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Term Glossary
Book Gradings
The grading of a book is usually seen in this form: VG/VG, Fine/Good,
VG/--, etc.
The first part is the book, the second is grading of the dust jacket.
A grading with no condition for the DJ implies that the Dust Jacket is
missing or was not issued..
As New - The same condition in which it was published. No defects, the
dustjacket must be perfect.
Fine (F or FN) - As New, but without being crisp. No defects, and if the
jacket has a small tear, or other defects, this must be noted.
Very Good (VG) - Some small signs of wear on either binding or paper.
Any defects must be noted.
Good (G) - The average used worn book. Any defects must be noted.
Fair - A worn book that has complete text pages with maps or prints but
may lack endpapers. All defects must be noted.
Acceptable - Describes a book that is sufficiently worn, a reading copy
in which only the text is complete.
ARC - Advanced Reading Copy.
bc, bce - Book Club, Book Club Edition.
bds - Boards. Children's book.
bomc - Book of the Month Club. See Book Club.
cl - Cloth.
dj - Dust Jacket.
dw - Dust Wrapper. English.
ed - Edited, Edition, Editor.
ep - End Papers.
Fair- Fair
F - Fine, as in Book Condition.
ffep - The end paper that is not attached to the inside front cover. See End Papers.
G - Good, as in Book Condition.
gt - Gilt Edges.
Ill - Illustrated.
insc - Inscribed.
nf - Near Fine, as in Book Condition.
op - Out-of-Print.
pb- Paperback.
pc - Price-clipped.
pos - Prior owner signature.
pub - Publisher or published.
rem - Remainder.
rm - Remainder Marks.
tp - Title Page.
unpag - Unpaginated.
VG - Very Good, as in Book Condition.
Advanced Reading Copy - A copy for reviewers and/or booksellers, bound in paper and usually with either a blank cover or the finished cover. Generally, this copy is as it will appear in the stores and differs from the Uncorrected Proof.
Bibliophile - A lover of books.
Bibliophobia - A fear of books.
Binding - The cover of the book.
Blind-stamping - An impressed mark, decoration, or lettering, not coloured or gilded, usually appearing on the binding. One way that the Book Clubs have marked their editions when they are otherwise identical to trade editions is to use a small square, round, or sometimes leaf-shaped blind stamp in the bottom right corner of the rear board.
Boards - The stiff binding material for most modern books.
Book Club Edition - A book usually printed especially for a book club such as "The Book of the Month Club" or "The Literary Guild." These copies will usually have the words "Book Club Edition" printed on the bottom right corner of the front flap of the dustwrapper. Occasionally, if the book club does not wish to do a separate edition they will have a publisher blind stamp the rear board and print a supply of dustwrappers without a price on the front flap and without the bar code data on the rear panel. Book Clubs are not solely an American phenomenon as there have been numerous British Book Clubs.
Bookplate - A pasted-in sign of ownership. Modern bookplates are pressure sensitive (peel-and-stick) as opposed to the older bookplates which were made with water-activated adhesive (lick-and-stick). Some bookplates from the last century were quite elaborate with engravings.
Buckram - Usually a library edition without a DJ, having a heavy linen cloth. It is often starched or coated with some protective material.
Cloth - A cloth-bound book. The covering can be linen, buckram or another textile.
Cocked - A condition resulting from storing a book on a shelf so that it leans and rests against its neighbour or the side of a bookcase.
Covers - The binding of the book, most particularly the front and back panels of the book.
Dampstain - A light stain on the cover or on the leaves of a book caused by moisture such as a piece of food or perspiration. Generally not as severe as waterstains.
Darkening - When book covers are exposed to light, the colour darkens or becomes more intense. See also Fading.
Dents - Damage to the edges of the cover of hardcover books.
Dog-Eared - Book pages which have been folded over in the corners. Some people do this to mark their place in a book.
Dust Jacket - A term synonymous with Dust Wrapper, indicating the usually decorative paper wrapper placed around a book to protect the binding.
Dust wrapper - British Dust Jacket.
Edges - The outer surfaces of the leaves of a book.
Edgeworn - Wear along the edges of hardback book covers.
Edition - All the copies of a book printed from the same plates or typesetting.
End Papers - The sheets of paper pasted onto the inner covers, joining the book block to the covers. One side of the sheet is pasted to the inside cover, the other is left free.
Ex-Library - A term used to indicate a book was once in a library. They are usually identified with one or more markings of the library such as stampings, card pockets, cataloging numbers, etc. Frequently they are marked as "discarded" or "withdrawn" when sold by a library.
Fading - The colour of some book covers fades or becomes less intense when exposed to light. See also Darkening.
First Edition - Generally used by book dealers and collectors to mean the first appearance of a work in book or pamphlet form, in its first printing.
First Thus - Means not a first edition, but something is new. It may be revised, have a new introduction by the author or someone else, be the first publication in paperback form, or first by another publisher.
First Trade Edition - The edition produced for general commercial sale, as distinguished from a limited edition.
Foxing - Brown spotting of the paper caused by a chemical reaction, generally found in 19th century books, particularly in steel engravings of the period.
Galleys - Sometimes called "galley proofs" or "loose galleys" to distinguish them from bound galleys. Long sheets of paper bearing the first trial impression of the type.
Glassine - A transparent paper dustwrapper.
Half Leather - A term indicating that the spine and the corners of a book are bound in leather, while the rest of the binding may be cloth or paper.
Hinge - The joint (either outer or inner) of the binding of a book - the part that bends when the book is opened.
Illustrated - Decorated with pictures or other graphical material to portray or clarify the text.
Illustration - A design, picture, plate, plan, diagram, chart, or map printed within the text.
Imprint - A term that can refer either to the place of publication or to the publisher.
Inscribed - Inscription to a specific person, or bearing some brief notation. This does not indicate that the book was neccessarily signed by the author. See Signed.
Jacket - The printed or unprinted cover, usually paper, placed around the bound book. Sometimes called Dust Jacket (dj), Dust Wrapper (dw), dust cover or book jacket.
Large Print - A book that is made with large type for the visually impaired.
Leaf - A single sheet in a book; each leaf contains two printed pages, one on each side.
Library Binding - Reinforced bindings used by many public libraries.
Loose - The binding of a new book is very tight; that is, the book will not open easily and generally does not want to remain open to any given page. As the book is used, the binding becomes looser until a well-used book may lay flat and remain open to any page in the book.
Marbled - Paper decorated with an imitation marble pattern.
Mass-Market Paperback - The most common paperback book, about four inches wide and seven inches high. Seen most often as mystery, science fiction and romance books. See also Trade Paperback.
Out-of-Print - A book no longer being printed.
Page - One side of a leaf. The front side of a leaf is called the recto or obverse and the back side of the leaf is called the verso or the reverse.
Paperback - Books in paperwraps published since the 1930's, although it can describe any book with a paper cover.
Pictorial - Describes a book with a picture on the cover.
Plates - Whole-page illustrations printed separately from the text. Illustrations printed in the text pages are called cuts.
Price Clipped - The price has been clipped from the corner of the dust jacket.
Privately Printed - This term refers to a book or pamphlet whose printing was paid for by an individual or a group, and which is meant for private circulation, not public sale.
Proofs - Precede the published book. The normal course of events would be galley proof, uncorrected bound proof and advance reading copy bound in paperwraps.
Publication Date - The date a book is formally placed on sale.
Rare - Implies the books is extremely scarce, perhaps only turning up once every ten years or so.
Reader's Copy - A copy of a book that is worn or used to such a degree that it is not in good enough condition to be considered collectible.
Remainder - When a book has ceased to sell, a publisher may get rid of his overstock by "remaindering" the title.
Remainder Marks - The publisher will mark the bottom edges of books sold as remainders with a stamp, a black marker, or spray paint, which speckles the bottom.
Shaken - An adjective describing a book whose pages are beginning to come loose from the binding.
Shelf Wear - The wear that occurs as a book is placed onto and removed from a shelf. It may be to the tail (bottom) edge of the covers as they rub against the shelf, to the dust jacket or exterior of the covers (when no dust jacket is present) as the book rubs against its neighbours, or to the head of the spine which some use to pull the book from the shelf.
Signed - A book which the author has autographed.
Slipcase - A cardboard case covered in paper, cloth or leather which holds a book with only the spine exposed.
Spine - The book's backbone. The spine is covered with the backstrip.
Sunned - Faded from exposure to light or direct sunlight.
Tight - The binding of a new book is very tight; that is, the book will not open easily and generally does not want to remain open to any given page. As the book is used, the binding becomes looser until a well-used book may lay flat and remain open to any page in the book.
Title Page - The title page, near the beginning of the book, lists the title and subtitle of the book, the authors, editors, and/or contributors, the publisher or printer, and sometimes the place and date of publication. The title page information should be used for cataloguing (not the half-title page or covers).
Trade Edition - The regularly published edition. This term is used to differentiate it from a limited signed edition of the same book.
Trade Paperback - A softcover book which is generally large in size and made of better quality materials than a Mass-Market Paperback.
Uncut - The pages of the completed book have not been shaved down to a uniform surface.
Underlining or highlighting- Using a pencil or pen to underline passages in a book to draw attention to the underlined text. See also Highlighting and Marginalia.
pened book. Also called the Reverse.
Waterstains - Stain on a book cover or leaves from water or other liquids. May cause discoloration and perhaps actual shrinking.
Wormholes - Small holes resulting from bookworms (the larvae of various beetles.)
Wrappers - The outer covers of a paperbound book or pamphlet.