Conventionally in print books, chapters start on the right page, not the left. Since the first page is a table of contents only spanning one page, the next page

Conventionally in print books, chapters start on the right page, not the left. Since the first page is a table of contents only spanning one page, the next page is intentionally left blank so the content can start on the right. It's not really something that would have created any confusion at the time even if the convention has eroded with e-books and print-on-demand.