The title page is the first printed page of a book.
Portadilla is the diminutive of portada . The concept is used in the field of printing to refer to the front cover .
First printed sheet
A title page or front cover is the name given to the sheet that is placed before the title page of a book . It is the first printed page . The information it presents (such as the title and the author's name) is usually positioned in the center of that page.
Originally, the title page was simply included as a protection , functioning as a cover . This page is usually not numbered , even though pagination usually begins on it .
It is important to consider that the cover , the spine and the flap are part of the external structure of the book . The title page , on the other hand, corresponds to the internal structure , as do the front cover , the back cover , the legal page , the preliminary pages and the body of the publication.
Function of the title page
The main function of the title page is to provide additional details about the publication and to establish context for the content found on the following pages. In addition to the basic book data, the title page may include other elements such as the edition number, the city and year of publication, a brief copyright note, and ISBN or ISSN numbers .
In some cases, the title page may also contain legal information or special acknowledgements, as well as a brief summary of the book or excerpts of glowing reviews from critics or experts on the topic. These additional elements on the title page are intended to provide more context and attract the potential reader's attention before the reading begins.
However, there is no single type of title page. Sometimes, in addition to the title of the book, the name of the author and/or the name of the collection to which the work belongs are included. It is even possible that the title page contains a sentence as an introduction or presentation. When the work is divided into different segments, on the other hand, each page that is used to mention the title of the segment that immediately follows it is called a title page.
History of the title page
The history of the title page dates back to the early days of printing and book publishing. In early incunabula (books printed before 1501), it was not common to find a proper title page. Instead, a cover page with basic information, such as the title and author's name, was usually included before the first page of text .
As printing advanced, more elaborate title pages came into use. In the Renaissance , especially in the 16th century, title pages became more decorative and detailed . In addition to the basic book data , they began to include ornamental elements, such as illustrations, coats of arms, decorative borders, and engravings. These title pages often reflected the artistic style and aesthetic trends of the time.
The title page is as old as the printing press itself.
In the 20th century, with the introduction of more elaborately designed book covers, the title page became more restrained and focused primarily on providing essential information about the book. Most of today's title pages include the full title, the author's name, the publisher 's name, and publication details. With the advent of digital books, the title page has also been adapted to the electronic format, where it is displayed at the front of the book in the digital version, providing the same basic and contextual information to the reader.
Cover table
A portadilla board , finally, is a piece of sawn wood whose length reaches nine feet. Its squareness, meanwhile, is three fingers wide by twenty wide.