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<font size=3>I agonized about this for a while, then decided that the
principle that trumps all is the strictest possible separation in the
treatment of letterpress and plates, the final test being a proper
correlation between the pagination statement and the collational formula.
The printer's method of numbering, and degree of success or failure in
following it, are secondary to the integrity of the structural
description.<br><br>
It's messy--i.e. you'll need to do some explaining--no matter what you
do, but it always seemed more confusing, and to require more complicated
explanation, if I tried to treat the plates and the letterpress leaves as
an integrated sequence.<br><br>
A good example (or ill, depending on whether or not you think this is the
correct approach) is no. 101 in the Malkin catalogue, <i>Dancing by the
Book</i> (in Amherst Coll. special collections GV1643.M36 2003), where
the formula (minus diacritics and with superscripts lowered) is:<br><br>
8o: engr. ti. + a4 A-D8 [$4 (-a2,3,4, A4) signed]; 36 leaves, pp.
[<i>8</i>] 1-12 17-28 31-34 39-40 49-52 55-56 59-60 63-64 74-77 80-81
84-85 94-103 108-111 <i>112-113</i> [=64] + plates, ff. [<i>6</i>], pp.
[<i>58</i>]<br><br>
Of this it is noted, "The first part consists of the engraved title
page followed by a letterpress text into which 35 leaves of numbered
engraved plates have been inserted. The gaps in the letterpress page
count allow for these numbered plates, though the result is not perfect
...", followed by a couple of yards of discursive goose chase
through the vagaries of numbering and occasionally misnumbering plates to
fit into letterpress gaps. I think it's much better to reserve such
crankiness for the notes and keep the formula clean: 72 pages ([64] +
<i>8</i>) = 36 leaves of letterpress, with just this gappy pagination.
The letterpress is quite simple, and it helps immensely to establish that
up front as the background to the more complicated story of the
plates.<br><br>
It's quite possible that a case where the numberings line up properly
would fit well enough into a single pagination register, but I prefer to
have a good general rule that can handle the harder cases and still not
make too much of a mess of the simpler ones. The dance books demanded a
lot of this sort of extrapolation from WWBD ("What Would Bowers
Do"), since Bowers never dealt with books of this sort; but I think
that Bowers had it right about making plates and letterpress stand in
opposite corners. (If I had it to do over again, the Malkin catalogue
rule of thumb would have been "What Would Allan Stevenson Do",
since the best model would have been his volume of the Hunt
catalogue.)<br><br>
In the case cited, that would mean: pp. [i-iv] ix-xii, to be described as
a 4-leaf gathering with a non-letterpress bifolium inserted between
leaves 2 and 3 and counted by the printer as pp. [v-viii], 'cause that's
what it is. That reflects the fastidiousness of an obsessive
bibliographer. Recalling that we librarians have only just begun treating
an engraved title page as a plate, I suppose there might be some dissent
among my colleagues.<br><br>
</font><tt>RICHARD NOBLE : RARE BOOKS CATALOGER : JOHN HAY LIBRARY :
BROWN UNIVERSITY<br>
PROVIDENCE, RI 02912 : 401-863-1187/FAX 863-2093 :
RICHARD_NOBLE@BROWN.EDU <br><br>
</tt><font size=3>At 3/16/2009 07:04 PM, John Lancaster
wrote:<br>
</font><blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3>I have a
19<sup>th</sup>-century book in which there are two leaves of engraved
plates that are clearly not part of the letterpress sheets (paper is
completely different in color, thickness, and texture), but that are
included in the pagination. I can find no guidance in DCRM(B) for
the correct way to record this (any solution will require a note in
addition to the pagination and illustration statement), and welcome any
thoughts on both the specifics and the general issue. I’m sure
there are other examples out there.<br>
<br>
The details are: The first gathering in the book is a normal
gathering of 4 leaves letterpress, with the two (conjugate) leaves of
plates (one an engraved title page) nested within the letterpress, sewn
as a single gathering of 6 leaves. Most pages are unnumbered, but
the paging of the letterpress ends: ix, x, xi, xii. A new gathering
begins with page 1 of the text, and the rest of the book is
unremarkable.<br>
<br>
Many thanks.<br>
<br>
--<br>
John Lancaster
(<a href="mailto:jlancaster@amherst.edu">jlancaster@amherst.edu</a>)<br>
P.O. Box</font> 775<br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3>Williamsburg</font>, MA
01096-0775<br>
<font face="Times New Roman, Times" size=3>413-268-7679<br>
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