The bibliophile's glossary
Volume numbering
Numbering of the tomes of a multi-volume work and, by extension, the indication of this number on the spine of the binding, either gilt directly or borne by a tome-number label — a small leather label placed beneath the title label. Tomaison (volume numbering) is distinct from division into volumes, and is verified by consulting a complete set.
Since the eighteenth century, the word 'tomaison' has denoted the division of a work into tomes (volumes) and the indication of their number on the spine; bookbinders of the Ancien Régime, who did not always affix a title label, developed the practice of adding a second label, in morocco of a different colour, on which the tome number was stamped in roman or arabic numerals within a compartment of a spine with raised bands, or at the foot of a smooth spine. The tomaison label, green or olive beneath a red title label, became a convention of bookbinding in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; nineteenth-century industrial bindings gilt the tomaison directly onto the spine, while publisher's cased bindings printed it.
For the bookseller, the tomaison is a means of verification: a multi-volume work is described tome by tome in the collation ('Vol. I: [4] ff., 332 pp.; Vol. II: …'), and the consistency of tomaisons, bindings and editions indicates whether the set is original throughout. Missing or renewed tomaison labels, or ones of a different hue, signal a volume added from elsewhere; a tomaison gilt by another hand, or a numbering sequence that does not follow on, deserves explanation. The catalogue entry distinguishes between tomes and volumes ('4 tomes in 2 volumes') and states whether tomaison labels are present, absent, or replaced.
Tomaison is sometimes confused with pagination, which is the numbering of pages within a tome; tome and volume are likewise often conflated, and a 'complete set' in six volumes may in fact combine five tomes with a supplement from another edition. Lastly, the tomaisons found on library bindings, numbered continuously across whole shelves, are not those of the work itself.
In the catalogue
Related terms
Title labelSpine with raised bandsSmooth spineCompartmentsPaginationCollationThe parts of the binding
Frequently asked questions
What is a tomaison?
This is the numbering of the volumes of a multi-volume work, and by extension the indication of this number on the spine of the binding, lettered directly in gilt or on a volume-number label, a small leather label placed beneath the title-piece.
Tome or volume?
The 'tome' is a division of the text intended by the author or publisher; the 'volume' is the physical bound unit. Two tomes may be bound in one volume, and one tome may be bound in two volumes: the catalogue entry specifies this distinction ("2 tomes in 1 volume").
Why check the volume numbering?
Because multi-volume works are often mismatched: a complete set has consistent bindings, spine labels and editions. A re-made spine label or one of a different shade betrays a volume that does not belong to the original set.