[Ads-l] (Request help with German) Joke: Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint

[Dan Goncharoff]

I believe your Ufferlei is actually Allerlei, meaning "all sorts", or a
miscellany.

On Tue, Mar 14, 2023, 4:49 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>
wrote:

> The quip in the subject line is often attributed to Mark Twain. I was
> asked to explore its provenance. Way back in January 2010 researcher
> Ken Hirsch posted a pertinent message.
>
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2010-January/095313.html
>
> Ken located a wonderful 1841 citation in German with an attribution to
> Dr. Markus Herz. Ken shared four helpful citations on the Wikipedia
> Talk webpage for Twain.
>
> https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Talk:Mark_Twain#You_may_die_of_a_misprint
>
> Fred Shapiro included the 1841 citation in his pivotal 2021 reference
> “The New Yale Book of Quotations”.
>
> Barry Popik explored the topic and began with the 1841 citation.
>
>
> https://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/be_careful_about_reading_health_books_you_may_die_of_a_misprint
>
> Now, I have located several German citations starting in 1817. I am
> requesting your help to read the 19th century German font and to
> examine the translation. Below are the first two most interesting
> citations. The links lead to images of pages containing the
> quotations. The periodical names can be seen by scrolling backward.
>
> Are the metadata and text correct? Is the translation ok?
>
> Thanks for any help you can provide.
>
> Date 1817 October 18
> Periodical: Der Gesellschafter oder Blätter für Geist und Herz
> (The Companion or Pages for Mind and Heart)
> Article: Der Schluß folgt (The ending follows)
> Quote Page 683, Column 2
> Publication: In der Maurerschen Buchhandlung, Berlin, Germany.
> Database: Google Books Full View
>
>
> https://books.google.com/books?id=i1pEAAAAcAAJ&q=%22Sie+sterben%22#v=snippet&q=%22Sie%20sterben%22&f=false
>
> [Begin excerpt - check for typos]
> Zu einem Patienten, dem es zur Gewohnheit geworden war: durch
> medizinische Hülfsbücher sich selbst helfen zu wollen, sagte der
> verstorbene Dr. Herz: Nehmen Sie sich in Acht, Sie sterben einmal an
> einem Druckfehler!
> [End excerpt]
>
> [Begin translated excerpt]
> The late Dr. Herz said to a patient who had become accustomed to
> trying to cure himself with medical manuals: "Be careful, you will die
> one day from a printing error!"
> [End translated excerpt]
>
> The 1818 citation below is interesting because it specifies the full
> name “Marcus Herz”:
>
> Date: 1818 May 27
> Periodical: Die Leuchte: ein Zeitblatt für Wissenschaft, Kunst und Leben
> (The Lamp: A Journal for Science, Art and Life)
> Section: Ufferlei?? aus Abu Taleb's Miscellanenhefte (Offerings from
> Abu Taleb's Miscellanea Booklets )
> Quote Page 167, Column 2
> Publication: Berlin, Germany
> Database: Google Books Full View
>
> https://books.google.com/books?id=X2tEAAAAcAAJ&q=Marcus#v=snippet&
>
> [Begin excerpt - check for typos]
> „Der stirbt noch an einem Druckfehler!” sagte Marcus Herz von einem,
> der sich aus Büchern kurirte.
> [End excerpt]
>
> [Begin translated excerpt]
> “He’ll die of a misprint!” said Marcus Herz of one who cured himself from
> books.
> [End translated excerpt]
>
> Garson O’Toole
> QuuoteInvestigator.com
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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