|
TERM |
EXPLANATION |
| Acquatint |
Process of engraving, a style of illustration |
| Armorial |
Bearing the coat of arms of the former owner,
either stamped on the binding or on a bookplate |
| Association Copy |
The book or a previous owner is closely
associated with the author |
| Autograph |
Written in the hand of the author |
| Bibliography |
A list of book by an author or on a subject,
usually arranged chronologically or alphabetically |
| Blank |
A unprinted leaf of a book |
| Blind Tooled |
Embossed decoration on book covers with no colour
or gilt added |
| Calf |
A smooth high quality type of leather used for
binding |
| Called for |
Usually referring to an issue point in reference
to an acknowledged and accepted bibliography |
| Cancel |
Any part of a book that is a replacement for what
was originally printed, usually due to error or correction. |
| Chromolithograph |
A type of colour printing |
| Collate |
To check a book is complete, all pages and plates
etc present |
| Collotype |
A photographic illustration process |
| Colophon |
A note at the end of a book giving publication
details etc |
| Contemporary |
Something on or close to the original publication
date, i.e. a binding or inscription etc |
| Corrigenda |
Corrections supplied after publication and
inserted, same as errata |
| Crushed |
In reference to leather, usually Morocco, pressed
or rolled so the grain cannot be seen |
| Deckle |
Relates to edges, rough untrimmed text blocks of
handmade paper |
| Dentelles |
A binding decoration, gilt lines and corner
decorations on the inside board on the leather between edge and
pastedown |
| Device |
The trademark of symbol of the publisher |
| Disbound |
Books or text blocks removed from their original
bindings or volumes |
| Doublure |
The interior lining of a book in silk or leather
etc rather than paper |
| Drop Title |
Having no title page, title appears on first page
of text |
| Dust Jacket - Wrapper |
Protective cover placed around book, initially to
protect boards but later for decorative purposes. Sometime
abbreviated to DW or DJ |
| Endpaper |
The double leaf at the beginning and end of the
book, one half adhered to board known as 'pastedown' other half
known as 'free endpaper' |
| Engraving |
A process in illustration |
| Errata |
Corrections supplied after publication, usually
in the form of tipped in slips |
| Etching |
A process in illustration |
|
Facsimile |
A reproduction of an original book, page or dust
wrapper etc |
| Flat signed |
A modern term used for signed books showing only
the authors name with no inscriptions |
| Fleuron |
A flower shaped printers decoration |
| Fore-edge |
The front outer edge of a book |
| Format |
The size and shape of a book |
| Foxing |
Brown marks or stains on paper, same as spotting |
| Frontispiece |
An illustration which face the title page |
| Gilt Edged |
The edges of the book are in gilt (gold). Often
abbreviated to: AEG (all edges gilt) or TEG (top edge gilt) |
| Guard |
A piece of protective paper over an illustration
or plate |
| Half bound |
The spine, 1/4 of front board and corners bound
in leather or cloth, sometimes 1/4 of front edge of board rather
than corners |
| Half-title |
The leaf before the title page, usually
showing just the title |
| Hand-coloured |
A pre printed illustration that has been coloured
by hand |
| Headband |
The silk band at the top and bottom of the books
spine, should be hand sewn through leaves but now often just
imitations adhered to spine |
| Hinge |
The inside junction where the text block meets
the board |
| Holograph |
Written entirely by the hand of the author |
| Illuminated |
Decoration done by hand using, gold silver and
other coloured leaf |
| Impression |
The state of the book in terms of print history,
i.e. Third Impression |
| Incunabula |
Books printed in movable type before 1501. In the
USA the qualifying date is regarded as pre 1701 |
| Inlay |
The insertion of leather into the main skin of
the binding for decorative purposes |
| Inscribed |
Added to by hand, usually in reference to authors
autograph |
| Issue point |
A point that is deemed to determine the edition
of a book. Usually used when a book may appear to have all first
addition attributes. Often things such as printing errors, bindings
and catalogues etc. |
| Large paper edition |
Usually a limited edition made up of larger than
normal sheets, often signed and special editions |
| Leaf - leaves |
A single sheet of paper |
| Limited edition |
An edition limited to a certain, and stated,
number of copies |
| Limp |
Usually applied to velum covers not backed by
board |
| Lithograph |
A form of illustration |
| Marbled |
The process of decoration by placing paper
on water with colouring, producing 'swirling' patterns, now often
machine printed |
| Mezzotint |
A form of illustration |
| Misbound |
Pages bound upside down or in wrong order |
| Morocco |
Goatskin used for binding, usually higher quality |
| Mottled |
The effect of bleaching patches on leather caused
by flecks of acid. Also applied to book cloth that in
unintentionally marked with the acid from dust wrappers |
| Movable type |
Printing type invented by Gutenberg in the 15th
century, each letter being on a separate stem |
| ND - Not Dated |
Book shows no publication date |
| Offset - offsetting |
Transfer of ink or discolouration from an
illustration, text or object on opposite page |
| Original |
As published, i.e. 'original cloth' |
| Pagination |
The consecutive numbering of pages |
| Part |
One instalment of a book |
| Photogravure |
A type of illustration reproduced from from a
photograph using a metal plate |
| Pirated |
An edition printed with the permission or payment
to author |
| Plate |
A full page illustration printed separately from
book, usually tipped in later |
| Preliminaries - prelims |
All the leaves, printed or otherwise that precede
the main body of text |
| Presentation copy |
Book inscribed and presented to someone else,
usually by the author |
| Price clipped |
The dust wrapper has had the priced removed |
| Provenance |
The previous history and ownership of the book |
| Proof copy |
The advance printing of a book, originally for
proof reading now increasingly used for promotional and review
purposes. Known in the US an ARC - advance reading copy. |
| Quarter bound |
The spine and a quarter of the front board are
bound in leather or cloth |
| Quire |
A group of leaves folded together prior to
binding |
| Rebacked |
The spine of the book has been replaced, usually
due to wear |
| Recto |
The front of a leaf, i.e. right hand page of an
open book |
| Rubbed |
The wear or damage to edges of a book or jacket
associated with rubbing |
| Rubricated |
Having beginning of chapters or initial capital
letters coloured in red or illustrated |
| Runner |
Someone who sells books to another dealer without
maintaining specific stock, buying from one dealer to sell quickly
to another |
| Scout |
American term for runner |
| Solander case / box |
A protective case which when opened at least one side will lay
flat |
| Spotting |
The same as foxing |
| Sprung |
The book has a weakened spine, pages beginning to come loose |
| State |
Another term for impression, i.e. 'first state' |
| Three decker |
A single book issued in three volumes, usually relating to 19th
century fiction |
| Tipped in |
Usually a plate or leaf etc added to book after binding, lightly
glued to one edge |
| Title page |
The preliminary page carrying the title, author, date, publisher
etc |
| Uncut |
Rough edges of a text block that have not been cut or trimmed by
binder |
| Uniform |
Usually books in sets bound in the same style |
| Unsophisticated |
In original and unrestored condition |
| Variant |
A book that differs in some way from other editions, often used
for first editions when no precedence has been established |
| Vellum |
Calf skin used for binding and parchments |
| Verso |
The back of a leaf, i.e. the left hand side of an open book |
| Vignette |
Small picture or design used on title page etc |
| With all faults - WAF |
A warning that the book may have serious faults and is sold as
seen |
| Woodcut |
A form of illustration |
| Wrappers - wraps |
Paper covers on a books, i.e. paperback |
