Signature

(signature, French.) 1. A sign or mark impre ed upon any thing; —astamp; a mark (/Vatts). 2. A mark upon any matter, particularly upon plants, which their nature or medicinal use is pointed out (More). 3. Proof drawn from marks { Rogers). _ SIGNATURE, in printing, is a letter put at the bottom of the first page at least, in each _ sheet, as a direction to the binder, in folding, gathering, and collating them. The signatures consist of the capital letters of the alphabet, which change in every sheet: if there be more sheets than letters in the alphabet, to the _ capital letter is added a small one of the same sort, as Aa, Bb; which repeated often as nece ary. In large volumes it is usual to distinguish the number of alphabets after the first two by placing a figure before the signature, as 3B, 4B, .