Definition

Noun: A bastard title is a page in a book, typically appearing before the main title page, that contains only the book's title, often in a plain typographic style. It is also known as a "half title."

Usage

The bastard title serves as a simple, introductory announcement of the book's title. It is a standard element in traditional book design and printing.

Examples

• The elegant, understated bastard title prepared the reader for the more elaborate main title page that followed.
• In older volumes, you will often find a bastard title preceding the frontispiece.
• The designer decided to omit the bastard title to give the modern publication a more direct and streamlined feel.

Advanced Usage

• Historical/Printing Context: The term is primarily used in the fields of publishing, bibliography, and book history. Its function was partly practical, protecting the main title page during the binding process, and partly aesthetic, creating a formal pacing for the opening of a book.
• Synonymous with "Half Title": In modern publishing terminology, "half title" is more commonly used than "bastard title," though they refer to the same page.

Variants and Related Words

• Half Title (n): The modern and more common term for a bastard title.
• Title Page (n): The subsequent, more detailed page that typically includes the full title, author, publisher, and place of publication.
• Front Matter (n): The collective term for all the material (like the bastard title, copyright page, preface, table of contents) that precedes the main text of a book.

Synonyms

• Half title
• Fly title (an older, less common synonym)

Related Phrases/Idioms

(This term is a specific technical term and is not commonly used in idiomatic expressions or phrasal verbs.)

Noun

1. a first page of some books displaying only the title of the book