[DCRM-L] Signature statement help

[Randal S. BRANDT]

Dear collective wisdom,

I am cataloging a book with a somewhat unusual signing pattern and am
debating (with myself) how best to record it. I do not find adequate help
in Bowers. I now bring the debate to you:

The book:
Mathias, Thomas James. The shade of Alexander Pope on the banks of the
Thames (ESTC T93918)

The collation:
8vo: 2 unnumbered leaves, unsigned (half-title, title page); pages [1]-16,
signed B^8 (preface); pages[17]-86, [2], signed B-E^8 F^4 (text +
advertisement leaf)

The problem:
How to give the preliminary gatherings in the signature statement? So far,
I have:
[A]^2 [superscript pi]B^8 B-E^8 F^4

But, I question that treatment of the preliminary 2 leaf unsigned
gathering. I don't really think that the first B gathering is an insert,
given that the pagination continues directly from the preface into the main
text. But, if it were, it could be handled like the example given in Bowers
p. 220:
[A]^2 [superscript chi]B^8 B-E^8 F^4

Or should the first gathering also receive the pi designation?:
[superscript pi][A]^2 [superscript pi]B^8 B-E^8 F^4

Many thanks in advance for your advice.

-- 
Randal S. Brandt
The Bancroft Library | University of California, Berkeley
510.643.2275 | rbrandt at library.berkeley.edu
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserver.lib.byu.edu/pipermail/dcrm-l/attachments/20140130/f1fb66e2/attachment.html>