what does signature mean regaring books?

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skystar30097

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All his knowledge would be derived from two sources: first, Physical investigation of the book itself: the nature of paper, ..., and the way in which the signatures were arranged.


What does signature mean if it is use in manufacturing books?
 

5jj

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I have no idea. Where did you see this?
 

skystar30097

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in a handbook on literary research.
Those sentences were mentioned in analytical bibliography section.
 

5jj

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in a handbook on literary research. Those sentences were mentioned in analytical bibliography section.
It would have been rather more helpful if you had given us more of the immediate context. For example,

When a document professing to be testamentary is put into the hands of a skilful lawyer, he subjects it to a narrow scrutiny before he will admit its genuineness. He looks to the dates, to the paper* mark, if there is any, and to the colour of the ink ; he searches for erasures and interlineations ; he examines the signatures of the testator and of the witnesses.

Full text of "The Journal of Sacred Literature"

In that passage we can see exactly what is meant by 'signatures'.
 
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skystar30097

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The bibliographer would then describe how the printed sheets of paper were foled, cut and bound together to produce the final copy, how some of those printed sheets had been kept back as surplus to current requirements and how the sheets might have been used in a second edition .
All this knowledge would be derived from two sources. First, information comes from the close Physical investigation of the book itself: its physical dimensions, the nature of its paper (colour, texture, watermarks, etc.) the typeface and ornoments used, the way in which the signatures were arranged, page layout and design; and so on.

I hope it help.
 

5jj

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Signature:



  1. Printing
    1. A letter, number, or symbol placed at the bottom of the first page on each sheet of printed pages of a book as a guide to the proper sequence of the sheets in binding.
    2. A large sheet printed with four or a multiple of four pages that when folded becomes a section of the book.

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/signature
 
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5jj

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Note once again the importance of real context.

Probably someone who knew about printing could have given a satisfactory response to skystar's first question. However, none of us here had that specialised knowledge. Even the context that was provided (manufacturing books) was not enough to give us the clue we needed. It was only when it became obvious that it must be a technical term in printing that I was able to track down the required definition; I had no idea it could mean this.

Many words in English are used by some writers and/or by people in certain trades and professions in ways that the majority of people do not understand. Sometimes these specialised usages cannot even be found in a dictionary. The more context we have, the more likely we are to be able to give a helpful response.
 
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