The Title Page in History

Archival Quality Communication

AQC for Today, for Tomorrow, and for ever . . . .

The title page of a book, almost without exception, is the single most important page in the book. If you found a loose page from a book blowing in the wind and picked it up, you might, if you could read the language written or printed upon it, find it exceedingly interesting. In fact the first thing you would want to know is where it came from. By that I mean you would not want to know what window it blew out of, but who the author was, and the title of the book of which it was a part. The title page is the seal of authenticity of a book. It states not only the title of the book, but usually the author (or at least a name he chooses to go by), and when and where it was published. There are books without title pages, but first and foremost they are a problem to be solved, not a source for answering other questions. In olden days title pages nearly always included the date, often in Roman numerals; most of our contemporary books place the publication date on the reverse of the title page, and for this reason the verso may be considered an extension of the title page.

The ideal title page states not only the title of the book, but usually also the author, an important consideration. Often this is more important than the title, since titles by different authors may be identical, but only rarely does an author write two different books under the same title. Other information often includes the publisher, place of publication, and the date. The title page may include a short listing of the other writings and accomplishments of the author. It will usually tell you which volume of a multivolume work it is. There may be an indication of the status, profession, or position of the author, or his affiliation with some society. (e. g., Dr., Prof., Gen., M. D., Ph.D.)

There may also be other additions to the title page. There may be an epigraph, that is, a short quotation from some other work of literature. Epigraphs sometimes give a clue to the author’s intention in writing the work. It may provide a clue to his learning; for example it may be poetry, perhaps in Latin or Greek. Sometimes there are engravings, or decorative art work. Opposite the title page there may be a frontispiece, which fairly often is of the author, or some person he is writing about. Other images may include maps, pictures of towns, buildings, battles, and so on. All of these can be clues telling us more about the subject of the book; but also the author’s interest, and how he approaches the subject. An history with a frontispiece of King George will almost invariably have a different point of view than one with President George. Sometimes the significance of the artwork is not apparent, but is must have meant something to someone, and it may be important to find out what.

The difference between title pages of different editions of the same work can be very instructive. Unless it is a photographic reprint, only rarely will title pages be identical. Sometimes, finding that the book he expected to be obscure, the book that he hesitated even to put his name on, has suddenly become popular, an author will put his name (or even his real name) on a book that was anonymous in the first edition. Sometimes the title itself will change; there are many reasons for this. The new title page often has a new date, and we want to know it; it is certainly an indication of continued or renewed interest in the book.

This is an Archival Quality Communication,

James Duvall, M. A.
The original essay was written 10 July 2007