The title verso of a book serves as its back page and usually provides copyright and ISBN information as well as being known by some as its “copyright page.”
Title verso refers to the back side of a book’s title page and comes from Latin for “turn,” as in turning pages. This document serves to provide additional details about a title such as copyright notice, ISBN and Library of Congress Control Number information as well as provide brief summaries of its contents.
The title verso of a book’s title page contains information such as copyright information, edition number, colophon and printing history as well as Library of Congress or cataloging details.
The title verso (also referred to as title page verso) of a book is its reverse side and often features printer’s marks, printing locations/dates/location of printings as well as sometimes the book colophon. It provides important clues as to who printed and published each edition as well as helping identify specific copies that exist today.
This article delves into the history and development of title verso pages found within books, or title pages. The piece explores their journey over time from simple titles with author’s names listed to intricate pages providing additional pieces of information regarding the printing process or book. Furthermore, its importance can be discussed both historically and within the printing process as a whole.
The Title Verso plays an essential part in both book history and printing processes, over its long existence as well as during modern printing processes and from its inception as a simple page listing book titles and authors to more complex information pages in the book printing process. Title verso provides important insight for printers about each book they create or print out for publication.