Promotional conventions on English title-pages up to 1550
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Mari-Liisa Varila
Abstract
This study traces the development of promotional conventions on English title-pages up to 1550. The early development of title-pages was influenced by older paratextual elements such as prologues and colophons. However, in the context of print production, book producers soon began to use this prominent new space for advertising their skills and products. In terms of this marketing function, the early title-page can be compared to the publisher’s blurb. We examine how book producers promoted their work on title-pages and how the conventions related to this paratextual element developed in the early era of print. Our focus is on the modification of verbs and nouns describing books, texts, and the related production processes. Three main categories of modification emerge from our survey: time, scope, and quality. While the emerging conventions of title-page discourse share many features with modern advertising English, there are also features that seem surprising from the modern perspective.
Abstract
This study traces the development of promotional conventions on English title-pages up to 1550. The early development of title-pages was influenced by older paratextual elements such as prologues and colophons. However, in the context of print production, book producers soon began to use this prominent new space for advertising their skills and products. In terms of this marketing function, the early title-page can be compared to the publisher’s blurb. We examine how book producers promoted their work on title-pages and how the conventions related to this paratextual element developed in the early era of print. Our focus is on the modification of verbs and nouns describing books, texts, and the related production processes. Three main categories of modification emerge from our survey: time, scope, and quality. While the emerging conventions of title-page discourse share many features with modern advertising English, there are also features that seem surprising from the modern perspective.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Linguistic norms and conventions 1
- Usage guides and the Age of Prescriptivism 1
- “Splendidly prejudiced” 29
- Paradigm shifts in 19th-century British grammar writing 49
- Promotional conventions on English title-pages up to 1550 73
- What can we learn from constructed speech errors? 99
- The proverbial discourse tradition in the history of English 129
- Testing a stylometric tool in the study of Middle English documentary texts 149
- Pragmatic and formulaic uses of shall and will in Older Scots and Early Modern English official letter writing 167
- Studying dialect spelling in its own right 191
- Index 213
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Linguistic norms and conventions 1
- Usage guides and the Age of Prescriptivism 1
- “Splendidly prejudiced” 29
- Paradigm shifts in 19th-century British grammar writing 49
- Promotional conventions on English title-pages up to 1550 73
- What can we learn from constructed speech errors? 99
- The proverbial discourse tradition in the history of English 129
- Testing a stylometric tool in the study of Middle English documentary texts 149
- Pragmatic and formulaic uses of shall and will in Older Scots and Early Modern English official letter writing 167
- Studying dialect spelling in its own right 191
- Index 213
