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}