PRELIMS

i Half-title The historical reason for this page is that until the middle of the nineteenth century books were
published unbound, and first offered for sale by booksellers in temporary paper wrappers. The half-title was
therefore a protection for the title page; it also gave the opportunity on its verso for material, e.g. an illustration, to
face the title, or for the title to run across two pages.

It can carry information not given elsewhere, e.g. the number of a book in a series. Usually, it states (perhaps in a
shortened version) only the title of the book, and possibly the author.

ii Blank, or frontispiece illustration (which may be printed on different paper from the text and tipped in).

iii Title-page The title page states, in words, the actual title (sub-title, if there is one) of the book and the name of
the author and publisher, and sometimes also the number of illustrations, but it should do more than that. From the
designer’s point of view, it is the most important page in the book: it sets the style. It is the page, which opens
communication with the reader. In the words of an American designer: ‘Here is the one chance the usual
commercial book gets to make a little melodious noise; to play a few bars of incidental music while the curtain
rises; to get the audience into a sympathetic frame of mind.... Some hint welcome on the title-page, then -- some
touch a little less frigid than your bank report. Border designs do not accomplish it; borders do not seem to fit into
the modern book. Pictures, perhaps; little devices; a nosegay. But usually the so desirable warmth has to be
devised out of type.’

If the book is one of a series in uniform style, such as a Penguin or Every man, or one of the Gollancz novels of the
1930s designed by Stanley Morison, the typography cannot say anything about that particular book; but if a
distinctive and distinguished style for the series has been achieved, it will say: This is a title in a distinctive and
distinguished series and is worth your attention.

If illustrations play a large part in a book, the title-page opening should, or may, express this visually. If any form of
decoration is used inside the book, e.g. for chapter openings, one would expect this so to be repeated or echoed on
the title-page.

Whatever the style of the book, the title-page should give a foretaste of it. If the book consists of plain text, the title
page should at least be in harmony with it. The title itself should not exceed in width the width of the type area, and
will normally be narrower. The title-page need not be the same depth as the text, and is often made a pica or two
shorter at head and foot. If a border is used (whether typographically or drawn, but regular) it should almost always
have the same outside dimensions as the type area and the margins round the type matter inside the border
should be either definitely wider or definitely narrower than the page margins outside the border.

It should also be remembered that the title-page is where librarians and cataloguers, as well as readers, look for the
basic information they need to identify the book, so it must show the correct title, the author or principal editor, the
illustrator if any, and publisher. It should also include the date of publication (necessary to establish whether the
book is the most recent edition), but in some cases publishers are shy about this and put the dates less
conspicuously on the verso, or occasionally omit it altogether.

iv Title-page verso The title-page verso carries a miscellaneous amount of necessary but unglamorous
information and is often neglected by designers--perhaps because it is sometimes not compiled until the very last
moment and is never shown to the designer.

It should carry the date of publication (if this is not on the title-page), and if it is not a first edition, it should carry
the date of all editions and impressions in the form shown in British Standard 4719 (1971).

It carries the publisher’s and printer’s imprints, still a legal requirement in Britain, and this means the names and
addresses in words. Names and addresses of co-publishers in other countries are optional unless they have been
stipulated by the publisher.

The title-page verso usually carries the ISBN number (International Standard Book Numbers are the librarian’s
positive identification of a book, and are allocated by, and obtained from, The International Book Numbering
Agency, 12 Dyott Street, London WC1A 1DF) and British Library and Library of Congress cataloguing data, now
often included in international editions.

The copyright owner’s notice, including a date, goes on this page, with such other legal copyright warnings as the
publisher wishes to add.

Credits to the designer and other contributors and suppliers (e.g. of paper, or binding) may be included here, and
also general acknowledgements, unless it is felt that these require, as they often do, a special page.

The large number of words often makes this a full page. It is usually set in a small size of type, probably that used
for footnotes, requires skill to make it coherent and look attractive. Look for good examples to copy.

v Dedication This deserves a right hand page to itself, but sometimes it has to be squeezed in elsewhere, perhaps
on the half-title or the verso of the title-page. It may take the form of a drawing or engraving.

vi Acknowledgement These may be short or long, but must not be forgotten. They should be the author’s and
publisher’s acknowledgements to people who have helped in the writing of the text; there may also be a list of
sources, etc. used in collecting the illustrations, or the loan of material.

vii Preface or foreword If this is short, and not part of the book (i.e. if it is not written by the author), it may be
placed before the Contents (but see below). If it is written by the author, it can probably be considered to be part of
the book, and should immediately precede the first chapter. It should normally be set in the same style and type as
the text.

viii Contents (Some consider that the contents page is so important that it should always follow the title-page, as
the next right-hand-page, where it is easier to find). The contents page usually shows only the chapter titles, with
their page references. The titles must be checked against the text, with which they must be identical in wording,
spelling, capitalization and punctuation; if not, the designer must ask the publisher or author which is right, or take
the decisions himself, to see that the titles are the same as given in the text itself.

If chapters have sub-headings and divisions, the decision must be taken whether to include these on the contents
page. If chapters do not have sub-heads, but are long and/or complicated, it may be helpful to include summaries. If
the usefulness of the book to the reader is increased by their inclusion, they should appear here.

ix List of illustrations This is necessary if it helps the reader. It depends on the kind of book and the kind of
illustration. If illustrations are by different artists, this may be the best place to give this information. If plates are
not numbered and not folioed, as sometimes happens, then a list of plates is needed to show the purchaser or the
reader of the book whether the book has the correct number of plates or not, and to indicate their position in the
book. The list of illustrations is sometimes placed at the back of the book.

Additional items: list of abbreviations Some texts require a list of abbreviations, or symbols, or other special
information required to understand the text, e.g. repeating foreign words and phrases. This could go at the back of
the book, but if so, the fact that it is at the back of the book should be indicated in the Contents. Errata Prelims are
always printed last, so that if mistakes are found in the text after it has been printed, they can be corrected in a list
of errata (mistakes) in the prelims. If they are not discovered until after the prelims have been printed, and are
important enough, a special slip or page has to be printed and pasted in, which is cheaper than reprinting the book.