[PW] Neville, a gentleman's name

[Bill Davis]

A few possibilities, for your consideration:

1. The author is uncertain if such a magazine existed, as if he found a 
reference to "Men's Magazine" and wasn't sure if that was an actual 
magazine or a generic reference to magazines that have the girly pictures 
but we only just read them for the articles, or,

2. The author was aware of "The Gentlemen's Magazine" but felt the 
reference lacked the "The" from the full serial title or lacked a full 
title, as in the case of "Burton's Gentlemen's Magazine."

3.  The author erroneously thought the punctuation was incorrect.

A couple of references to publications known as "The Gentlemen's Magazine:"

         http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/ilej/

         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burton's_Magazine

Bill Davis


At 04:02 PM 9/3/2007, you wrote:

>(DISCLAIMER: Just because I might seem nerded out on
>name derivations and historical spelling and
>punctuation changes doesn't mean I'm pedantic.)
>
>"I am trying to track down a reference by Thomas
>Pynchon on page 438 of
>"Mason & Dixon" to a letter in "Gentlemen's (sic?)
>Magazine" regarding
>  the promotion of Neville Maskelyne to H.M. Astronomer
>. . ."
>
>I believe the Norman Conquest was responsible for
>bringing the name Neville to the British Isles where
>it eventually became (unevenly) Anglicized to Nevil.
>
>A gentleman's gentleman is a valet, of course.  Since
>things for children are "children's" and the Ladies'
>Home Journal isn't "Lady's" , why would Gentlemen's
>Magazine be "Gentlemen's (sic?) Magazine?"
>
>Sylvia, in need of clues