The History of The Chicago Manual of Style
The history of The Chicago Manual of Style spans more than one hundred years, beginning in 1891 when the University of Chicago Press first opened its doors. At that time, the Press had its own composing room with experienced typesetters who were required to set complex scientific material as well as work in such exotic fonts as Hebrew and Ethiopic. In that distant time, professors brought their handwritten manuscripts directly to the compositors, who did their best to decipher them. The compositors then passed the proofs to the “brainery”—the proofreaders who corrected typographical errors and edited for stylistic inconsistencies. To bring some order to the process, the staff of the composing room drew up a style sheet, which was then passed on to the rest of the university community. Even at such an early stage, “the University Press style book and style sheet” was considered important enough to be preserved in the cornerstone of the (then) newly constructed Press building in 1903, along with other items from the Press's early years.
That sheet grew into a pamphlet, and by 1906 the pamphlet had become a book: Manual of Style: Being a compilation of the typographical rules in force at the University of Chicago Press, to which are appended specimens of type in use—otherwise known as the first edition of the Manual. (See a facsimile of the first edition in PDF format.) At 200 pages, the Manual cost 50 cents, plus 6 cents for postage and handling. Now in its fifteenth edition, The Chicago Manual of Style has evolved into a 984-page (and $55.00) reference book, known as the authoritative voice for authors, editors, proofreaders, indexers, copywriters, designers, and publishers.
This hundred-year evolution has taken place under the ongoing stewardship of Chicago's renowned editorial staff. Suggestions and requests from users have always played a role in revisions of the Manual. In adapting to the needs of its users as well as to developments and technological advances in writing, editing, and publishing, the Manual has undergone more than a dozen substantial revisions.
One of the most significant was begun in 1968, led by the editorial team of Catharine Seybold and Bruce Young, who rearranged, expanded, and updated the eleventh edition to produce the twelfth edition. The 20,000-copy first printing sold out before the publication date even arrived. By 1969, the Manual was an industry leader. Sales of the twelfth edition totaled more than 150,000 copies—the same number as total sales for the first eleven editions.
The publication of the thirteenth edition in 1982 was another notable moment in the history of the Manual. It was at this point that A Manual of Style became The Chicago Manual of Style, a change that reflected the title most often used by the book's audience. The thirteenth edition incorporated the new United States copyright regulations that became law in 1978, and the production and printing sections of the Manual were revised to include the phototypesetting technology that replaced lead type as well as the Linotype and Monotype metal-casting machines of the 1970s. Nearly 200 pages longer than its predecessor, the thirteenth edition addressed, for the first time, the effects of personal computers and word processors, which authors were just beginning to use in preparing their manuscripts.
Although the thirteenth edition briefly touched on this new and radical technology, the personal computer was still a novelty in 1982, and few understood the far-reaching effects it would have on the lives of writers, much less on the publishing industry. But by 1993, eleven years later, computer word processing was becoming the norm, and the Manual began to address more systematically the role of computers in writing and editing. The fourteenth edition weighed in at 936 pages and sold for $40.00. It reflected significant changes in style, usage, procedure, and technology, and contained new and more extensive editing examples based on requests from editors, authors, indexers, and teachers of publishing courses. The fourteenth edition also offered an expanded glossary that included words unfamiliar to publishers just a decade earlier, as well as an updated chapter on copyrights and permissions. New technologies for composition, design, printing, and binding were described, including the preparation of jackets and covers and the process of obtaining and displaying ISBNs and bar codes for the expanded group of self-publishers created by the computer age. Nearly half a million copies of the fourteenth edition have been sold since its debut, helping to bring the grand total of all Manual of Style sales to well over one million.
Those who work with words know how dramatically publishing has changed in the past decade, with technology now informing and influencing every stage of writing, editing, and publishing processes. The latest revision of the Manual has had to address the needs of a professional audience whose work methods have been transformed since publication of the fourteenth edition. To meet this challenge, Chicago's editorial staff launched a systematic update that would rival, in its breadth and depth, the extensive revision undertaken for the twelfth edition. Work on the new edition proceeded under the direction of Linda J. Halvorson, editorial director for reference publishing, and was captained by the editorial team of Margaret Mahan, Margaret Perkins, and Anita Samen. For the first time in the history of the Manual, Chicago's editorial staff drew not only on its own experience, but also on the advice of the Manual's first-ever advisory board—a distinguished group of scholars, authors, and professionals from a wide range of publishing and business environments. The Chicago editorial staff also made an official call to users for suggestions and comments on what changes should be made to bring the Manual fully into the twenty-first century. The result is a rare accomplishment: a classic book that retains its original style, tone, and usefulness, and fully reflects a wealth of new topics and updated perspectives. The fifteenth edition of The Chicago Manual of Style has been deeply and comprehensively revised to better serve its audience, that devoted group of professionals who remain committed to words.