Homee and Phiroze Randeria Lecture

Nicholas Pickwoad: Entitled: The Choice, Purpose and Placing of Titles on Early-Modern Bookbindings.
The introduction of standardised titles on the bindings of early modern printed books is a relatively recent phenomenon. Until well into the eighteenth century they appear mostly to have been added on the instructions of the owner, whether commercial, institutional or private, sometimes a long time after the books were first bound, with a consequent wide variety of type and purpose. Where they are placed on bindings, and how many times in different places, also reflects shelving practices and national preferences, and often gives evidence of the movement of books both within and between libraries. The increasing introduction of edition bindings and printed titles in the eighteenth century indicates a profound change in the identification of books by their titles.

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