Take a look at this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ModestEnquiry.jpg

That's one hell of a long title, don't you think?

Today a title is usually something like "The Day After Tomorrow" or "For 
Whom The Bell Tolls". Back then, it appears that the "title" was the 
entire abstract! o_O

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Invisible schrieb:

> That's one hell of a long title, don't you think?
> 
> Today a title is usually something like "The Day After Tomorrow" or "For 
> Whom The Bell Tolls". Back then, it appears that the "title" was the 
> entire abstract! o_O

Looks to me more like the concept of "book title" did not yet exist at 
that time.

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clipka wrote:
> Invisible schrieb:
> 
>> That's one hell of a long title, don't you think?
>>
>> Today a title is usually something like "The Day After Tomorrow" or 
>> "For Whom The Bell Tolls". Back then, it appears that the "title" was 
>> the entire abstract! o_O
> 
> Looks to me more like the concept of "book title" did not yet exist at 
> that time.

Yes. That's why even modern books (at least hardback) tend to have a blank 
page before the title page. It was to protect the paper in the store until 
you picked out the binding you wanted on the book. I.e., books were sold as 
a stack of paper, and you picked the binding separately, and they put the 
book together for you.  That's why "you can't judge a book by its cover", 
even tho obviously nowadays that's exactly how you judge a book you're going 
to buy in a store.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".

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Darren New escreveu:
> Yes. That's why even modern books (at least hardback) tend to have a 
> blank page before the title page. It was to protect the paper in the 
> store until you picked out the binding you wanted on the book. I.e., 
> books were sold as a stack of paper, and you picked the binding 
> separately, and they put the book together for you.  That's why "you 
> can't judge a book by its cover", even tho obviously nowadays that's 
> exactly how you judge a book you're going to buy in a store.

that's some fine historic tidbit... :)

-- 
a game sig: http://tinyurl.com/d3rxz9

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Invisible escreveu:
> Take a look at this:
> 
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ModestEnquiry.jpg
> 
> That's one hell of a long title, don't you think?
> 
> Today a title is usually something like "The Day After Tomorrow" or "For 
> Whom The Bell Tolls". Back then, it appears that the "title" was the 
> entire abstract! o_O

even more fun is the dedication section.  Like that of Cervantes to the 
King in the preface of Don Quixote.  Long, boring and baroque, full of 
praise to the monarch just to get it published.  Today it's something 
like:  "To Susan"

-- 
a game sig: http://tinyurl.com/d3rxz9

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nemesis wrote:

> even more fun is the dedication section.  Like that of Cervantes to the 
> King in the preface of Don Quixote.  Long, boring and baroque, full of 
> praise to the monarch just to get it published.  Today it's something 
> like:  "To Susan"

Or "To Sausan, may you rest in peace".

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Darren New wrote:
> Yes. That's why even modern books (at least hardback) tend to have a 
> blank page before the title page. It was to protect the paper in the 
> store until you picked out the binding you wanted on the book. I.e., 
> books were sold as a stack of paper, and you picked the binding 
> separately, and they put the book together for you.  That's why "you 
> can't judge a book by its cover", even tho obviously nowadays that's 
> exactly how you judge a book you're going to buy in a store.

For the ultimate book-customisation experience, before that, you picked 
out which pages you wanted, and in what order!  They just had piles of 
individual pages of text...

--
Tim Cook
http://empyrean.freesitespace.net

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On 5-11-2009 17:39, Invisible wrote:
> nemesis wrote:
> 
>> even more fun is the dedication section.  Like that of Cervantes to 
>> the King in the preface of Don Quixote.  Long, boring and baroque, 
>> full of praise to the monarch just to get it published.  Today it's 
>> something like:  "To Susan"
> 
> Or "To Sausan, may you rest in peace".

A friend of mine used: "to my wife, who has not spoken to me in 3 
years." or something similar, but that was in a book on effective 
communication.

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andrel wrote:

> A friend of mine used: "to my wife, who has not spoken to me in 3 
> years." or something similar, but that was in a book on effective 
> communication.

Ah, the irony...

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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Invisible wrote:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ModestEnquiry.jpg
> 
> That's one hell of a long title, don't you think?
> 

Heh, I've seen worse :-)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_de_Sainct-Didier

"Traicté contenant les secrets du premier livre sur l’espée seule, mère 
de toutes armes, qui sont espée dague, cappe, targue, bouclier, 
rondelle, l’espée deux mains & deux espées, avec ses pourtraictures, 
ayans les armes au poing por se deffendre & offencer à un mesme temps 
des coups qu’on peut tirer, tant en assillant qu’en deffendent, fort 
utile & profitable por adextrer la noblesse, & suposts de Mars: redigé 
par art, ordre & practique"

-- 
Vincent

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