foliation
1. The total number of leaves, whether numbered or
unnumbered, contained in a book or manuscript. 2.
The numbering of the leaves of a book or
manuscript. Foliation was relatively rare until
the last quarter of the 15th century. It consisted
originally of the word Folio, or an abbreviation,
followed by a Roman numeral. Arabic figures were
used in Italy between 1475 and 1500, and outside
Italy after 1500. Eventually the Arabic came to be
used alone. The numbering of pages (pagination),
as opposed to leaves, began to replace foliation
near the end of the 16th century but was not
finally established until the 18th century.
Reference to a page in a foliated book is
generally done by using r and v for recto and
verso, e.g., 1r or 1v, or by the use of a and b.
e.g., 1a or 1b, the latter being preferred because
manuscript v is often mistaken for r. Abbreviated
ff. See also: PAGINATION . (140 , 156 )
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