“Thirty” has a peculiar significance to printers. It means “that’s all.” A common tale is that -30- was used by Civil War telegraphers transmitting news from reporters. The roman numeral XXX (or 30) indicated the end of the transmission. It can also be used as ###.
There is a more cryptic theory. Allegedly the Newspaper Guild reporters filed their stories with “—30” at the end as a protest. They were demanding a living wage of $30 per week—and the practice continued after their demands were met.
When members of the Typographical Union Local No. 29 passed away, their obituaries and funeral flowers sometimes mentioned that yet another printer had filed their last “—30” or “the end.”
I’m not using the practice as any kind of a protest. It is merely an homage to Union Printers.
###