Part 11

Imprints are indispensable in a catalogue designed for scholars, that is for college libraries, for historical or scientific libraries, and for large city libraries. They may not be of much use to nine persons in ten who use those libraries, but they should be inserted for the tenth person. But in the majority of popular city and town libraries neither the character of the readers nor of the books justifies their insertion. Their place may be much better filled (as in the Quincy catalogue) with more important matter—with “_Illus._” or “_Portraits_,” or a word or two explaining an obscure title. But the number of volumes should invariably be given. And the year of publication is important under subjects.

Epithets like “Large paper,” which are applicable, generally, to only a part of the copies of a book, should be mentioned after all the details which apply to the whole edition (place, date, number of volume, etc.).

179. Do not translate the name of the place of publication, but if it is not in a Roman alphabet transliterate it.

Göttingen, not Gottingen; München, not Munich; Wien, not Vienna; Londini, not London; Lisboa, not Lisbon, when the first are the forms on the title-page. So [Moskva], Moskau, Moscou, Moscow, according as the imprint is in Russian, German, French, or English.

180. Use abbreviations and even initials for names of the most common places of publication.

_Ex._ Balt., Berl., Bost., Camb., Cin., Cop. or Copenh., Göt., L. (London), Lisb., Lpz., Madr., N. O., N. Y., Oxf., P. (Paris), Phila., St. P. (St. Petersburg), Ven., Wash.; and use the ordinary abbreviations for state names. (A list is given in Appendix V.)

181. If there is more than one place of publication Short and Medium should give only one.

If the places are connected by “and,” as London and Edinburgh, New York and London, take the first; if they are unconnected, as

Berlin Paris Genève H. Baillière

take that which proves on examination to be the real place of publication. In this economy there is some danger of cataloguing the same book at different times with {75} different imprints, and making two editions out of one; but a little watchfulness will prevent this.

182. If the place differs in the different volumes, state the fact.

_Ex._ History of England. Vol. 1–2, Boston; 3–5, N. Y., 1867–69. 5 v. O.

183. Print publishers’ names, when it is necessary to give them, after the place.

_Ex._ London, Pickering, 1849; Antwerpen, bi mi Claes die Graue. The publisher’s name must not be mistaken for the place. I have seen a dozen books catalogued as Redfield, 185–. D; Redfield being a New York publisher who had a fancy for making his name the most prominent object in the imprint of his books.

184. If the place or date given at the end of the book differs from that on the title-page, or if place and date are given there only, they should be printed in brackets.

_Ex._ Augsb., 1525 [_colophon_ Nuremb., 1526].

Lpz., [_col._ 1571].

185. In early works the date is sometimes given without the century, as “im vierten Jahre,” _i. e._, 1604. Of course the century should be supplied in brackets.

186. Masonic dates should be followed by the date in the usual form.

_Ex._ 5834 [1834]. O.

187. Chronograms should be interpreted and given in Arabic numerals.

_Ex._ Me DuCit ChrIstVs = 1704.

188. When the place or date is given falsely, whether intentionally or by a typographical error, add the true place or date in brackets, if it can be ascertained.

_Ex._ London, 1975 [1775]. O. Boston, 1887 [1886]. O.

Paris, 1884 [mistake for 1874]. O. En Suisse [Paris], 1769.

189. When the place or date is not given, supply it in brackets, if it can be ascertained. If neither is discoverable, write _n. p._ (=no place), _n. d._ (=no date), to show that the omission of place and date is not an oversight.

_Ex._ _n. p._, _n. d._ O.

190. But avoid _n. d._, and if possible give the decade or at least the century, even if an interrogation point must be added.

_Ex._ London, [17—]. Q.

Phila., [182–?] O.

191. Print the date in Arabic numerals.

_Ex._ 1517 for MDXVII or CIↃ IↃ XIIIX.

When the subarrangement of the catalogue is by dates (as in that of the Amer. Philos. Society), it may be well to place the date uniformly at the end of the line in this order: O. Wash., 1864. Otherwise the best order is to put the place and date immediately after the title, because like it they are taken from the title-page. The form, which is not copied but is the cataloguer’s own assertion, then comes last. The dates can be made prominent in a chronological arrangement by printing them in heavy type, as in Prof. Abbot’s “Literature of the doctrine of a future life.” In Very Short the German style of printing dates should be adopted, 742 (_i. e._, 1742), 875 (_i. e._, 1875). {76}

192. When different volumes of a work were published at different times, give the extreme dates.

_Ex._ Paris, 1840–42. O. Sometimes Vol. 1 is of the 2d ed. and its date is later than that of Vol. 2. This is in Medium: (Vol. 1, 2d ed.) 1874, 69–73. 5 v. O; in Short merely 1869–74.

193. In cataloguing reprints, Full should give the date of the original edition.

_Ex._ «Ascham», R. Toxophilus, 1545. London, 1870. O. (Arber’s reprints.) _or_ 3d ed. London, 1857 [1st ed. 1542]. O.

The labor of always hunting up the original date is so great that Medium may be allowed to give it when it can easily be ascertained and omit it in other cases.

In a printed catalogue, if the first edition is in the library, of course its date need not be given with the subsequent editions.

194. In analyticals Medium and Full should give the date of the work referred to, and the number of pages; Short should specify at least which volume is meant.

The date, if it be that of original publication, tends to show the style of treatment; if it be that of a reprint or of “Works” it shows which of the various editions in the library is meant. The number of pages will help the reader to decide whether the reference is worth looking up.

The Birmingham Free Library has an ingenious way of printing analyticals. The title is in long primer type, the parenthesis is in pearl, of which two lines will justify with one of the long primer.

Fossils. Recent and fossil shells by Woodward [Illustration: (Weale’s Series, vol. 27.)]

Gleig, G. R. Eminent military commanders [Illustration: (Lardner’s Cyclopædia, vols. 19–21)] 3 duo 1832.

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]

For anything but exact bibliographical description it is better to take no account of the fold of the sheet, but either to give the size in centimeters or to use the notation of the American Library Association (see APPENDIX III, p. 115), which is founded on measurement.

FE, anything less than 10 centimeters. TT, anything between 10 and 12½ centimeters. T, anything between 12½ and 15 centimeters. S, anything between 15 and 17½ centimeters. D, anything between 17½ and 20 centimeters. O, anything between 20 and 25 centimeters. Q, anything between 25 and 30 centimeters. F, anything over 30 centimeters. centimeters. F4, anything over 40 centimeters. F5, anything over 50 centimeters. And so on.

[note] 62. De Morgan, altered.[/note]

197. Maps may be identified either by giving the scale or by measurement.

The measure (in centimeters) should be taken from the inner margin of the degrees, unless the map extends beyond it, in which case measure to the farthest point; pictures at the side are not to be included in the measure unless they come within the degree-mark. The perpendicular measure to be stated first, then the horizontal. {78}

E. CONTENTS AND NOTES.

198. Give (under the author) a list of the contents of books containing several works by the same author, or works by several authors, or works on several subjects, or a single work on a number of distinct subjects,[63] especially if the collective title does not sufficiently describe them.[64]

[note] 63. As a collection of lives.[/note]

[note] 64. Only Full can give the contents of all such works, including the memoirs, transactions, etc., of all the learned societies. And in an analytical catalogue this is much less important. When every separate treatise is entered in its proper places under the names of its author and of its subject, why should it be given again in a long column of fine type which few persons will ever read? Because, if analysis is not complete, contents supplement it; and one who has forgotten author and subject may occasionally recall them by looking over a “_contents_;” and this list is, so far as it goes, a substitute for a classed catalogue in this respect. Moreover, the “_contents_” is needed to fully explain the character of the subject-entry (see § 4). In the division _Biography_ under countries we have many such titles as “Memoirs of eminent Englishwomen,” “British senators,” “Political portraits.” It is an advantage to the reader, though perhaps neither a great nor a frequent advantage, to be able to find out from the catalogue what Englishwomen and what British senators he shall find described in the books. No catalogue can be considered complete that omits such information.

For collected works of any author “_contents_” have been found so useful that even Short often gives them, especially of late, and strange to say, not rarely prints them in the most extravagant style, allowing a line for each item. One may sometimes see a quarter of a page left bare from this cause.[/note]

199. When a single work fills several volumes give the contents under the author, provided the division is definite and easily described.

Object, that the inquirer may know which volume he wants; application, chiefly to dictionaries and historical works; method, in general, giving dates and letters of the alphabet, which take little room. It is particularly important also to fully describe in this way very bulky works; Walton’s Polyglott is a good example, in consulting which, without such a guide, one may have to handle ten gigantic folios.

200. Under the subject repeat so much of the contents as is necessary to show how the subject is treated or what part is treated in the different volumes.

This is particularly desirable in works with an insufficiently descriptive title which treat of several subjects, for which under each heading will be given its appropriate part of the contents. For example, Hugo’s “Jus civile Antejustinianeum” contains the originals of Antejustinian law, but this does not appear from its title, and if it did, it would be hardly worth while to save a few lines by obliging the reader to turn to «Hugo» to ascertain just what is in the book. On the other hand, the contents of Pertz’s “Monumenta Germaniae historica” is so long that only Fullest can afford to give it under Germany as well as under Pertz. In such a case the reader feels it to be more reasonable that he should be referred.

The contents is often more useful under subject-heading than under author; but it is best that there should be one uniform place where it can always be found, and where the whole of it can be found, and that place should be the author-catalogue.

201. Put into notes (in small type) that information which is not given in the title but is required to be given by the plan of the catalogue. {79}

Notes have several objects:

1. To give any information about the author, the form of his name, his pseudonyms, etc., about the different editions or places of publication, or about the gaps in a set (especially of periodicals), which can not be included in the title without making it disproportionately long. Short, especially if without imprints, can get many of these into the title; which it is well to do, for a short note is not economical.

2. To explain the title or correct any misapprehension to which it might lead. In a popular library the boys take out “The cruise of the Betsy,” imagining it to be another “Cruise of the Midge.”

3. To direct the attention of persons not familiar with literature to the best books. The main principles of such annotating are simple. (_a._) The notes should characterize the best books only; to insert them under every author would only confuse and weary; if few they will arrest attention much better. Dull books and morally bad books should be left in obscurity. Under some of the poorer works which have attained unmerited popularity a brief protest may be made; it will probably be ineffectual; but it can do no harm to call Mühlbach unreliable or Tupper commonplace. (_b._) They should be brief and pointed. Perhaps after this direction it is necessary to add that they should be true.

4. To lay out courses of reading for that numerous class who are desirous of “improving their minds,” and are willing to spend considerable effort and time but know neither where to begin or how to go on.

5. To state what is the practice of the catalogue in the entry of the publications of Congress, Parliament, Academies, Societies, etc., the notes to be made under those words.

F. REFERENCES.

202. In references use the word _See_ when there is no entry under the heading from which the reference is made; _See also_ when there is one.

_Ex._ «Death penalty.» _See_ «Capital punishment».

«Horticulture.» LINDLEY, J. Theory of H.

_See also_ «Flowers;—Fruit».

Not _Vide_; the language of an English catalogue should be English.

203. References must be brief.

Yet the convenience of the public must not be sacrificed to brevity. If, for instance, several authors had used the same pseudonym, the titles of their respective works should be given in the references that the reader may know under which of the authors he will find the work he is in search of, and not have to turn to all three.

«Detlef», Carl, _pseud._ _See_ «Baur, C.» is the usual form of reference; but it is not enough for Hamilton.

«Hamilton», _pseud._ Essay on a congress of nations. _See_ «Whitman, G. H.»

«Hamilton», _pseud._ Hamilton. No. 1, _etc._ _See_ «Carey, M.»

Analytical references to treatises of the same author or on the same subject, contained in different volumes of the same work, may be made thus:

«Charles», A. O. Reformatory and refuge union. (_In_ «National Assoc. Prom. Soc. Sci.» Trans., 1860.)—Reformatory legislation. (_In_ Trans., 1861.)—Punishment and reformation in America. (_In_ Trans., 1863.)

«Comets.» «PEIRCE, B.» Connection of comets with the solar system. (_In_ «Amer. Assoc.», Proc., v. 2. 1850.)—HUBBARD, J. S. Biela’s double comet. (_In_ v. 8.)—KIRKWOOD, D. Mean distances of the periodic comet. (_In_ v. 12. 1859.)

The signs ⟨ ⟩ have been used instead of ( ) in analytical references to mean “contained in.” They are more conspicuous,—unnecessarily so. {80}

References are frequently printed in smaller type than the rest of the catalogue. This is well when there are enough not to be overlooked; but a single reference from one form of a name to another, or from one subject-name to its synonym, should be in the title type, not in the note type, _e. g._

«Bell», Acton, _pseud._ _See_ «Bronté», Anne.

«Gardening.» _See_ «Horticulture.»

Similarly notes explaining the practice of the catalogue (§§ 61, 201 no. 5) should be made typographically conspicuous.

G. LANGUAGE.

204. The language of the compiler’s part of an English catalogue should be English.

Therefore all notes, explanations, and such words as _in, see, see also, note, contents, and_ (between joint authors), _and others, n. p., n. d._, should be English; however, _etc., q. v._, and _sic_ may be used.

For the language of HEADINGS, see §§ 27–36. In the entry of Government publications the name of the country or city will have the English form (§§ 33, 34), but the name of the department should usually be in the language of the country, _e. g._:

«Italy.» _Ministero di Agricoltura._

But for countries like Russia, Turkey, Japan, where the vernacular name could not easily be ascertained, an English form may be used.

For titles see §§ 165–169, 175; put the specifications of the EDITION in the language of the title, also the IMPRINT (§ 179), CONTENTS, NOTES, and REFERENCES.

H. CAPITALS.

205. In English use an initial capital

1. for the first word, _a._ of every sentence, _b._ of every title quoted, _c._ of every alternative title,

2. for all proper names, each separate word not an article or preposition. _a._ of persons and places, _b._ of bodies _c._ of noted events and periods,

_N. B._ This does not include names of genera, species, etc., in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, which in an ordinary catalogue should not be capitalized; as digitalis purpurea, raia batis, the horse.

3. for adjectives and other derivatives from proper names when they have a direct reference to the person, place, etc., from which they are derived.

4. for titles of honor standing instead of a proper name.

_Ex._ 1_b._ Reply to the Essay on the discovery of America.

1_c._ Institutio legalis; or, Introduction to the laws of England. But it is better, when the sense will permit, to omit the “or” and consider the second title as a clause explanatory of the first, as Institutio legalis; introduction to the laws of England.

2_b._ Society for Promoting the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.

2_c._ Boston Massacre, French Revolution, Gunpowder Plot, Middle Ages.

4. The Earl of Derby, _but_ John Stanley, earl of Derby. {81}

206. In foreign languages, use initial capitals

5. for 1_a_, 1_b_, 1_c_.

6. (Persons and places) _a._ In _German_ and _Danish_ for every noun and for adjectives derived from names of persons, but for no others.

_b._ In the _Romance_ languages (_Italian_, _French_, _Spanish_, _Portuguese_) and in _Swedish_ and _Greek_ for proper names of persons and places, but not for adjectives derived from them.

_c._ in _Latin_ and _Dutch_ for proper names and also for the adjectives derived from them, but not for common nouns.

7. (Bodies) as in English, except that in _German_ and _Danish_ only the nouns are to be capitalized, and adjectives when they begin the name.

8. (Events and periods) as in English, with the same exception.

9. (Titles) in _German_ and _Danish_, but not in the _Romance_ languages, in _Latin_ or in _Greek_.

_Ex._ 6_a._ Die Homerische Frage, but Die griechischen Scholien. In many German books capitals are not used even for adjectives derived from personal names.

6_b._ Les Français, but le peuple français.

7. Société de l’Histoire de France.