Rubrication in American Books of the Eighteenth Century.

Used originally in manuscripts to mark chapter, paragraph, or important sentence beginnings, rubrication aided readers, economized on space, and was a forerunner of printing in two and then in three colors (red, blue, and black). Rubrication was not in common use in English-speaking America, because American colonial printers were prevented by cost from adopting the practice generally. A survey reveals only 26 titles (out of 48,000 American imprints recorded before 1801) which deserve more detailed study because of their rarity. A few of the efforts in printing in red are impressive, but printing as practiced then in America was far from a high art. Based on printed (rare) books; illus., 13 notes.