thinking of August of 2008 as there is a total eclipse then - seems like a good excuse. Plus, if I plan it right I can take in a music fest or three.
Bryant said:
I've gotten this one before too, especially when they were big. I even had a few people back then ask me if I was him when I went to various shows. Seriously.
#1_Droogie
Member
Sounds like you had a great time! I'm definitely planning on visiting England sometime. Awesome pics too
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