GLOSSARY OF BOOK TERMS
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All Edges Gilt - The top, fore-edge and foot of the book are colored in gold.
Antiquarian Books - A loose term implying collectible books rather than used books. Refers to old, rare, and out-of-print books.
Apocryphal - A work whose authenticity or authorship is in doubt.
Appendix - Additional or supplementary material generally found at the end of a book.
As Issued - A term indicating a given book is in the same condition as when it was originally published.
Association Copy - A book which belonged to or was annotated by the author, someone close to the author, a famous or noteworthy person, or someone especially associated with the content of the work. The book should have documentary evidence of its association, such as the author's bookplate.
As Usual - A favorite term to describe defects which probably occur only on copies of a book that a particular dealer handled.
Autographed Letter – A letter written in the author’s hand.
Autographed Letter, Signed – A hand written letter signed by the writer.
Autographed Manuscript, Signed – A manuscript written in the author’s hand.
Back Strip – Is the covering of the book’s spine.
Bastard Title – See Front Matter and Half-Title
Biblio – From the Greek; signifying or pertaining to books.
Biblioclast – One who will destroy books.
Bibliognost – Having a deep knowledge of books.
Biblioklept – A stealer of books.
Bibliomaniac - A bibliophile in whom the love of books has become an obsession; many book dealers and certain collectors.
Bibliophile – A lover of books.
Bibliophobia – A fear of books.
Bibliopole – The people selling books in the booths at a book fair.
Binding – The cover of the book.
Binding Copy - A book which needs to be rebound and is worthy of rebinding.
Blind Stamping - An impressed mark, decoration, or lettering, not colored 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.
Block Books - Books made around the mid 1400's in
Blurb - A comment from a review (often by another author praising the particular book) printed on the dust wrapper or covers of a proof copy, or on a wrap-around band.
Boards – The stiff binding material for most modern books.
Book Block – The entire book sewn together before it is bound.
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 dust wrapper. 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 dust wrappers without a price on the front flap and now 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 over the years.
Book Label – A label indicating the ownership of a book. It is generally smaller than the Book-Plate.
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
Bound - A book with a cover of any type, or a periodical that has a cover other than its published wraps.
Bowed - A condition of the covers or boards of a hard cover book. Bowed covers may turn inward toward the leaves or outward away from the leaves. The condition generally results from a rapid change in the level of moisture in the air and is caused by different rates of expansion or contraction of the paste-down and the outer material covering the board.
Breaker - A person who breaks up books to sell the plates individually or the book itself when the covers are so bad that it either has to be rebound or broken up.
Broadside - A single sheet of paper usually printed on one side only.
Buckram - A heavy linen cloth used in book binding. It is often starched or coated with some protective material.
Cancel - A tipped-in (i.e., pasted in) page to replace a page removed after a book has been bound.
Case-Bound - The book is hardbound as opposed to a paperback.
Chapbook - A cheaply printed book of the kind sold by street vendors in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Chipped - Used to describe where small pieces are missing or where fraying has occurred on a dust jacket or the edge of a paperback.
Cloth – A cloth-bound book. The covering can be linen, Buckram or another textile.
Cocked - Also known as shelf-cocked. This is a condition resulting from storing a book on a shelf so that it leans and rests against its neighbor or the side of a bookcase. Gravity deforms the book binding. Cocked also refers to a book in which the spine no longer remains at right angles to the covers.
Codex – An ancient volume of manuscript.
Collation – Is the examination and notation of the physical makeup of a book. By checking for the presence of every leaf or page originally in the volume when issued, a book may be collated as complete.
Comb Binding - A book binding similar to a spiral binding but using a round tubular plastic piece with many teeth which fit through small rectangular holes punched into the binding edge of the book. The plastic piece, if laid flat, would resemble a comb.
Conjugate Leaf – The uncovered second half of a printed page.
Contemporary - Refers to bindings and hand-colored plates (generally of the period when the book was published) and author inscription (dated the year of publication).
Corners - The right angles on the unbound edges of the front and back covers of a hardcover book.
Covers - The binding of the book, most particularly the front and back panels of the book.
Covers bound-in - The original cloth covers, usually including the spine, bound into the book when a new binding is made. Normally they are mounted as pages at the end of the book. Also refers to the covers of books originally issued in boards or paper wraps, but in these cases the covers are usually bound in their proper positions.
Cut - Many modern books are smooth-trimmed after binding so that all edges are even, or flush. This is described as having been "cut."
Damp Stained - A light stain on the cover or on the leaves of a book caused by moisture such as a piece of food or perspiration. These are generally not as severe as Water Stains.
Darkening - When book covers are exposed to light, the color darkens or becomes more intense. See also Fading.
Deckle Edges – Another term for uncut or untrimmed edges.
Decorative Stamped Binding - A highly detailed impression stamped into the cover and/or spine of a book.
Dedication Copy - The copy of the book inscribed by the author, to the person, the book is dedicated to.
Definitive Edition – This is the most authoritative version of a work.
Dents – Damage to the edges of the cover of hardcover books.
Device - A printer's ornament. An insignia that is the publisher's identifying mark. It is also interchangeable with
Disbound - This term refers to a book or pamphlet, once bound, from which the binding has been removed.
Dog-Eared - Book pages which have been folded over in the corners. Some people do this to mark their place in a book.
Dos-a-dos - Two separate books bound together so that each cover represents the cover for a different title.
Dummy - A mock-up of a book used by salesmen in the late 19th and early 20th century to show prospective buyers what the book would look like. It usually had a title page, 10 or 20 pages of text, and then blank pages to fill out the rest of the binding.
Duo Decimo (12mo) - A book approximately seven to eight inches tall
Dust Jacket - A term synonymous with Dust Wrapper, indicating the usually decorative paper wrapper placed around a book to protect the binding.
Dust Wrapper – See Dust Jacket
Edges - The outer surfaces of the leaves of a book.
Edge worn - Wear along the edges of hardback book covers.
Edited – Prepared for publication.
Edition – Are all the copies of a book printed from the same plates or typesetting.
Editor - A person who gathers material for a book, oversees text written by others, and/or makes the text more readable.
Elephant Folio – A book about twenty three inches tall.
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.
Ephemera - From the Greek work ephemeron, meaning something that disappears quickly. Examples are: manifestos, broadsides, programs, menus, tickets, playbills, etc.
Errata - Mistakes or errors. Generally encountered in the term "errata slip," a small sheet of paper laid into a book by a publisher who has discovered errors prior to publication.
Example – A particular copy of an edition. Back To Top
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.
Ex-Libris - A bookplate printed with the owner's name or initials. Latin for "From the library of..."
Extra Illustrated - A copy of a book into which additional illustrations have been bound.
Fading - The color of some book covers fades or becomes less intense when exposed to light. See also Darkening.
First and Second Printing before Publication - This indicates the publisher was successful in promoting the book and had more orders before the actual publication date than the first printing quantity would cover, therefore a second printing was ordered. Not a first edition.
First Edition - Used by book dealers and collectors, it means the first appearance of a work in book or pamphlet form, in its first printing.
First Separate Edition – This is the first appearance as a complete book or pamphlet, of a work that has previously appeared as part of another book.
First Thus - Not a first edition, but something is new. It may be revised, have a new introduction by the author or someone else, or 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.
Fly Leaf - A blank leaf, sometimes more than one, following the front free endpaper, or at the end of a book where there is not sufficient text to fill out the last few pages.
Fly Title – See Half-Title.
Folio - Has several meanings:
- A leaf numbered on the front
- The numeral itself
- A folio-sized book. See “Book Sizes”
- Fore-Edge - The trimmed edge of the leaves of a book; the edge of the page opposite the spine, bound or back edge of the book.
Fore-Edge Painting - The front page edges of the book are bent back to expose a greater area and a watercolor painting is applied to this surface. After completion, the book is closed and the painting cannot be seen. The opposite is also true. The painting is done on the edge of the pages so it can be seen when the book is closed but is not visible when the book was open.
Foxed, Foxing – Is brown spotting of the paper caused by a chemical reaction, generally found in 19th century books, particularly in steel engravings of the period.
Free Endpaper – See End Papers.
Frontis, Frontispiece - An illustration at the beginning of a book, usually facing the title page.
Front Matter - The pages preceding the text of a book, in the following order:
- bastard title or fly title
- frontispiece
- title page
- copyright page
- dedication
- preface or forward
- table of contents
- list of illustrations
- introduction
- acknowledgements
- half-title Back To Top
Full Binding – Is a binding in which the spines and boards are uniformly covered with the same material.
Galleys - Sometimes called "galley proofs" or "loose galleys" to distinguish them from “bound galleys”. These long sheets of paper bear the first trial impression of the type.
Gatherings - A group of sheets folded together for sewing or gluing into the binding.
Gauffered - An 'engraved' design on the edges of a book.
Gilt Edges - The page edges have been trimmed smooth and gilt, or gold, has been applied. The abbreviation “GE” means gilt edges; “AEG” means all edges gilt, “GT” means gilt top, “TEG” means top edge gilt.
Glassine – A transparent paper dust wrapper.
Gutter - The inner margin of a leaf near the spine of a book. See Tail.
Half Binding - A book in which the spine and corners are bound in a different material (frequently leather) than the rest of the covers.
Half Cloth - Paper-covered boards with the spine bound in cloth.
Half Leather – Is 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. Also see Quarter Leather.
Half-Title - The page carrying nothing but the title of the book usually precedes the title page.
Head - The upper margin of a leaf, cover or endpaper. Also referred to as the” top”.
Headband - A decorative cloth band, sometimes colored or multi-colored, appearing inside the back strip at the top (and sometimes bottom) of the spine of a book.
Headpiece - A decorative type ornament found at the start of a chapter or division of a book.
Highlighting - The use of transparent and brightly colored markers to draw attention to particular text. These are frequently done by students. See also Underlining and Marginalia.
Hinge - The joint (either outer or inner) of the binding of a book - the part that bends when the book is opened
Holograph - A term indicating the handwriting of the author.
Hors Texte, Versos Blank - "Hors texte" is French for "outside of the text," and the term usually refers to plates, without printing on the reverse sides. The plates may be tipped in to paper of a different stock from that of the text.
Hypermodern - Collected first editions published within the last ten years or so. Most were published so recently that there is no track record of the author or book.
Illum - Referring to polychrome illustrations. It usually means an illuminated manuscript.
Illumination - Decoration applied by hand in gold, silver or colored paint.
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.
Impression – This misused term, when accurately employed, means the number of copies printed during any given press run.
Imprint - A term that can refer either to the place of publication or to the publisher.
Incunabula - Books, pamphlets, calendars, and indulgences printed before 1501.
Index - An alphabetical listing of names or topics mentioned in the book, with their page number
This page remains a work in progress and is subject to corrections and additions, so please check back often
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