“Necessary Tables of Most Usefull Consequence”: Graphic Devices and Title Page Promotion in Early Modern English Print - UTU Research Portal

A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal

“Necessary Tables of Most Usefull Consequence”: Graphic Devices and Title Page Promotion in Early Modern English Print

Authors: Ruokkeinen, Sirkku; Suhr, Carla

Publisher: Springer

Publication year: 2026

Journal: Neophilologus

ISSN: 1572-8668

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-026-09873-3

Publication's open availability at the time of reporting: Open Access

Publication channel's open availability : Partially Open Access publication channel

Web address : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11061-026-09873-3

Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/523339785

Self-archived copy's licence: CC BY

Self-archived copy's version: Publisher`s PDF

Abstract

This essay investigates how graphic devices—such as tables, diagrams, and images—were referenced on the title pages of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English printed books, and how these references functioned as promotional tools. While explicit mentions of text-internal graphic devices were relatively rare, they were habitually accompanied by evaluative, quantitative, or content-based modifiers emphasizing the novelty, utility, or aesthetic value of the graphic devices within. The term “table” was by far the most frequently used of the nouns studied, largely due to its prevalence in almanacs. The study demonstrates that references to graphic devices were not merely descriptive but served to market the book’s informational and aesthetic appeal, reflecting the broader trends in Early Modern English marketing of the printed book.

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Funding information in the publication:
Open Access funding provided by University of Turku (including Turku University Central Hospital). Research for this essay has been produced as a part of the Early Modern Graphic Literacies (EModGraL) project, funded by the Research Council of Finland (grant number 340005) and Based at the University of Turku, Finland. PI: Professor Matti Peikola, University of Turku.