Formatting Tip: Italics

Posted April 6, 2015 by Kathy Davie in Author Resources, Formatting Tips, Self-Editing, Writing

Revised as of
26 Jan 2023

This post on italics is far from complete and will probably be a never-ending project. If you have questions on whether to italicize something that is not covered here or with which you disagree, I’d appreciate your contacting me or making a comment. A comment is probably best if only to keep it in a public forum, so everyone benefits. Besides me, that is *grin*

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Formatting Tips started . . .

. . . as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with words that should have been capitalized or italicized, in quotes or not, what should be spelled out and what can be abbreviated, proper styling for the Latin names of plants, the proper formatting and usage of titles and more in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us any questions you’ve had on this subject that have been a bête noire for you from either end.

If you found this post on “Italics” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.

Italics
Formatting The same rules apply to any abbreviations and to website titles.

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Academic Journals
See Journals for more detail.

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Almanacs
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Always italicize.

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AP Style
Artwork, drawings, paintings, photographs, statues
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago

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Chicago:

If the artwork’s name is part of a building, prize, organization, etc.

AP Style
Blogs
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago:

Blog names (8.187)
Video blogs (8.187)

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Chicago:

Blog posts (8.187)
Video blog episodes (8.187)

Books
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use quotes
Published only
Novellas or long stories IF they have been published in individual bindings

APA:

Microfilm publications
Periodicals

Chicago (8.166):

Published book titles, theses, dissertations

MLA:

the name of a Bible

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the Bible
the Koran
the Book of Ruth
Book series
Dictionaries
Directories
Editions
Encyclopedias
Titles of sacred documents are capitalized
Titles of legal or public documents are capitalized:

  • the Magna Carta
  • the Bill of Rights
Short stories

AP Style

Chicago:

Chapter titles, but not chapter numbers (8.175)
Unpublished works (8.184)

Cartoon and webcomic titles
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago

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Catalog titles
Always italicize.

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AP Style
Computers
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Computer and video games (See Games for more detail.)

Chicago:

Apps such as Facebook, Foursquare (8.193)
Computer games and game apps

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Software that is not a game

AP Style:

Apps such as Facebook, Foursquare (p. 62)
Software programs, e.g., WordPerfect, Word, Photoshop

AP Style:

Computer games and game apps

Conferences
Always italicize.

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Chicago Chicago:

Use quotes if the conference has “status” (8.69).

Court case names
Always italicize.

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Definitions explained in a sentence
Always italicize.

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Dialogue – Internal thoughts
Always italicize.

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Dissertations
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Accepted only.

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Unaccepted
Documents
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Within the text of a paper, italicize the title of complete works.

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Put quotation marks around titles of parts within a complete work.
Editing
[sic]
Rule: Sic follows the misspelling/grammatical error and is placed within brackets (academic and formal writing) or parentheses (news copy) to indicate an error.

[sic] is generally used in scholarly works AND if you are quoting someone and you don’t want readers to think you’re the one who made the “typo”.

Sic is NOT an abbreviation and does not use periods or full stops.

CAUTION: “Making a correction in square brackets (cost[s]) is somewhat less aggressive than deploying a sic. A rule of thumb is to silently correct typos like the one you quote unless your judgment tells you either to be transparent or not to meddle” (CMOS).
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Italicization is common in the US, but not required.

AP Style:

As of 2019, AP Style prefers that you paraphrase around the issue. This, however, means it’s no longer a direct quote. There are many who disagree with the disuse of [sic] (AP).

APA:

[sic]

Chicago:

Suggests styling it as a parenthetical sentence only when used after a complete sentence.

MLA:

[sic]

Style manuals of New Zealand, Australian, and British media outlets generally do not require italicization.

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On his forearm was a tattoo that read, “Lifes [sic] beautiful.”

They are looking for a proofreader who’s “good at spotting typoes [sic].”

In her diary, the eight-year-old Maya wrote, “This morning I had a sudden epiphamy [sic].”

[Sic]

Emphasis
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
APA, AP Style, Chicago, MLA:

Use italics if changing the syntax won’t work and the reader could misread the information.

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APA, AP Style, Chicago, MLA:

Ideally, provide emphasis using the syntax.

Essays
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes

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Chicago:
Titles of essays
Events
Always italicize.

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Exhibitions
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago:

Exhibitions – Small

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Chicago:

Exhibitions – Large

Fairs
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Always italicize.
Chicago:

Fairs – Small

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Chicago:

Fairs – Large

Films
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago (8.185)

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AP Style (p. 62)
Foreign language, a.k.a., non-English words
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
oui
enchanté
fait accompli

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APA, AP Style, Chicago:

UNLESS they have been absorbed into the English language – patio, sombrero, foyer, etc.

  • Check the dictionary. If the word is in an English dictionary, it is considered absorbed.
  • Check the word’s function: if listed as a noun, verb, or whatever, then it’s in roman. If the function is a foreign term, then it gets italicized

Proper name of a foreigner
Name of a foreign city
A street name

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Games (Also see rules on capitalization)
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Board, Video, & eGames * such as:

Scrabble
World of Warcraft

* “The justification … is that such games have a narrative and are therefore equivalent to films” (Nichol).

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Traditional games such as hopscotch, jump rope, tic-tac-toe, etc.

Marco Polo

Names of kinds of software (Nichol).

AP:

Video games
eGames (* “The justification … is that such games have a narrative and are therefore equivalent to films” (Nichol).

Gazetteers
Always italicize.

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AP Style
Genera and species
For example, Lavandula Genus angustifolia specific epithet ‘Munstead’ cultivar

Genus specificEpithet var. variety ‘cultivar’

See abbreviations for proper shortening usage and capitalization for developed and trademarked varieties.

You may also want to explore the post on “Taxonomy“.

Credit to: CMOS, 8.127-8.134 & 8.138

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Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
APA
AP Style
Chicago
:

Genus specificEpithet ssp. subspeciesEpithet 1

Trogon collaris puella

1 Always capitalize the genus; NEVER capitalize the specificEpithet.


With variety:

Genus specificEpithet var. variety


Combine variety with cultivar:

Genus specificEpithet var. variety ‘cultivar’


National Geographic:

Pharamachus Genus mocinno species mocinno subspecies

Bambusa Genus vulgaris species var. striata variety

Pharamachus Genus mocinno species mocinno subspecies NameOfScientist in Roman, add name of scientist


Phylum, subphylum, class, subclass, order, suborder, family, subfamily are capped and roman:

The Pharamachus belong to the family Trogonidae.

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With cultivar:

Genus specificEpithet ‘cultivar’

Author names (person who proposed specific epithet)

Higher divisions than genus (see Plant Abbreviations for more information):

  • class (Chondrichthyes)
  • family (Hominidae)
  • form
  • orders (Monotremata)
  • phyla (Chordata)
  • variety
With cultivar:

The convention in botany is to enclose the name of the cultivar in single quotation marks with any following punctuation outside the quotation marks.


Genus specificEpithet ‘cultivar’

Guidebooks
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Always italicize.

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Handbooks
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Always italicize.

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AP Style
Journals
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago

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Chicago:

Not if part of a name of an award, an organization, etc.

Lectures
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Lecture series

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Chicago:

Lecture series (8.86)

AP Style, Chicago:

Individual lectures

Letters Used as Letters
Rule: Letters referred to as letters are italicized.
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
The i in my name is silent.

On the faded treasure map, an X actually did mark the spot.

APA (p. 50-51):
Statistical symbols or algebraic variables

F(1, 53) = 10.03


Some test scores and scales

t test

trial n

Rorschach scores: F + %, Z


Periodical volume numbers in reference lists

43, 78-89


Books are rated from 1 (low) to 5 (high)

Response options ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

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Letters for school grades are capitalized, but not italicized.

APA:

Letters used as abbreviations

Pluralizing Single Letters
Rule: Only the letter itself is italicized for plurals. The apostrophe and concluding s are not italicized.

NOTE: Use ‘s to pluralize lowercase letters.

Leave out the apostrophe and only add s for capital letters.

Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
So we have s’s, capital L‘s, and a dozen m’s.

So we have ss, capital Ls, and a dozen ms.

All the men in his hometown have at least three s’s in their names.

Magazines
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago

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AP Style

Chicago:

NOT if part of a name of an award, an organization, etc.

Titles of magazine articles
Meetings
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes

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Chicago:

ONLY if the meeting has status.

Manuscripts
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes

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Chicago:

Only a published manuscript.

Chicago:

If the manuscript has not been published.

Mottos
Always italicize.

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Music
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago:

Albums

AP Style:

Albums

Long musical compositions
Musicals
Operas
Operettas
Oratorios (8.189)
AP Style (p. 62)
Orchestral works with a specific name

Symphonie erotique

Individual instrumental works that are identified by their generic names — symphony, quartet, nocturne, etc.:

Nocturne in E-flat Major, op. 9, no. 2

Symphony in D Minor

Movements:

Intermezzo

Instrumental works
Name of the artist, ensemble, or group
Opus

Chicago:

Instrumental works

Music scores (published only) Music scores (unpublished)

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Song titles (individual):
AP Style, Chicago:

“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”

“Call Me”

“U + Ur Hand”

Newspapers
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago (8.166)

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Chicago:

Not if part of a name of an award, an organization, etc.

Titles of newspaper articles

Chicago:

Articles in newspapers, journals, or magazines (8.175).

Pamphlets
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago (8.193)

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Photographs
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago (8.193)

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Phrase as Linguistic Example Definition: Familiar phrases do not require italics.

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p’s and q’s

dot your i’s and cross your t’s

Plants, see Genera and species
Plays
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago (8.181)

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AP Style (p. 62)
Podcasts
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago (8.187)

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Chicago:
Podcast episodes (8.187)
Poems
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Long poems
Tone poems

Chicago (8.179):

If book length

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Short poems
Titles of longer works that would normally be italicized IF published separately are encased in quotation marks if part of a longer collection or anthology, e.g., The Complete Works of John Milton includes “Paradise Lost” and “Samson Agonistes”.

AP Style (p. 62)
Chicago (8.179)

Products, includes but is not limited to
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes

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Names of wines, liquors, beers *

* There may be issues of capitalization for cocktails or wines or product names.

Punctuation after italicized words
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes

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Quotation marks
The apostrophe s after an italicized word, e.g., New Magazine‘s
Radio
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago:

Radio programs and series (8.185).

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AP Style:

Programs and series (p. 62).

Chicago:

Episodes of a radio show series (8.185).

Reports
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago (8.193)

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Restaurants, stores, buildings
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes

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Restaurants, stores, buildings
Reverse italics
There will be times when a block of text is italicized and a term/phrase/title/++ that is normally italicized is a part of this block. When this occurs, reverse the italics, i.e., romanize the normally italicized.
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
APA, Chicago:

Do we really have to read War and Peace again?

We’ll have to cut back the Hedera helix before it takes over the house.

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Short stories
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes

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Chicago:

Titles of short stories (8.175).

Signs, Notices, T-shirts
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes

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Chicago:
If used in running text, and if the phrase is short, capitalize words from (common) signs, T-shirts, and mottoes — no quotation marks either.

His faded T-shirt featured the familiar phrase Are You Feeling Lucky.

If a T-shirt message is introduced using said or read, use quotation marks.

APA:
Use quotation marks for the text of a T-shirt and capitalize only the first word.

Chicago:
Longer notices, messages

Sounds
Rule: Italicize words that stand in for sounds or reproduce sounds that characters and readers hear.
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Words Into Type:

A combination of letters used to represent sound

When the vintage horn blared its signature note, ah-oo-gah, Jim leapt to his feet.

He could have sworn the owl was saying who…who, who.

The whomp-whomp of helicopter blades drowned out her frail voice.

An annoying bzzz woke him.

C-r-rack! Something heavy — someone heavy — fell through the rotted floorboards.

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He let out a whoosh of air.

The steady boom of the thunder.

Speeches
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes

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AP Style

Chicago:

Only if the speech has status.

Statistical Symbols
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
APA:

Most statistical symbols.

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Television
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Chicago:

Television shows, programs, series

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Formal names of broadcast channels

  • BBC America
  • SyFy
  • NBC
  • The CW
AP Style:

Television shows, programs, series.

Chicago:

Episodes of a TV series.

Terms; labels; technical words; or, letters, words, or phrases cited as a linguistic example that are introduced for the first time
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
HTML and CSS manuals refer to elements

The box labeled SPIE-5

Start with the line that begins G-O-F

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APA:
Chemical terms

Trigonometric terms

Non-statistical subscripts for statistical symbols or mathematical expressions

  • Fmax
  • SA + SB

Greek letters

Thoughts
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Thoughts that are not spoken are italicized with quotation marks removed.

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Vehicle names
Rule: When abbreviations such as USS (United States ship) or HMS (Her [or His] Majesty’s ship) precede a name, the word ship or other vessel type should not be used. The abbreviations themselves are not italicized. For much useful information, consult Eric Wertheim, The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World.
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
Airplanes:

  • The Spirit of St. Louis
  • The Enola Gay

Locomotives – Casey Jones

Specific rockets, space shuttles, etc.

  • Phoenix Mars lander
  • the space shuttle Discovery

Specific ships and other vessels (ONLY the name, not the prefix or the classification) are capitalized and italicized:

  • HMS Trafalgar
  • USS Enterprise
    • the Enterprise
    • USS SC-530
    • the US ship SC-530
  • M/S DD-745
  • HMS Frolic
    • the British ship Frolic

Credit to: Wertheim.

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Ship class (ship types are NOT italicized)

  • Maryland class
  • ice class
  • C-class destroyers
  • Hamburg class

Chicago:

Names of makes and classes of aircraft, models of automobiles and other vehicles, names of train runs, and names of space programs are capitalized but not italicized.

  • Acela Express
  • Boeing 747
  • Concorde
  • Metroliner
  • Project Apollo
  • Toyota Prius
  • Mars global surveyor
  • Mars polar lander
Website Names
Always Italicize Never Italicize Use Quotes
MLA:

Website names

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Chicago:

Website names

Chicago:

Web pages and sections (8.186)

Using Words as Words Definition: Words used as words are usually italicized to prevent confusion when the words is not used in the usual manner.
My stylist always says rebound when he means rebond.

I counted only half a dozen ums in the chairman’s speech.

The word haberdashery has gone out of style.

Edith wasn’t sure what lugubrious meant, but it sounded slimy to her.

The s making um plural is not italicized.

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Formatting Tips by exploring its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Word Confusions, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.

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Resources for Italics

Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.

AP Stylebook. Facebook. 3 May 2019. Web. 30 Dec 2022. <https://www.facebook.com/apstylebook/posts/we-no-longer-use-sic-to-show-that-quoted-material-includes-a-misspelling-incorre/2329924440363962/>.

The Chicago Manual of Style. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003. Print.

Concise Rules of APA Style

Nichol, Mark. “Capitalization Rules for the Names of Games.” Daily Writing Tips. 2011. Web. n.d. <https://www.dailywritingtips.com/capitalization-rules-for-the-names-of-games/>.

The Purdue Writing Lab. Purdue Owl Engagement. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/index.php?category_id=2&sub_category_id=1&article_id=45>.

“[Sic]: How to Use Correctly.” The Editor’s Manual. Updated 11 Oct 2022. Web. 30 Dec 2022. <https://editorsmanual.com/articles/sic/>.

Wertheim, Eric. The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems. 15th ed. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2007. Print.

Yin, Karen. “Titles: Quote Marks, Italics, Underlining, or Naked?” AP vs. Chicago. Apr 2011. Web. n.d. <http://www.apvschicago.com/2011/04/titles-quote-marks-italics-underlining.html>, 8.182.

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Pinterest Photo Credits

Caslon Classic and Modernised Italics by Blythwood is under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.

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