By this arrangement the analytical nature of the reference is made much clearer and often a line is saved. But it is very troublesome to the printer.
195. Give the number of volumes.
An imperfect set can be catalogued thus:
Vol. 2–4, 6–7. Bost., 1830. 5 v. O, or
Bost., 1830. 7 v. (v. 5 w.). O.
7 v. O means Vol. 1–7 if nothing is said to the contrary, and any number of missing volumes can be enumerated in the second of these forms; but as the first volumes of periodicals are often missing, the exception may be made of always cataloguing them in the first form. Whatever Short may be forced to do by its system of charging books, Medium and Full ought to give the number of volumes bibliographically, that is to say, they should count only that a volume which has its own title, paging, and register. If the parts of a work have a continuous register or a continuous paging they form one volume; but if they are called Vol. 1, Vol. 2 on the title-page they may be described as 1 v. in 2. For the bibliographical cataloguer binding has nothing to do with the matter. That the binder has joined two or more thin volumes or divided a thick one ought to be recorded in the accessions-book and in the shelf-list, but is not worth notice in the catalogue; if mentioned at all it should be in such a way that the description of the accidental condition of a single copy in a particular library shall not be mistaken for an assertion applicable to a whole edition (thus, 1 v. bd. in 2, or 2 v. bd. in 1, as the case may be). A work which has a title-page, but is connected with another work by mention on its title-page as part of the volume, or by continuous paging or register, is said to be appended to that work.
196. Let the signs fº, 4º, 8º, etc., if used, represent the fold of the sheet as ascertained from the signature, not be guessed from the size.
In the older books this is important, and in modern books the distinction between the octavo and the duodecimo series is so easily ascertained that it is not worth while {77} to be inaccurate. The size may be more exactly indicated, if it is thought worth while, by l. or sm., sq., obl., prefixed to the fold, as l. 8º, sm. 4º. The “vo” or “mo” should be represented by a superior º if it can be had, otherwise a degree-mark °, though manifestly improper, must be employed; it has abundant usage in its favor.
Another method of giving the form is fº (8), 4º (2), 8º (4), in which fº, 4º, 8º indicate the apparent form of the book as the terms folio, quarto, octavo are generally understood, and the figures within the parentheses show the number of leaves intervening between the successive signatures.
“In the folio the sheet of paper makes two leaves or four pages, in the 4º four leaves, in the 8º eight, in the 12º twelve, and so on. When a sheet of paper is folded into six leaves, making what ought to be a 6º book, it is called a 12º printed in half sheets, because such printing is always done with half-sized paper, or with half-sheets, so as to give a 12º size. From a very early period it has been universal to distinguish the sheets by different letters called signatures. At present a sheet has A on the first leaf or A1 on the first leaf and A2 on the second, which is enough for the folder’s purpose. But in former times the signatures were generally carried on through half the sheet, and sometimes through the whole. Again, in modern times, no sheet ever goes into and forms part of another; that is, no leaf of any one sheet ever lies between two leaves of another. But in the sixteenth century, and even later in Italy, it was common enough to print in quire-fashion, the same letter being used for the whole quire, and the leaves of the quire distinguished as they were successively placed inside of one another by the figures 2, 3, 4, so that a book actually printed in folio might have the signatures of a modern octavo. In exact bibliography such books are sometimes described as ‘folio in twos,’ ‘folio in fours.’ Rules are given for determining the form of printing by the water-lines of the paper and by the catchwords. It is supposed that the latter are always at the end of the sheet, and also that the water-lines are perpendicular in folio, octavo, and decimo-octavo books, horizontal in quarto and duodecimo. But in the first place a great many old books have catchwords at the bottom of every page, many have none at all; and as to the rule of water-lines, there are exceptions to every case of it.” [62]