[DCRM-L] Collation: partially duplicated signing

[Noble, Richard]

Well, in the "for what it's worth" department, I think the nearest WWBD*
formula would be

[A]4 πB4 b-i4, B-3X4


which is how I infer from Bowers' preferences expressed on p. 216 and 220.
Not to infer [A] is improper where, as usual in English practice--I assume
this is an English book--the printer began the text with B, reserving A for
the first gathering (Bowers p. 216). The B signature in the preliminaries is
easily distinguished from the main series B with prefixed pi, interpreting
the word "preliminary" somewhat broadly, and following examples in which a
second or later preliminary gathering is thus differenced (p. 220, a rare
instance of out and out pragmatism in Bowers).


*What Would Bowers Do: RBS Des Bib motto.



RICHARD NOBLE : RARE BOOKS CATALOGER : JOHN HAY LIBRARY : BROWN UNIVERSITY
PROVIDENCE, RI 02912 : 401-863-1187/FAX 863-3384 : RICHARD_NOBLE at BROWN.EDU


On Mon, Oct 3, 2011 at 1:15 PM, John Lancaster <jjlancaster at me.com> wrote:

> Randal - I think any of the three choices you suggest (as well as [a])
> could be defended, more or less, but I agree with your choice of pi.
> Neither Gaskell nor Bowers is at all comprehensive - they couldn't be, I
> think, so cataloguer's (or bibliographer's) judgment is still a significant
> component of the descriptive process.
>
> John Lancaster
>
>
> On Oct 03, 2011, at 12:50 PM, Randal Brandt <rbrandt at library.berkeley.edu>
> wrote:
>
> I am cataloging a book with partially duplicated signatures and would
> like some advice. The book is an octavo in 4's and the preliminaries are
> signed as follows:
>
> unsigned gathering, B, b-i
>
> The main text is then signed:
>
> B-3X
>
> My question is about the initial unsigned gathering. Would it be
> recorded as '[A]', '[superscript pi][A]', or 'pi'? The second gathering
> has to be signed '[superscript pi]B' because of the duplicated B
> gathering that begins the text. At this point I'm leaning towards 'pi'
> since 'A' is not used in any of the subsequent sequences, resulting in a
> signature statement as follows:
>
> pi^4 [superscript pi]B^4, b-i^4, B-3X^4
>
> Any other suggestions? I've looked at Gaskell p. 331 and Bowers p. 219+,
> but do not see this particular situation.
>
> Thanks!
>
> --
> __________________________
> Randal Brandt
> Principal Cataloger
> The Bancroft Library
> (510) 643-2275
> rbrandt at library.berkeley.edu
> http://bancroft.berkeley.edu
> "It's hard enough to remember my opinions without
> remembering my reasons for them"--The Streets.
>
>
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