Shelfmark
A shelfmark is a mark in a book or manuscript that denotes the cupboard or bookcase where it is kept as well as the shelf and possibly even its location on the shelf. The closely related term pressmark (from
pastedowns.[1] When a book was moved, the old shelfmark was usually crossed out and a new one added.[2] Old shelfmarks can sometimes provide valuable information about a manuscript's provenance.[1]Shelfmarking declined in the 19th century with the rise of classification schemes like Dewey Decimal Classification.[2]
Shelfmarks originated in the early
Roman emperors in it shelfmarks, based on the location of imperial busts in Robert Cotton's original library.[1]
Cave Beck introduced a fore-edge shelfmark system for the Town Library of Ipswich in 1651. A diagonal line was drawn across the fore-edge of the books with an additional pressmark to indicate to which shelf of which press the book belonged.[3]
Shelfmarking declined in the 19th century with the rise of classification schemes like Dewey Decimal Classification.[2]
See also
- Accession number (library science)
References
- ^ a b c d Peter Beal (ed.), A Dictionary of English Manuscript Terminology, 1450–2000 (Oxford University Press, 2008), s.v. "shelf-mark", "press-mark" and "call number".
- ^ a b c d Michael F. Suarez and H. R. Woudhuysen (eds.), The Oxford Companion to the Book (Oxford University Press, 2010), s.v. "shelfmark" (by Richard Ovenden) and "pressmark" (by eds.).
- ISBN 0-85115-517-0.