[DCRM-L] Transcription of printing privileges

[David Stumpp]

Hi Deborah,

As we all know, I'm sure, the rigid interpretation of the rules can often cause just this sort of crisis, and, as such, individual catalogers and institutions have tended to be selective and judicious about their application and often err on the side of common sense. You will know better how the ESTC dealt with this specific issue before my time, but during my tenure, we tended to include printing privileges, regardless of their purpose, in the title transcription, even if it occurred within the statement of responsibility. If it was quite obviously set within the imprint, it was transcribed in the 260, and if it was set markedly below and outside the imprint, it was transcribed in a 500 note, for example:

500 bb |a At foot of title page: Cum priuilegio.

This is the current practice in Oxford. So, in dealing with your first example, we would include "Allowed and published" directly following the proper title in the 245 |b, and in your second example, "Publish'd at the request of ..." would be transcribed in the |c following with the statement of responsibility, just as it is set.

I always think it apt to remember that users of our catalogs are not necessarily trained in bibliographic description and are more likely to view our descriptions literally, and that makes me particularly averse to rules such as 1A2.2 which remove elements of the title page and position them outside of the order in which they were set on the physical item, an out-dated algorithm probably originally for the purpose of generating catalog cards. I am more naturally in favor of describing said item as closely as possible to the actual typesetting.

Best regards,
Dave

______________________________

David Stumpp
Antiquarian Cataloguer
The Library
Christ Church, Oxford, OX1 1DP
01865 276169



From: dcrm-l-bounces at lib.byu.edu [mailto:dcrm-l-bounces at lib.byu.edu] On Behalf Of Deborah J. Leslie
Sent: 15 September 2016 23:10
To: DCRM Users' Group
Subject: [DCRM-L] Transcription of printing privileges

I'm having a crisis of conscious (or maybe just a loss of nerve) about the status of statements of privilege (e.g., "Cum priuilegio"; "Seene, allowed, and commended by publike authoritie to be printed."). Privilege statements, by unwritten convention, are usually considered by catalogers as a category of statements to be silently omitted. From DCRM(B)

1A2.2. Omission of pious invocations, etc. Omit, without using the mark of omission, information found on the title page that constitutes neither title information nor a statement of responsibility. Such information may include pious invocations, quotations, devices, announcements, epigrams, mottoes, prices, etc. (see 0G5.2). Transcribe or describe this kind of information in a note if it is considered important.

I can see why a small, italic Cum priuilegio at the foot of the title page could be considered title information that's not part of any area. But what about larger, more centrally placed statements, such as found on this title page?:

        [166565.jpg]

The statement "allowed and published ..." doesn't fit into any of the publication elements, but could it be considered other title information? I wouldn't think twice about transcribing statements about publishing by request, such as that found in the following:

[cid:image003.png at 01D21030.4E4253D0]

Both are statements about actions that caused the existence of the printed work. What are the arguments for or against considering this type of statement to be other title information?

Deborah J. Leslie, M.A., M.L.S. | Senior Cataloger, Folger Shakespeare Library | djleslie at folger.edu | 202.675-0369 | 201 East Capitol St., SE, Washington, DC 20003 | www. folger.edu | orcid.org/0000-0001-5848-5467


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