Book Tips

Introductory Primer of a Few Basic Book Terms

Age. The age of a book has very little to do with its value. There is no shortage of books printed in the late 1800s for instance. The value of rare books is determined by demand, condition and edition. Obviously, valuable books may in fact be old, but age is not the first consideration.

Beveled Boards. Usually found on older books with thick boards (covers). The covers of the book have a sloping edge. More common with published in Great Britain.

Bibliographer. An individual who catalogs books or creates bibliographies (a chronological list and description of works by an author or on a particular subject).

Bibliophile. Someone who likes or works with books.

Bibliopole. A book seller.

Binding. Most books are described as cloth or boards. It simply indicates a hard back casing. Wrappers refers to books which are not hard bound, usually paperbacks. Leather was a commonly used practice to cover the boards.

Blurb(s). The sales pitch or catalog description of an item for sale.

Board(s). The casing of a hard bound book. The term originates from early book covers which were fabricated from slats of wood. The wood was then covered with leather or some type of fabric. Most present day books are constructed using a type of cardboard, covered with cloth.

Broadside. A poster or a single sheet of paper, printed on one side. Usually broadsides are cataloged as ephemera, or items that were never intended to last more than a brief time.

Checklist. This is a chronological list of all of the titles or books etc., published about or by a specific author or subject.

Cloth. Another term for a hard bound book.

Cocking (cocked). The book has become permanently deformed along the spine. Usually caused by long-term storage in an awkward position. It is a difficult condition to correct, since the parts that hold the book together have stretched.

Collated. In older (rarer) books, collation is the process of checking a book to verify that it is complete and contains all of its original attributes. Usually done by comparing the book with a bibliographic description.

Colophon. A written statement at the end of a manuscript or printed text typically identifying the text, its author, and the circumstances of its copying or printing

Condition. Book rating is subjective and depends entirely who is doing the rating. It is generally agreed that books (and dust jackets) are rated as:

Fine (F) - No flaws, near perfect.
Very good (VG) - Shows some wear, no major flaws.
Good (G) - Basically, it's all there, but condition is pretty rough. In book parlance, good means bad.
Reading copy. It looks or smells bad. Unless the book is very rare, it may not be worth messing with.
Ex-libris (ex library) - This book has been in a library, personal or public. Usually shows numbers on spine, card pocket, stamps on edges, etc.

Deckled Edge. This is a rough, untrimmed edge of a books' pages. It may be indicative of handmade paper.

Dust jacket (DJ, DW). Also known as a dust wrapper. On highly collectible books, the dust jacket can be worth many times the value of the book it encompasses. Jackets are important to collectors for many reasons, perhaps the artwork, maybe the sense of history or the period that is evoked from the images or just to enhance the book's value.

Editions, First (FE). This subject requires some remedial discussion. Keep in mind that every book ever printed was at one time or another a first edition. Technically speaking, after the galleys (printing plates) are removed from the printing press and subsequently put back in for another run, that then becomes a new edition (or printing). In the old days, printers were not at all adverse to literally stopping the presses mid-run, pulling the galleys and making their changes (typographical errors, broken type faces or textual alterations) on the fly. The final outcome would be one press run, but with several "states" or "issues" of the first edition. In the case of Charles Dickens for instance, a first edition, first issue of his "Great Expectations" has hundreds of "mistakes" or issue points. The more mistakes, the more valuable the book becomes! In order to identify the issue points, you need what is called a descriptive bibliography, which will painstakingly give each issue point, the color of the binding and other pertinent information. Many dealers and collectors enjoy the discovery of issue points.

Identifying first editions is as complex as it is simple. The problem is that each publisher tends to identify their first editions in a different manner. Some publishers make it as easy as stating "first edition", others make it a cryptic as possible. The problem compounds itself when over the years, publishers merge, or change their internal operating procedures. On more recent publications, if you look on the copyright page, you may see a list of numbers. Depending on the publisher, the first edition will have all numbers present starting with a 0 or a 1. Subsequent printings will drop the next digit each time the book is republished. The only way to really tell if a book is a first edition is to have access to the proper reference materials. For identifying most of the publishers in the US. and Britain, we recommend First Editions. A Guide to Identification (edited) by Edward Zempel (Spoon River Press). $75. This valuable book lists virtually every English language publisher and their methods of stating first editions through the years. Zemple is a must for the serious collector or dealer.

End papers (EP). These are the blank pages in the front and back of most books. Free end papers are loose (also known as preliminaries) and the ones that are glued to the insides of the covers are called front and rear paste downs.

Ex-libris (Ex-lib). A book from a library (private, circulating or non-circulating) See condition.

Facsimile. An exact copy of a previously printed work. Generally produced and marketed as such because the original is difficult to obtain and warrants enough interest to publish as an exact copy. Usually a facsimile will be so noted by the publisher.

First Thus. After a book runs its commercial course with its original publisher, the rights are often sold to another printing house. The new publisher may want to stimulate the market for the new edition by embellishing the new book with a particularly popular illustrator, a fancy binding or some other feature. This reprint becomes a first thus or the first edition of a new edition.

Foxing. The brown discoloration often found on pages and plates of older books. So called due to its color or the fact that it often appears as a cluster of small blotches resembling a fox paw print. Most likely caused by acidification of the paper as a result of sulfuric acid used to bleach the pulp prior to the manufacture of the paper. Not much can be done to alleviate the problem. There is an expensive process to de-acidify the paper, but is generally limited to large, well-endowed institutions.

Gatherings. Also known as signatures or quires. As sheet of printed paper come off the press, it is folded to form a group of pages. At this point it is blissfully united with other similar groups which are then sewn or glued together to form the bulk of the book. The edges are trimmed and ready to be cased (bound).

Gilt edged. Top edge gilt (t.e.g.) & all edges gilt (a.e.g.). Before casing (binding) the book, the edges of the pages are trimmed, smoothed down and gilded with gold leaf.

Half title page. One of the preliminary, integral pages which restates the title of the book.

Hinge (or gutter). The inside of the front and back covers where the joint is. "Hinges tender" means that the end paper is starting to split at the junction.

Hinges Starting. This term means basically the covers are starting to separate from the pages of the book. The pasted down end paper is a single sheet of paper which also forms the front free end paper. After years of supporting the weight of the binding or the gatherings, the paper might start splitting or give way all together. This is quite common on older books, especially cheap bindings and paper. It is easily remedied (on rare books, consult with a professional) by running a very small bead of "dries flexible" type glue along the split (use some common sense here) and carefully closing the book, to let the glue set up. The hinge will live longer than you will. End papers can be easily replaced by a reputable book binder.

Inscription. If the book is signed by the author, with additional writing, that is good. If the book carries a "gift" inscription from one stranger to another, all things being equal, it detracts from the value of the item.

Issue point. See edition.

Joint. The outer equivalent of the hinge. "Joint cracked" indicates binding is split where the top board meets the back strip. It can be repaired with some care.

Limited Edition (LE). Generally a book published in smaller, numbered print runs. Usually numbered, embellished with a limitation notice and author or illustrator signatures. Often precedes the mass market trade market.

Loose binding. Means the book is falling apart and needs some attention. On older books, the threads that were used in the sewing to hold the book together have stretched or broken and need to be replaced. Having books rebound can be an expensive proposition, since the book needs to be taken apart, trimmed and re-stitched. A major overhaul might be in order, many times costing more than the book is worth.

Marbled. Marbling is the process of producing the interesting, psychedelic patterns that you see on many old books. Often found on the paste-down end papers or the edges of the book. It is a very old process, originating in either Persia or Japan. Globs of different colored inks are floated on a gelatinous bath called sizing. The inks are then "combed" or blended together into an original, one of a kind pattern. A sheet of paper is then laid down on top of the pattern, absorbing the pattern. The paper is then dried, cut to size and then bound into the book. The edges of many old books are also marbled.

Modern First Editions. Generally books published post World War II. Euphemistically means books by popular and collectible authors.

nd. No date of publication is indicated.

np. No publisher or city of origin is indicated.

OP. Out of print. Simply means the book is no longer available from the publisher.

Points of Issue. See edition.

Presentation copy. A book given as a gift by the author. Usually signed or inscribed (more personalized content than just a signature). An association copy will be presented by the author to someone of some importance.

Prices. There is no single price for any given book. Like most other commodities, a comparable price range can be established based on sales records or other dealer offerings. Scarcity, condition, initial cost of the item, varying dealer overheads, knowledge or lack of same, and a myriad of other subtle factors come into play in pricing any given book. Demand seems to ultimately drive the antiquarian book market. If nobody wants it, it's not worth much! On the other hand, there seems to be a buyer for every book (depending on the price!).

Recto. The page on the right-hand side of an open book.

Remainder. After a book has run its commercial course the unsold copies are sold off cheaply by the publisher to "remainder houses", where they are then sold through catalogs for a fraction of the original price. Often they are scarred with some sort of indelible marking pen to prevent them being returned to the original publisher for a "trade" refund.

Signed. As a rule if the book is signed by the author it is worth more. Inscribed refers to additional verbiage by the author.

Size. The size of a book is determined by the size of the original sheet of printed paper and the number of times it is folded in the construction of the book. The larger the sheet of paper, the larger the book. Here is a short list of the abbreviations and their approximate sizes. There are many variations within these categories.

Fo. - Folio. A large sheet folded a single time (or not at all).
4to. - Quarto. The same sheet folded twice. Your typical "coffee table" book.
8vo. - Octavo. The average size book.
12mo. - Duodecimo. Getting smaller.
16mo. - Sextodecimo. Smaller yet.
Miniature. - Very small and very hard to read.

There are many variations within each size, but beyond this discussion. Not too important.

Spine or back strip. The back of the book. The top and bottom of the spine are called the tips.

Tipped-in plates. Often on higher quality, illustrated books, the plates are printed separately on a better grade of paper and glued lightly along one edge to a blank page.

Uncut. After the gatherings are sewn or glued together, the publisher may or may not want to trim the fore edge of the pages. If they are left uncut, it leaves a rather ragged, romantic look

Unopened. During the process of making the book, the gatherings are folded, creating pages that cannot be read without slicing the pages. Collectors may pay a premium for unopened copies.

Variant. Refers to variations in the description of a book that do not appear in a descriptive bibliography.

Verso. The page on the left-hand side of an open book.

Wrappers. Softbound or paperback. Stiff wrappers implies a better grade of stock, often found on University Press books or more scholarly titles.