[DCRM-L] Alternative to "xylographic"

[Noble, Richard]

Erin: Good! I'm with you, especially because the term is one that can
function with the same precise comprehensiveness in DCRMG and DCRMB. We're
*always* better off using the same terms, whenever we can, to describe the
"graphic" components of books in the same terms used to describe "graphics"
on their own. - Richard

RICHARD NOBLE :: RARE MATERIALS CATALOGUER :: JOHN HAY LIBRARY
BROWN UNIVERSITY  ::  PROVIDENCE, R.I. 02912  ::  401-863-1187
<Richard_Noble at Br <RICHARD_NOBLE at BROWN.EDU>own.edu>


On Tue, Dec 17, 2013 at 8:40 PM, Erin Blake <EBlake at folger.edu> wrote:

>  Good question. I'm surprised to discover that I'm coming down on the
> side of keeping "xylographic" (normally, I'm a big fan of the vernacular).
> Reasons for keeping "xylographic":
>
> ·         It covers both "woodcut" [plank-side technique] and "wood
> engraving" [end-grain technique]; the terms are easily confused, but
> meaningful to specialists; we don't want to have the same problem with wood
> cuts that we do with "metal cuts" in ESTC (where what are called "metal
> cuts" are almost always actually engravings, i.e. intaglio prints; metal
> cuts are a very rare form of illustration, printed in relief from metal
> plates)
>
> ·         The term "xylography" is widely used in the literature (enough
> so that on Friday, I overheard a professor making sure that his
> dissertation seminar students understood it)
>
> ·          It is understood by specialists to mean "graphic" in the sense
> "of or relating to the written or printed word" as opposed to "pictorial"
> (not just when talking about title pages, but when talking about woodcuts:
> there are times when it's important to distinguish which words in a picture
> are cut from the block and which are set from type, since only the latter
> can easily be changed; it's a big deal in the history of book illustration)
>
> ·         It's an important distinction that would be lost in keyword
> searching and datamining (it's fine to read "title printed from wood block"
> if you're looking for more information about a known book, but if you're
> studying printing history, you'll want to be able to search "xylograph*"
>
> ·         It's easily understood from the dictionary definition if
> someone doesn't know what it means.
>
>
>
> Thanks for bringing it up!
>
>
>
> Erin.
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> Erin C. Blake, Ph.D.  |  Interim Head of Collection Information Services
> and Cataloging; Curator of Art & Special Collections  |  Folger Shakespeare
> Library  |  201 E. Capitol St. SE  |  Washington, DC 20003-1004  |  office
> tel. +1 (202) 675-0323  |  fax:  +1 (202) 675-0328  |  eblake at folger.edu
> |  www.folger.edu |  collation.folger.edu
>
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> *From:* dcrm-l-bounces at lib.byu.edu [mailto:dcrm-l-bounces at lib.byu.edu] *On
> Behalf Of *Noble, Richard
> *Sent:* Tuesday, December 17, 2013 4:06 PM
> *To:* DCRM Users' Group
> *Subject:* Re: [DCRM-L] Alternative to "xylographic"
>
>
>
> I suppose the attraction of "xylographic" is that it corresponds
> semantically to "typographic". But we have "woodcut".
>
>
>
> How to phrase it? "First word is a woodcut", "First word is woodcut",
> "First word is printed from a woodcut block"? I ask, because in ordinary
> discourse there's a strong pictorial connotation to "woodcut", where the
> technical term "xylographic" simply means "printed from wood", with the
> understanding that it's from a block,  not wood type.
>
>
>
> Anyway, "woodcut"--or "wood engraving", if we're describing such a
> thing--does seem like the best candidate.
>
>
>  RICHARD NOBLE :: RARE MATERIALS CATALOGUER :: JOHN HAY LIBRARY
>
> BROWN UNIVERSITY  ::  PROVIDENCE, R.I. 02912  ::  401-863-1187
>
> <Richard_Noble at Br <RICHARD_NOBLE at BROWN.EDU>own.edu>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Dec 17, 2013 at 3:49 PM, Deborah J. Leslie <DJLeslie at folger.edu>
> wrote:
>
> In an effort to drop obscure vocabulary in catalog records, I'm casting
> about for another way to word a note on the fact that a word or block of
> text is printed from a wood block instead of metal type. The ESTC uses it
> extensively: e.g., http://estc.bl.uk/S120001
>
>
>
> Any suggestions?
>
>
>
>
>
> Deborah J. Leslie, M.A., M.L.S. | Folger Shakespeare Library | 201 East
> Capitol St., S.E. | Washington, D.C. 20003 | djleslie at folger.edu |
> 202.675-0369 | http://www.folger.edu
>
>
>
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>
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