This document covers general principles and available patterns of LC classification for pre-20th-century literary authors and anonymous works. It assumes an understanding of classification for 20th-century literary authors and focusses on differences in classifying works by and about authors of earlier periods.
For 20th-century authors, see:
For additional information on the classification of literary works, see also the Library of Congress Subject Cataloging Manual: Classification, “Literary Authors” and “Literary Authors: Subarrangement of Works” (F632-633).
A general theme of this document is the potential complexity of classifying pre-20th century works and works about pre-20th-century authors and works. Along with this, a general message: Please do not despair! Rely on the classification schedules and tables whenever necessary and possible. If you have any questions, please ask for help!
Please note: The form of an author’s name as listed in the class schedules may or may not match the current AACR2 heading form for that author. If the difference is significant, cross-references are often provided. In the examples in this document, the fuller and more “informative” heading is generally used (marked with an asterisk in the examples in this section).
AACR2: | Dumas, Alexandre, 1802-1870 | |
PQ schedule: | Dumas, Alexandre, père, 1802-1870* | |
AACR2: | Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400* | |
PR schedule: | Chaucer, Geoffrey | |
AACR2: | Euripides | |
PA schedule: | Euripides, ca. 481-406 B.C.* | |
AACR2: | Bede, the Venerable, Saint, 673-735* | |
PA schedule: | Beda Venerabilis, 673-735 | |
AACR2: | Julius Modestus, 1st cent. | |
PA schedule: | Modestus, Julius (grammarian), 1st cent. A.D.* |
Exception: Headings that are fuller simply due to unused forenames are not used.
AACR2: | Schiller, Friedrich, 1759-1805* |
PT schedule: | Schiller, Johann Christoph Friedrich, 1759-1805 |
(author generally known as Friedrich Schiller) | |
AACR2: | Chateaubriand, François-René, vicomte de, 1768-1848* |
PQ schedule: | Chateaubriand, François Auguste René, vicomte de, 1768-1848 |
(2nd forename Auguste not generally used) |
The goal of LC classification to keep together all literary works by a single author in a single language applies to earlier as well as 20th-century authors. Similarly, literary class numbers for pre-20th-century authors are also structured based on:
C. Distinctive features of classification for pre-20th-century authors
A critical difference for pre-20th-century authors, in contrast with the single class number that 20th-century authors have, including a first cutter (cf. “Classifying Works by and about Individual Literary Authors of the 20th Century: An Introduction,” First cutter):
A pre-20th-century author may have:
E.g. | Caxton, William, ca. 1422-1491 | PR 1847-1848 | (2 numbers) |
E.g. | Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400 | PR 1850-1954 | (105 numbers) |
E.g. | Dumas, Alexandre, père, 1802-1870 | PQ 2221-2230 | (10 numbers) |
E.g. | Sand, George, 1804-1876 | PQ 2393-2420 | (28 numbers) |
E.g. | Euripides, ca. 481-406 B.C. | PA 3973-3992 | (20 numbers) |
E.g. | Andrew, of Wyntoun | PR 1812 | |
E.g. | Chateaubriand, François-René, vicomte de, 1768-1848 | PQ 2205 | |
E.g. | Callimachus, fl. between 310 and 240 B.C. | PA 3945 |
E.g. | Metham, John, fl. 1448 | PR 2063 .M34 | |
E.g. | Bonnetain, Paul, 1858-1899 | PQ 2198 .B38 | |
E.g. | Heliodorus, of Emesa, 2d cent. A.D. Aethiopica lib. X | PA 3998.H2 | |
[the author and his single known work are listed on the same line in the PA schedule] |
There are therefore many more possible patterns that literary class and call numbers can follow. Collected and separate individual titles may span a range of numbers, even including a range of numbers for an individual title.
E.g.
Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400 | ||
Collected works | PR 1850-1851 | |
... | ||
Separate works | ||
... | ||
Canterbury tales | PR 1865-1875 | |
... | ||
Troilus and Criseyde | PR 1895-1896 | |
... | ||
Dumas, Alexandre, père, 1802-1870 | ||
Collected works | PQ 2221 | |
.... | ||
Separate works | ||
... | ||
Les deux reines | PQ 2227 .D53 | |
... | ||
Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321 | ||
Complete works | PQ 4300 .A1 | |
... | ||
Separate works | ||
... | ||
Purgatorio | PQ 4306 | |
[range of cutters for complete text, selections, particular cantos, etc.] | ||
... | ||
Translations | ||
... | ||
English | ||
... | ||
Purgatorio | PQ 4315.3-4315.37 | |
... | ||
French | ||
... | ||
Purgatorio | PQ 4316.3-4316.37 |
Biography (including autobiography) and literary criticism about a particular author may also be found under multiple numbers. There may be one number or number range for works combining biography and criticism, another number or number range for works that are predominantly biographical, and yet another number or number range for works that are predominantly critical.
E.g.
Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400 | ||
... | ||
Criticism and interpretation | ||
General works | PR 1924 | |
... | ||
Plots. Scenes. Time, etc. | PR 1931 | |
... |
Sand, George, 1804-1876 | ||
... | ||
Biography | ||
Autobiography. Journals, Memoirs | PQ 2412 .A2 | |
Letters | PQ 2413.A3-.A4 | |
... | ||
Homes and haunts | PQ 2415 | |
... |
Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321 | ||
... | ||
Biography | ||
... | ||
Birth (date and place) | PQ 4348 | |
... | ||
Banishment. Exile | PQ 4352 | |
... | ||
Criticism and interpretation | ||
... | ||
Relation to special subjects | ||
... | ||
Geography | ||
General | PQ 4425 | |
Special | PQ 4425.5 | |
... | ||
Other, A-Z | ||
... | ||
Florence | PQ 4432 .F53 | |
... | ||
Zoology | PQ 4432 .Z7 |
Some types of patterns (such as treatment of anonymous works or degree of reliance on external tables) vary based on the class schedule.
Because of the complex variety of patterns that may be found, unless there is a very clear pattern in our shelflist, it is safest to consult sources in addition to the shelflist when cataloguing works by and about pre-20th-century literary authors.
The following sources often need to be consulted in conjunction with each other:
Shelflist | Tables | |
Class schedules | Reference works |
If there is no clear pattern, continue checking:
Some exceptions: Even though Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, and Giovanni Boccaccio wrote works in both Italian and Latin, all of their works are classified under PQ, for Italian. (Cross-references to some of the appropriate PQ numbers are provided in the PA schedule.) Within the PQ range for each author, specific sections apply to the Latin works, as well as to translations and criticisms of them.
LC’s Cataloger’s Desktop (see also general instructions for using Cat. Desktop):
It is also possible to use the Search function in conjunction with the Contents view. |
Printed schedules: When Cataloger’s Desktop is unavailable, the same information is available in the printed schedules. Lacking, of course is the Search feature, and while individual authors are occasionally listed in the indexes to literature schedules, usually they are not listed. On the other hand, the printed schedules can be useful for a quick scan of a broad section of the schedule.
Once you have found the entry for an author: Follow the relevant instructions for each author to find the appropriate class number for your literary or critical work. Follow references to tables and consider the potential distinctions listed in section E. below, “Subarrangement of author’s works.”
In the classification schedules in Cataloger’s Desktop, links are provided that take you directly to the appropriate external or internal tables.
The class schedule entry for each author or for each period should specify the table to be used, when one applies. When no table is specified for an individual author, check the beginning of the range for the time period, in case a “default” table should be used. Information in the schedule may then supplement the table information.
Sometimes, one table will need to be consulted for the author, then another table for specific works by that author or other information.
As a slight variation, a table may not be used for the author but may be used for titles by that author.
[This section deals so far with when and how to get to tables. There may be a separate document later on how to interpret tables.]
E. Subarrangement of author’s works
Again, follow available instructions in the class schedule and any tables to determine the appropriate class number for a work within the subarrangement of works by and about a particular author.
Some potential distinctions to keep in mind that may affect classification:
Collected works; selections; works in one genre | General criticism; criticism of specific topics | |
General biographical and critical works; biography; criticism | Criticism of a specific work |
In some cases, another distinction may be made between “Selected works” and “Selections.” When both categories are listed for an author, “Selected works” would be used for the complete texts of selected works of the author, whereas “Selections” would be used for selected excerpts from multiple works.
Because titles are sometimes uninformative or even misleading, you may need to look for information about an edition of multiple works in an introduction, a cover summary, or occasionally a table of contents. The class schedules themselves sometimes provide helpful information such as a list of different genres in which an author wrote. If you have any questions about the appropriate category, consult with your trainer.
There may be separate class numbers or number ranges under works about a pre-20th-century literary author for:
In some cases, the first two categories are combined (i.e., predominantly biographical works are classed with the combined biographical and critical works) while predominantly critical works are classed separately.
(Keep in mind that even if classification is not affected, the choice of subject headings and subdivisions will be affected by the nature of a work about an author.)
Again, because titles are sometimes uninformative or even misleading, you may need to look for information about a biographical or critical work in an introduction, a cover summary, or occasionally a table of contents. If you have any questions about the appropriate category, consult with your trainer.
Biography and criticism | |
... | |
General treatises. Life and works | PT 2482.A5-.Z7 |
... | |
Biographical details | PT 2483 |
... | |
Criticism and interpretation | |
... | |
General works. Treatises, etc. | PT 2492 |
Criticism of three or more aspects of a literary author’s works would generally be classified under general criticism. For many pre-20th-century authors, criticism of one particular aspect of their works can be classified under a more specific class number for that aspect. Criticism of two aspects would be classified under an available class number for the predominant aspect or the aspect discussed first.
... | |
Criticism and interpretation | |
... | |
General works. Treatises, etc. | PT 2492 |
Characters | PT 2493 |
Including special groups, women, etc. | |
... |
... | |
Criticism and interpretation | |
... | |
General works. Genius, etc. | PQ 2301 |
Characters. Plots. Scenes. Time, etc. | PQ 2302 |
Treatment and knowledge of special subjects, A-Z | PQ 2304 .A-.Z |
... | |
Music | PQ 2304 .M83 |
Myth | PQ 2304 .M88 |
... |
Check the schedules to confirm the appropriate classification for critical works about a specific literary work by that author. Sometimes, a critical work about a literary work is classified in a number derived from the number for the literary work itself. In other cases, an entirely separate number is dedicated to critical works about a given literary work, even to specific aspects of that work.
A reminder: The form of title listed in the class schedule will generally be the uniform title of a work.
... | |
Notre-Dame de Paris | PQ 2288 |
Subarrange by Table P-PZ41 |
Texts | |
By date | 0.A1 |
... | |
... | |
Criticism | 0.A7-.Z |
... | |
Canterbury tales | PR 1865-1875 |
Texts | |
By date | PR 1865 |
... | |
Criticism | |
General works | PR 1874 |
Special topics, A-Z | PR 1875 .A-.Z |
... | |
Religion | PR 1875 .R45 |
... | |
Criticism and interpretation | |
General works | PR 1924 |
... | |
Treatment and knowledge of special subjects, A-Z | |
... | |
Religion | PR 1933 .R4 |
... |
It is not uncommon for ancient, mediaeval, and early modern works to survive without clear information as to authorship, and more recent anonymous works also exist. In some cases, no author at all is known, whereas in other cases, the authorship is in dispute. When no author has been clearly attributed to a work, it is entered and classified under a uniform title.
E.g. Beowulf PR 1580-1588
E.g. Aucassin et Nicolette PQ 1426
E.g. Von Reinicken Fuchs PT 1701 .A1 V6
(Note that in this case, language, nationality, and period basically converge)
In some cases, separate provisions are made for anonymous works at the beginning of a period range.
In other cases, individual anonymous works are filed under the title of the cycle to which they belong or under a category into which they fit.
E.g.
Alexandre le Grand (Poems and romances) | ||
Collections. By date | PQ 1421 .A1 | |
... | ||
Translations (Collections). By language | PQ 1421 .A4-A49 | |
Roman d’Alexandre, by Lambert le Tort and Alexandre de Bernay | PQ 1421 .A5 | |
... | ||
Other poems | ||
... | ||
Prise de Defur | PQ 1421 .P7 | |
... | ||
Prose romances [in the Alexandre le Grand cycle] | PQ 1422 | |
... |
E.g.
Robin Hood | ||
Class here ballads, chapbooks, etc., in verse | ||
General works | PR2125 | |
Prose versions, adaptations, imitations | PR2127 | |
For juvenile literature, see PZ8.1 | ||
History and criticism | PR2129 |
E.g. English literature
Anglo-Norman period. Early English. | Middle English | |
... | ||
Metrical life of Christ | PR2063.M44 | |
Metrical romances [filed in sequence under “M”] | ||
Collections | PR 2064 | |
Special, A-Z | PR 2065 .A-.Z | |
... | ||
Chevy chase | PR 2065 .C4 | |
Subarrange by Table P-PZ43 | ||
... |
Note that not all anonymous works in cycles are filed under the cycle; some are filed under their individual titles, with a separate class number for the cycle as a whole.
E.g. Guillaume d’Orange (Cycle of Chansons de geste)
Collections. By date | PQ 1481 .A2 |
Collections. By editor | PQ 1481 .A3 |
Translations. By language, A-Z | PQ 1481 .A5-Z4 |
Criticism | ... |
Once again, unless there is a very clear pattern in our shelflist, it is safest to check the schedule in each case for the appropriate class number or number range and the class and call number pattern within each one.
E.g.
Beowulf | |||
Texts | PR 1580 | ||
Selections | PR 1581 | ||
Modern English versions | PR 1582 | ||
Translations into foreign languages | |||
By language, A-Z | PR 1584 .A-.Z | ||
Criticism | |||
General works | PR 1585 | ||
Textual | PR 1586 | ||
Special subjects, A-Z | PR 1587 .A-.Z | ||
... | |||
Psychology | PR 1587 .P77 | ||
... | |||
Language, grammar, etc. | PR 1588 |
G. No entry found for pre-20th-century author or literary work
The good news is that you should find entries in the class schedules with existing class numbers for the great majority of pre-20th-century individual authors. Anonymous works without existing class numbers are somewhat more common, but the more well known works are in the schedules.
If you do not find an entry in the class schedules:
in case they provide any additional information to assist you in locating the author or title in the schedules. Name, title, or subject heading searches for the author or anonymous work may provide useful results.
Possible alternatives include, but are not limited to:
Please note: Even if an author can be located in the literature schedules, certain of her or his works may be classified as non-literature. Modern-language translations of many classical Greek and Latin works are classified based on subject, even when editions in the original language are classed under PA.
Plato, 427-348/7 B.C.: | literature: | PA 4279-4333 |
philosophy: | B 350-398 | |
Phaedrus: | Greek text: | PA4279.P4 |
English translation: | B 380 .A5 |
Keep hunting within reason, and without becoming bogged down. Please feel free to ask your trainer if you have any questions. Good luck!
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HTML document last reviewed: 20 March 2002