[DCRM-L] format confusion

[Washington, Brittney]

Hi Daniel,

With regard to “The third leaf of each gathering is signed A2, B2, C2 etc.” I had something similar like this recently, too. It turns out the gatherings were in twos. In the OCLC record I found this described: “Signatures: A1-L1² A2-L2², with quire A2 following quire A1, B2 following B1, etc.” I found that confusing so I wrote it out for our catalog as follows: A1² A2² B1² B2² C1² C2² D1² D2² ² E1² E2² F1² F2² G1² G2² H1² H2² I1² I2² K1² K2² L1² L2².

This may not answer your question really, but it could be a weird situation like this that is causing so much confusion.


Brittney Washington
Metadata & Cataloging Librarian for Special Formats
Harry Ransom Center
The University of Texas at Austin
(512) 232-1681



From: DCRM-L <dcrm-l-bounces at lib.byu.edu> On Behalf Of Daniel Axmacher
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2021 10:51 AM
To: dcrm-l at lib.byu.edu
Subject: [DCRM-L] format confusion

Howdy everyone,

I'm seeking advice on an edition of The Wonderful life and surprising adventures of that renowned hero Robinson Crusoe. Boston: J. White and Co., 1792. The bookseller calls it an 8vo, ESTC and the OCLC record call it a 12mo, and it's down in Evans American Bibliography as a 24mo.

It's 14 cm in height, in gatherings of six, A-F, with vertical chain lines, and no watermarks that I can find. A1 and F6 are used as paste-downs, and it's signed on the first and third leaves. The third leaf of each gathering is signed A2, B2, C2 etc. and I'm not entirely sure what to make of that.

Based on all that, I'm inclined to think it's an 18mo, or maybe long 24mo? But I'm not sure how to distinguish the two, and with the uncertainty between ESTC and Evans I think I might be missing something. Does anyone have advice or insight that might help clear this up? Thanks in advance.

Best,
Dan Axmacher
--
Daniel P. Axmacher
[he/him/his]
Rare Materials Catalog Librarian
Boston Athenæum
10½ Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02108
617-227-0270 ext. 245<tel:%28617%29%20227-0270>
www.bostonathenaeum.org<http://www.bostonathenaeum.org>

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