Re: History of technical writing

[Len Olszewski <saslpo -at- UNX -dot- SAS -dot- COM>]

Leo Lentz writes about a fascinating project about historical manuals:


> Who is interested in the historical dimension of technical documents?

This is a serious hobby of mine (shows what sort of life I lead).

[...]

> We concentrate on:
> manuals for housekeeping like vacuum cleaners and washing machines,
> manuals for technical communication like radio and telephone,
> manuals for games,
> manuals for sexual behavior,
> and manuals for things like how to save money at your bank?

Man, this sounds great!  I *love* finding manuals for stuff like this
that are more than thirty years old.

I recently inherited a manually operated set of hair clipping shears
from Sears (from my Dad, since I've got a little boy who needs haircuts
now), and the little manual that came with it was the absolute high
point of technical writing. It was a litlle 4x6 inch booklet with, I
dunno, maybe 12 or 13 pages in it.  But the title was something like
_The Complete Owner's Manual and Guide to Using Your Sear's Shears, Plus
Complete Illustrated Instructions for How to Cut Anybody's Hair_.

Makes me wish I had more leeway over what names *my* books have. I
remember a coupla years back when the Stones reunited for a tour - they
didn't bill themselves as "five old farts who want to make some money
before they keel over". No, they billed themselves as "THE GREATEST ROCK
AND ROLL BAND OF ALL TIME". Made a bunch of money, too.

Sorry, Leo, I don't know of any studies like you wand, but I wish I
could be involved with your project.

|Len Olszewski, Technical Writer | "Incorrigible punster. Do not      |
|saslpo -at- unx -dot- sas -dot- com|Cary, NC, USA|  incorrige." - Saying on a button  |
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| Opinions this ludicrous are mine. Reasonable opinions will cost you.|