[DCRB-L] General principles: FRBR terms

[Deborah J. Leslie]

John Attig writes (12/6/2002):

"Unless my knowledge of descriptive bibliography is seriously deficient, I believe that octavo, quarto and duodecimo manifestations BY DEFINITION must involve distinct settings of type.  To my mind, this means that it is almost impossible that the resetting does not involve changes of content -- those changes may be of varying significance, but there are differences."

In fact, this is not so. Pages of type can be reimposed on the bed of the press for different formats without any resetting at all. I offer for example Alexander's Pope's works, 1717 (used to startling effect, if my student evaluations are to be believed, in my rare book cataloging classes). There were five or six different issues by the publisher within days of each other. Three were folio issues, three quarto, and the two formats each were sub-distinguished by ordinary, fine, and extra-fine issues. All six are the same setting of type. [!] Therefore, differences in bibliographic format does not by definition involve distinct compositorial events, although of course most of the time different formats are characterized by just that.

Different works? No	
Different expressions? No (even though in folio and quarto)	
Different manifestations? Yes

Keeping with Pope, for a later volume of his works (I think  the 1734 v. 2), there were two editions created in a line-for-line resetting of type. No substantive content change; the main way to distinguish between them is to by examining the position of signature marks. 

Different works? No
Different expressions? Possibly. Taking the FRBR definition of 'expression', it says on p. 18 that "'Expression' encompasses, for example, the specific words, sentences, paragraphs, etc. that result from the realization of a 'work' in the form of a text ..." In this case the specific words, sentences, paragraphs are the same. However, FRBR also says on p. 19 that "if a text is revised or modified, the resulting 'expression' is considered to be a new expression, no matter how minor the modification may be." I would say it is up to us to decide whether resetting creates a new expression or not, or whether it merely creates a new manifestation, and to determine how much resetting is required for it. A Group Six task.
Different manifestations? Yes

Conversely, with early books we often have re-issues of the same sheets with a new title page proclaiming it a second edition, or with other differences on the t.p. Current cataloging rules require a new record. However, if we are going to do a thorough conceptual consideration, we need to be able to place this particular situation within the FRBR framework without recourse to AACR, and take it into account when we discuss when to create a new record. 

Different works? No
Different expressions? Hmmmm. No.
Different manifestations? Yes. FRBR p. 21 states that when "there are changes signaled in the product that are related to publication, marketing, etc. (e.g., a change in publisher, repackaging, etc.), the resulting product may be considered a new 'manifestation'." It is a new 'expression' as well as a new manifestation only if the modifications affect intellectual or artistic content. But if we apply this clarification from the 'Manifestation' section to resettings of type and the question of new expression, it would appear that resettings would not qualify as new expressions, because there is no change in intellectual or artistic content.

A final example. Shakespeare's first folio, 1623. The Folger has 79 copies. Because of their importance to our collection and our readers, each copy does indeed have a separate catalog record (done by Donald Farren, displaying a superb combination of bibliographic and cataloging prowess). I do not advocate this approach for other libraries. If we were anybody else, we would have all 79 copies on the same record. Seventy-nine copies, and each of them different. 

Different works? No
Different expressions? No, unless you apply a super-strict interpretation of FRBR's statement about any modification of text, no matter how minor, results in a new expression. But of course if we say this, then practically every copy of a hand-press book will be a different manifestation.
Different manifestations? No 
Different items? Yes.

To restate what others have already said, what do we do with the individual differences, or the groups of differences between copies within the same manifestation? Perhaps nothing. We do not usually create a new record for different states (unless there a standard bibliography has given them different numbers, and not always then). In fact, given the realities of the hand-press, there are rarely-precisely identifiable mutually-exclusive states, at least in books of more than a sheet. All that may be necessary is to come up with a word to indicate variant states that we can fit in with existing FRBR terminology.

________________________
Deborah J. Leslie
Head of Cataloging
Folger Shakespeare Library
201 East Capitol St., S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
202.675-0369 (voice)
202.675-0328 (fax)
djleslie at folger.edu