WWP Training Materials

Encoding forme work

Introductory page

Main forme work page

Page numbers

Press figures

Vol.

Signatures

Catchwords

On vol

What is a "vol"?

This value refers to volume information printed occcasionally (often only once per chapter) near the bottom left of a page, usually taking the form vol followed by a number. It is used by the binder to determine which volume of a multi-volume work a given section of the book belongs to.

Where/When are these found?

These appear only in multi-volume works, and we have not yet seen them in Renaissance texts; they usually appear in early 19th-century works. They should not be confused with signatures, catchwords, or press figures, but it is not difficult to distinguish them, since they are so uniform.

An example

From Poems on Several Occasions by Elizabeth Carter (pictured here):

   <mw type="vol" rend="align(left)case(smallcaps)">Vol. II.</mw>
   <mw type="sig" rend="align(center)break(no)">C</mw>
   <mw type="catch" rend="align(right)break(no)">Integer</mw>