collation ☜☞ colación
Bibliographical description of the physical composition of a book, expressed in a standardized formula. This recites the sequence of letters printed or written on the first page of a gathering, or quire, originally intended for the guidance of the binder. The collation, in this sense, consists of three parts: an indication of the format, the register of signatures, and a record of the number of leaves.
For a simple suelta, the formula reads as follows: (4to) A–E4. This translates as a quarto volume of a total of 5 (A–E) sheets of paper printed on both sides, folded twice = 5 gatherings = 20 leaves. Each leaf has a recto and verso; thus, it is paginated 1 to 40.
Desglosadas, found anywhere in a volume of collected plays, can have fairly complicated collations.
See also: catchword, format, gathering, quire / signature, signatures
For a simple suelta, the formula reads as follows: (4to) A–E4. This translates as a quarto volume of a total of 5 (A–E) sheets of paper printed on both sides, folded twice = 5 gatherings = 20 leaves. Each leaf has a recto and verso; thus, it is paginated 1 to 40.
Desglosadas, found anywhere in a volume of collected plays, can have fairly complicated collations.
See also: catchword, format, gathering, quire / signature, signatures