I am editing/rewriting an earlier work on Hawaiian printing history (the authors are long dead) and am stumped by the reference, "he was suffering from tuberculosis, always a threat to printers." This was being written in the 1960s about a printer here in 1827. Has anyone seen a reference to TB as a "printer's disease" before? I have consulted printers, retired printers, doctors and the med school, all to no avail. My choice is to whack the reference, and just say "he was suffering from tuberculosis." However IF for some reason--harsh ink fumes weakening their lungs is the only possibility that comes to mind--printers were prone to TB, then I'd like to expand on it and explain why. I realize this is off the track of a Twain thread, but thought someone might have passed this topic during some other research. Thanks very much. Mac Simpson [log in to unmask] Incidentally, my Oxford Twains arrived in perfect shape on Friday--seventeen days USPS book rate from NYC to Honolulu. I love the illustrations, though with three major deadlines landing early this week, I confess to not doing more than fanning through them this weekend.