Typ Classification - Obsolete (reference page only)

** STARTING FY22, THE BOOK SECTION WILL NOT CLASSIFY ITEMS AS OUTLINED IN THIS SECTION. **

This class comprises books notable as examples of, or of historic importance in, the arts of printing, type-founding, book illustration in all its media, and bookbinding.

The arrangement is:

1) By century

2) By country of printing

3) By year of publication

4) By author

Exceptions formed by certain special collections in this classification are noted below.

Constructing Call Numbers

Call numbers generally have 3 elements, each separated by a period with no space. Periods are omitted when the call number is written vertically. Additional elements, e.g. size and copy designations, are prefixed or appended as necessary.

First element of call number:

The letters Typ, or, one of the following special designations:

See below for the treatment of incunabula.

Second element of call number:

A 3-digit number: the first digit indicates the century of publication:

The 2nd and 3rd digits represent the country of publication according to the following scheme:

75-99 Other countries:  add the first 2 letters of the country.
(Note: many previously classed items will have call numbers without the 2 letters)

Third element of the call number:

A 2-digit number, representing the last 2 digits of the date of the book in hand, followed by a period. If the publication date is only approximate, but can be narrowed to a particular decade, use the first year of the decade, e.g. if [171-?], use 10. If the date can only be narrowed to a particular century, e.g. [17--?], use 99.

Fourth element:

A 3-digit number representing the author's surname; this latter is assigned according to the 800 numbering scheme (see Alphabetic Numbering Table for 800 numbers). In the case of modern books (19th century and later), a 4-digit number representing the author's surname is used instead of a 3-digit number, except for Typ classes in which the number of books is not expected to be large.

Attachment: Alphabetic Numbering Table (800 Numbers)

An exception is made for original drawings and albums of original drawings. The second element is a cutter number for the artist, consisting of an upper-case letter for the first letter of the individual's last name followed by the 3 digit number from the 800 table. The last element is a 2 digit number for the last 2 digits of the date of execution and lower-case letter representing the title of the work.

Size Designations

As of September 2010, size designations for Typ material agree with the regular author class, with the size at the front of the call number. (Prior to this, the call number would have these at the end.). Miniature books are preceded by a lower case m; broadsides or flat items by a lower case b, p, or pp, according to size. States and issues in this classification are in general distinguished simply by the next higher number in the 800 scheme, though it may sometimes be necessary to use a small a. Facsimiles are classed for the original, and (facs) is added at the end of the classification number, before the size designation.

Drawings are shelved in special boxes, indicated by Sz2, Sz3, or Sz4 following the call number:

Albums of original drawings regardless of size are laid flat in the Inner Office and have the designation $$m Album PF at the end of their TypDr call number.

Typ classes for special presses or illustrators

If it is desirable to keep the work of a particular printer or press together in the Typ classification, a capital letter representing that printer or press may be added at the end of the second element of the call number. See below for list of the numbers that have been assigned to date.

When such a collection spans two centuries, numbers in the 100 series must be used for years following that ending in 99, thus: Typ 805D.103.236 = Robert Bridges' Peace ode, printed at the Daniel Press in 1903.

Other special Typ classes

Certain special collections within the Typ classification have been treated somewhat differently from the above:

Examples

Incunables

f Typ Inc 4087

Pliny, the Elder. Historia naturalis. [Venice, 1472]
(Proctor #4087 ; height more than 28 cm.)

Typ 100s

Typ 100.908

Aurora australis. [Antarctica, 1908]
(The first book printed in Antarctica)

Standard Typ Classification (century, country,

Typ 515.47.456

Holbein, Hans. Icones mortis. Lyons, 1547.

f Typ 605.51.454

Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. London, 1651. 
(A folio measuring more than 28 cm.)

Typ 920.29.2234

Bock, Alfred.  Der Flurschütz. Mainz, 1929.

Typ 983Ir.31.435

Gregory, Lady. Coole. Dublin, 1931.

(Classed for country of publication; 4 digits not necessary for final portion of call number, since the classification is a small one.)