The different elements which go into making up a book

To the average reader a book is simply sheets of paper glued into a cover. However, each element which goes into making up a book has its own name - and this includes such specifics as the various parts of the page.

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Q. So what are the right- and left-hand pages called

A. Right is recto and left is verso.

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Q. Why recto and verso

A. Recto is short for recto folio, Latin for right (or top) leaf, while verso is from verso folio, the back side of a leaf. It is still good practice in publishing to refer to pages and page numbers as folios.

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Q. And what about the different parts of the page

A.

Head: the top

Foot: the bottom

Foredge: the outside edge opposite the binding

Gutter: the inner or bound edge of a page

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Q. So, how are books put together

A. Books are made up of a number of 'sections' - also known as 'signatures' - of eight or, more usually, sixteen or thirty-two pages, or a combination of all three. One large sheet is printed on both sides and folded two, three or four times. These are then bound into the covers.

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Q. What are the different types of cover called

A. The traditional term for hardback is 'cased', because the boards - front, back and spine - which make up the cover are seen as a case to protect the block, that is the body of the book. The boards of the case are covered in 'cloth' - hence the other name for this type of binding, 'cloth-cover' - though these days it's more likely to be embossed paper which looks a bit like cloth.

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Paperback covers are somewhat more prosaic in that they are simply one sheet of card wrapped around the block.

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See also the answerbank article on how books are made

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For more on Arts & Literature click here

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By Simon Smith