A bibliography of English military books up to 1642 and of ...

The English books have been treated more fully than the
foreign books in the following respects :
1. To insure accuracy, the date is given in words, after the
example of De Morgan ("Arithmetical Books "). It thus occurs
in some cases three times ; before the title, in the imprint, and in
the colophon.
2. Title-pages are given in full, with upright strokes to mark
the turning of a line.
3. Running headlines are given as a means of identification if a
title-page be missing ; besides, on account of the length of many
early title-pages, it becomes necessary to adopt some fixed short
title by which a work may be known, and, as a rule, it is best to
take that chosen by the author. To the careless pra6lice of making
up short titles for oneself may be attributed the chronicling of
one book under several titles. Amongst bibliographers, Rumpf is
a great sinner in this respe6t.
4. The length of the Preface is stated. This is often an epitome
of the whole book, containing many interesting details concerning
the author and his work.
5. The name of the person to whom the Epistle Dedicatory is
addressed is given.^ " It is the custome," says Philip Jones, " or
rather by custome the habite in men of industry to comende their
labours to persons of countenance and judgement, and for the most
part to such as by their owne experience are able
to speak of that
argument, which the worke presented to them doth principally
prosecute." This is certainly true of military writers. The patron,
too, often bore the cost of producing a work.
In the first part the Signatures are given to all editions, in the
second to one only. While the pagination of these books from
being frequently faulty is not to be relied upon, the signatures, as
the sets of letters and signs are termed which are printed at the
bottom margin of a page to distinguish the sheets, afford a quick
and sure means of ascertaining the number of the leaves without
*
Ep. Ded. to his translation of Meier's " Instrudlions for Travellers." See No. 44.
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