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What's the meaning of "Nottingham Sette of Odde Volumes"?

 
 
Reply Sun 4 Sep, 2011 01:19 am
What's the meaning of "Nottingham Sette of Odde Volumes"? It is from a book named Notes on Printers and Booksellers: with a Chapter on Chap Books
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Type: Question • Score: 0 • Views: 1,435 • Replies: 14
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contrex
 
  2  
Reply Sun 4 Sep, 2011 01:31 am
The Nottingham Sette of Odde Volumes was a literary society or book-lovers club in the English town of Nottingham, founded in 1878 by the antiquarian bookseller Bernard Quaritch.
kkfengdao
 
  1  
Reply Sun 4 Sep, 2011 01:48 am
@contrex,
Do you have any more imformation about it? And what's the meaning of "sette"? I could not find it in my dictionaries.
izzythepush
 
  1  
Reply Sun 4 Sep, 2011 02:02 am
@kkfengdao,
It's a reference to the days of prestandardised spelling. Sette would now be spelled as set, a group. In this case a group of people.
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contrex
 
  2  
Reply Sun 4 Sep, 2011 02:24 am
@kkfengdao,
kkfengdao wrote:

Do you have any more imformation about it? And what's the meaning of "sette"? I could not find it in my dictionaries.


I found the information by using Google. The name of the society is a kind of joke:

1. The society is composed of people who buy, sell or collect second-hand or old books. Dealers specialising in old books are often described as antiquarian booksellers.

2. A "set of odd volumes" is something that often appears in lists of items offered at book auctions or sales or by book dealers. A number of unrelated books not linked in any way. Possibly interesting, usually not. "Odd" applied to people can mean "eccentric" so that is a play on words.

3. The word 'set' when used as a noun can mean a collection of things or a club or society. The use of it here is a play on words.

4. The spelling of the name of the society is a parody of the archaic spelling often found in very old books (e.g. those sold by antiquarian booksellers) in the English language. This is an example of an "in-joke", that is, a joke readily understandable by the members of a group, less so by outsiders.

5. Thus the members of the society, in a thoroughly bookish way, liken themselves jocularly to a collection of dusty old books.

6. There are similarly named clubs all over the English speaking world.

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kkfengdao
 
  1  
Reply Mon 5 Sep, 2011 09:34 am
Thank you very much! I still have three names of books that I donot understand. Would you please tell me the meaning of the following three names: Subtyl Historyes and Fables; The game and playe of the chesse; and the boke of eneydos. Thanks!
contrex
 
  1  
Reply Mon 5 Sep, 2011 10:26 am
@kkfengdao,
kkfengdao wrote:

Thank you very much! I still have three names of books that I donot understand. Would you please tell me the meaning of the following three names: Subtyl Historyes and Fables; The game and playe of the chesse; and the boke of eneydos. Thanks!


In modern English:

Subtle Histories (=stories) and Fables
The game and playing of chess
The Aeneid



kkfengdao
 
  1  
Reply Tue 6 Sep, 2011 12:01 am
@contrex,
Thank you!
I've got several other names that I don't understand:
"Horæ Beatæ Mariæ Virginis, ad usum Ecclesiæ Sarum"
"Liber Festivalis"
"Prymer of Salisbury"
I'm translating that book, so I've got a lot of questions, sorry.
contrex
 
  1  
Reply Tue 6 Sep, 2011 12:10 am
@kkfengdao,
kkfengdao wrote:

I've got another two names that I don't understand:
"Horæ Beatæ Mariæ Virginis, ad usum Ecclesiæ Sarum"
"Liber Festivalis"


These are Latin names of religious books.

1. Book of Hours for use at Salisbury Cathedral
2. Book of Feasts

It is not usual to translate these.

Aren't you getting in a bit deep?



kkfengdao
 
  1  
Reply Tue 6 Sep, 2011 12:30 am
@contrex,
Someone wants to publish a Chinese edition of the book, and at first when I agreed to do the translation, I didn't pay much attention to the names mentioned in the book. Now they seem to be the biggest obstacle for me.
Is there any website or book that I can check those names?
Thank you!
izzythepush
 
  1  
Reply Tue 6 Sep, 2011 01:21 am
@kkfengdao,
kkfengdao wrote:

"Horæ Beatæ Mariæ Virginis, ad usum Ecclesiæ Sarum"
"Liber Festivalis"


Contrex has already answered this, but I think it should be pointed out that these are in Latin.
contrex
 
  1  
Reply Tue 6 Sep, 2011 10:17 am
@izzythepush,
izzythepush wrote:

Contrex has already answered this, but I think it should be pointed out that these are in Latin.


I thought I did point that out.
contrex
 
  1  
Reply Tue 6 Sep, 2011 10:18 am
@kkfengdao,
kkfengdao wrote:
Is there any website or book that I can check those names?


Have you heard of Google?
izzythepush
 
  1  
Reply Tue 6 Sep, 2011 11:14 am
@contrex,
Yeah, you did, I need to pay closer attention, sorry.
0 Replies
 
kkfengdao
 
  1  
Reply Wed 7 Sep, 2011 07:29 am
@contrex,
Yes, of course. I've been using Google, but it's not a very stable website for users living in the mainland of China.
0 Replies
 
 

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