Glossary of Book and Ephemera Terms and Abbreviations

Nothing can be more frustrating that being confronted with a string of gibberish when trying to ascertain the quality of a used book being offered for sale on the internet. There are literally hundreds of unfamiliar terms, some recently invented, some ridiculously arcane, which can be found in the descriptions of used and antiquarian books. Now TomFolio.com presents the internet's largest and most complete dictionary of these terms.

Please note: This page was compiled mainly to help buyers understand the difficult and unfamiliar terms found in descriptions of used, rare, antiquarian, and out of print books. Many terms relating to different kinds of ephemera and paper items are also included. Explanatory comments and crossreferences have been given in many entries to provide useful historical information and examples.

If you run across any perplexing terminology not covered here, don't hesitate to contact the dealer who is offering the book and ask for more information.

Part A. Alphabetical List of All Terms

< A >

ABA. 1. Antiquarian Booksellers Association. An organization of independent UK antiquarian booksellers. 2. American Booksellers Association. An organization of independent US new booksellers.

ABAA. Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America.

ABAC / ALAC. Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of Canada / Association de la Librairie Ancienne du Canada.

ABookCoOp. Owners and operators of TomFolio.com. We are a group of independent used and antiquarian book and ephemera dealers, the world's first internet bookselling cooperative.

about fine. same as Near Fine.

abrasion. rubbed area.

abridged. shortened or condensed. The opposite is unabridged.

acetate. heavy plastic transparent sheet. Some books are issued with acetate dust jackets, which are usually not printed, and serve the same purpose as a paper jacket, to protect the book. Sometimes called plasticine. Compare Mylar.

acid free. produced without the use of caustic chemicals. Usually refers to paper which, being acid free, will not turn yellow nor stain other papers in contact with it. Most newspapers, many books, and many other printed items from about the 1870s to the 1980s were made with acidic paper, and a good deal still is, thus the pages will turn yellow and brittle over time, and a clipping laid in a book will leave stains on adjacent pages.

accordion folded. folded to the right then to the left several times, in imitation of an accordion. Also called concertina folded, zigzag folded. Such a book is said to have double-folded pages.

accordioned. severely bumped and mashed.

ads / advts / adverts. advertisements printed as part of a book or periodical.

advance copy. general term for any pre-publication copy printed for booksellers or reviewers, usually having a plain paper cover, but sometimes bound similar to the regular edition and having a review slip laid in. See advance review copy.

advance reading copy / ARC / advance reader's edition. softcover advance copy, usually having the same cover art as the hardcover book will have. These are sent to bookstores in the hopes of generating more sales.

advance review copy. hardcover advance copy with a press release or other promotional material laid in. These are sent to book reviewers in the hopes of getting a good review into print.

AEG / aeg. all edges gilt.

aged / age tan / age tanned. another term for browned.

AL / al. see autograph letter.

all edges gilt. the top, fore-edge and bottom of the text block are colored in gilt or gold leaf, or sometimes in silver.

ALS / als. see autograph letter signed.

ambrotype. an early type of photograph, invented by Frederick Scott Archer, in use from 1851 to the 1890s, now collectible. Other names were collodion positive and melainotype.

albumen print. an early type of photographic print, in vogue from the 1850s to the 1890s, now collectible.

AMS / ams. see autograph manuscript signed.

AN / an. As New; in the same immaculate condition in which it was published; perfect.

-ana / -iana. suffix denoting an item or a collection of material relating to a specific person or subject; for example, Americana, Canadiana, Frostiana, Oziana.

antiquarian. refers to old, rare, collectible antique books rather than merely used books. Usually refers to high quality, out-of-print, fairly pricey books.

appendix. section of text providing useful supplemental information, usually appearing after the main text. The plural is appendices or appendixes.

aquarelle (French: watercolor). a type of color illustration.

aquatint

(Latin: water dye). a type of colored etching in which the illustration is created on highly polished copper or steel plates by careful application of nitric acid, after which colors are applied to the plates for printing. Perfected in 1768 and used in some books through the 1800s, aquatints have soft tones resembling watercolors or ink-wash drawings. Compare mezzotint.

ARC / arc. See advance reading copy.

archival quality. refers to materials and methods used to permanently preserve and house rare and old items. Archival materials are designed to cause no chemical reactions (for example, acid free paper) and are designed to be reversible (that is, they do not adhere to or cause damage to the item).

armorial. having a coat of arms, badge, or other hereditary emblem printed on it.

art paper. coated paper with a high glossy finish.

as issued. in the original state as published; for example, CD-ROM in rear pocket, as issued, meaning the book and CD-ROM were published together.

as new. see AN.

association copy. refers to a book that once belonged to the author, or to someone closely associated with the author, or to some important historical figure. Such association tends to increase the item's value to collectors.

as usual. refers to a commonly found defect. Often used to describe a defect that often occurs on a title the dealer is familiar with; for example, lacks map, as usual.

auction catalog. book or booklet containing names and descriptions of items to be auctioned at a specific place and time. Some such catalogs contain detailed information, color illustrations, and other useful features, making the catalog collectible.

author's edition / authorized edition. printed with permission of the author, as opposed to a pirated edition.

autograph. 1. (adj.) in the handwriting of the author. Also less commonly called holograph. 2. (n.) handwritten signature of the author; usually referred to as signed. Compare signature.

autograph letter / al. letter handwritten by the author.

autograph letter signed / als. letter handwritten and signed by the author.

autograph manuscript signed / ams. manuscript witten by the author's hand and signed by the author.

< B >

backing. see mount.

backstrip. outer covering of the spine of a hardcover book. In some cases, the backstrip of a book may be detached while the spine itself is intact and all the pages are attached.

backstrip label. label affixed to the backstrip, usually made of leather or paper, often printed or stamped with the title and/or author of the book.

bad girl comics. a genre of comic books featuring extremely tough, sometimes evil, woman protagonists.

balloon cloth. a thin, strong, finely woven cloth, usually cotton, having a reflective finish, used in aircraft and balloon construction, and sometimes in bookbinding.

bar code. inventory and price data encoded in a series of thick and thin black bars, readable by a computer scanner, printed on the book or dust jacket by the publisher for the benefit of the retailer. Bookstore bar codes usually appear on the rear dust jacket of a hardcover or on the inside front cover of a paperback.

bastard title. another name for half title. Some books, most commonly those printed prior to the 1930s, have two half titles, in which case the bastard title is the one that precedes the frontispiece. Sometimes called fly title.

BC / bc / BCE / bce. see book club edition.

bd. 1. board. 2. bound.

bdg. binding.

bds. boards.

beige. a very pale tan color. Also called ecru.

bendable. flexible.

beveled boards / beveled edges. angle-cut boards that have a sloped edge.

bib / bibliog / bibliography. 1. a list of sources used in writing the book. 2. a list of recommended further reading. 3. a list of all the books by one author, or all the publications of a certain type (such as time travel romances or publications on Kentucky archaeology). Bibliographies of this type commonly give detailed information on editions, printings, and variants, and sometimes provide current values.

biblio- (Greek: books). signifying or pertaining to books.

bibliophile. lover of books.

Big Little Book (brand name). a popular type of small children's book, published in Wisconsin by Whitman, measuring 3 5/8" x 4 1/2" and usually 1 1/2" thick. First appearing in 1932, Big Little Books commonly have left-hand text and right-hand illustrations on every spread. Now highly collectible, the stories involved current heroes from popular culture, such as Tarzan, Mickey Mouse, and the Lone Ranger. Similar books have been put out by many other publishers. Abbreviated BLB.

binding. (n.) outer cover of a book or periodical. Most bindings can be classified as hardcover or softcover. The term is often found in a description of the firmness of the attachment of the pages, as in binding tight. Some other specific binding types are comb, French covers, limp, saddle stitch, self-wraps, side stitch, spiral, Velo-bind, and Wire-O Binding.

binding copy. book that is complete in its text but the covers are badly damaged or missing.

biopredation. damage caused by bookworms, insects, rodents, mildew, or any other living organism.

bk. book.

bk.pl. bookplate.

blank form. a type of ephemera, often consisting of a list or table, printed with blank areas intended for the owner to fill in; for example, an application blank.

BLB. see Big Little Book.

blind-stamp. (n.) an uncolored impressed mark, either decoration or lettering, usually appearing on the binding. Common on both leather and cloth. Uncolored handmade leather impressions are generally called blind tooling.

block book. a book in which whole pages of text and/or pictures are printed from hand-carved woodblocks. The first block book was printed in China in the year 868; they appeared in Europe in the late 1300s and were superceded in the late 1400s by books printed with movable type. Also called a xylographic book. See incunabula.

blotter. a type of ephemera consisting of a small piece of blotting paper (heavy paper) designed for absorbing excess ink. Commonly used in the days of pen and ink writing, blotters were often printed with some advertisement on the back, thus they are now collectible.

blueprint. see cyanotype.

blurb. quotation from a review, or text written by the publisher, praising the book or giving a summary of the contents, usually printed on the dust jacket or in ads for the book.

board / boards. cover or covers ; that is, any stiff material used for the exterior of a hardcover book. The term is often used when referring to defects; as in front board scuffed, rear board dented. A book in boards refers specifically to a hardcover with covers decorated with paper, rather than cloth or leather. Boards today are usually made of heavy cardboard covered with paper or cloth. Note: The term does not generally refer to actual wood; few books with wooden boards were produced after the 1700s.

board book. a type of children's book in which all the pages are made of extremely thick glossy cardboard. Made for very young children, board books are usually small in size, have less than twenty pages, and are frequently die-cut into a recognizable shape.

BOMC / bomc. 1. Book of the Month Club; one of many commercially operated book clubs. 2. an edition printed especially for this book club.

bond. general term for any paper having an ordinary, semi-porous, non-glossy surface.

bonded leather. a type of inexpensive fake leather manufactured from pulverized leather scraps reconstituted with latex. Also called mission leather.

book block. another name for text block.

book club / book club edition / bc / bce. 1. copy or edition printed especially for a book club; usually, but not always, produced with cheaper materials. Such books are not normally collectible. 2. book club: a commercially managed mail-order operation providing members with books, usually offering the most popular current titles, usually at prices below retail.

book label. label, much smaller than a bookplate, indicating ownership of a book.

booklet. 1. very small book with few pages. 2. any size book with saddle stitch binding. Compare pamphlet.

bookplate. ownership label usually pasted on the front endpaper. Ordinary bookplates are about 6 x 9.5 cm (2 1/2" x 3 1/2"), but sizes vary. Compare book label.

book rate. a shipping service that is inexpensive but can be slow. Such services have various names, including economy, ground, surface, and media mail.

Books on Demand (brand name). publishing service operated by University Microfilms in Michigan in which one copy of an out of print title is photocopied and bound on request of a buyer. Such books generally cost five to ten times more than the book when it was regularly published. Compare print on demand.

bookworm. 1. any small larval organism happy to eat holes through the bindings and pages of books. See wormed. 2. humorous term for a book lover.

bound. 1. describes a book having a binding of any type, such as hardbound or softbound.

bound galleys. galley proofs which have been bound as a book.

bound in. made part of the book during the original binding process, or when a book is rebound, such as a color glossy illustration included on a special page. Compare tipped in, laid in.

bound periodical. an issue or group of issues of a periodical put together into one volume, usually retaining all the original covers. A bound periodical usually contains a full run of issues from one year and is usually a hardcover.

bowed. slightly warped or curved. Usually refers to one or both boards.

brd. board.

breaker. 1. one who breaks up or dismantles books to sell the plates individually. 2. a book in such poor condition that its only value is the plates.

bright. clean and crisp, without fading or soiling.

brittle. so fragile it breaks when bent. Usually refers to very browned pages.

broadside. single sheet of paper, traditionally 37 x 55 cm (15" x 22") but often other sizes, usually printed on one side only and not folded, similar to a poster but typically bearing news or announcements rather than advertising. Broadsides were commonplace up until the mid 1900s and are now collectible. Also called a broadsheet.

brochure. 1. pamphlet. 2. leaflet.

BroDart / brodart (brand name). clear plastic sheath into which a dust jacket is inserted to protect it. Most dealers use some form of protective cover for the dust jackets of their more valuable books; the dust jacket is not damaged by the sheath. Sometimes used as a verb; for example, all jackets brodarted.

broken. 1. refers to a book with extremely damaged hinges. 2. refers to a book that is completely disbound. See breaker.

browned. discolored with age, usually said of the pages or the outer surfaces of a book. Also called aged, sunned, tanned, or toned.

btm. bottom.

buckram. a heavy cotton or linen cloth stiffened with gum, starch, clay, or other nonfibrous material to give it a smooth or pebbly finish. Very thick and sturdy; often used for school yearbooks and library bindings.

bulked. pages are permanently swollen from moisture or water damage.

bulked up. printed on thick paper to give a more bulky appearance to the book. Usually indicates a book of inferior quality.

bumped / bmpd. wrinkled or dented, usually referring to the corners.

bundled / bundled set. 1. refers to a book plus one or more non-book items that compliment each other, marketed and sold together by the publisher. Examples: textbook with CD-ROM; songbook with music cassette; children's book with record. Also called a mixed media kit. Such bundled sets are often described as a book and CD set; book and record set, etc. 2. refers to a group of books or printed items that relate to each other and are being sold together, such as a set of orchestral parts for a single musical work. Compare lot.

b/w. 1. black and white, as in illustrations, photographs, etc. Also spelled b&w. 2. bound with, referring to doubles.

< C >

C. copyright date, usually shown in conjunction with title page date (T.).

c. / ca. circa, meaning approximately, usually in regard to dates.

c. / cr. copyright.

c&bw. color and black & white, referring to illustrations.

cabinet card. a photo printed on heavy paper and affixed to a piece of thick card stock or mount. Such items normally carried the photographer's stamp somewhere on the mount. The standard size was (11 x 16.5 cm) 4 1/4" x 6 1/2", notably larger than a visiting card, though cabinet cards were sometimes used as introduction or business cards as well. Introduced in 1868, declined about 1900, these are now a highly collectible form of ephemera.

calf. see leather.

called for. listed but not present. For example, the term could be used to indicate a missing illustration, as in five plates of six called for.

calotype. an early type of photograph, in vogue 1841-1850s, patented by William Henry Fox Talbot.

cancel. a tipped-in page added to replace a page removed after a book has been bound. Normally seen only in antiquarian books.

canvas. a strong, heavy cotton or hemp cloth, often used to bind account books and ledgers.

caption. headline above, or descriptive line of type below, an illustration. Also called a cutline.

card covers. a type of softcover with covers of fairly stiff card stock.

card stock. a stiff but flexible type of heavy paper commonly used to print postcards and other ephemera.

cartouche. small section of text enclosed in a decorative frame, usually oblong, often seen on maps.

case. 1. any stiff material used for the boards of a hardcover book. See casebound. 2. another name for a slipcase.

casebound. another term for hardbound.

catchword. word printed on its own line at the bottom of the page, identical to the first word on the next page; a common feature of books from the 1700s to about 1810.

CDV (French: carte de visite). another name for visiting card, a type of ephemera which, if it contains a photo, is often collectible. Photo visiting cards flourished in the 1860s.

cellophane / cello. a thin transparent material made of plastic, vegetable fiber, or a combination of both. Compare acetate, polyvinyl.

chalked endpapers. a type of endpaper made of clay-coated paper over which a solid colored chalk, typically pale yellow, has been applied. Often seen in books of the 1840s and 1850s.

chapbook. 1. cheaply printed inexpensive book sold by street vendors in the 1700s and 1800s. The term literally means cheap book. 2. a type of booklet, usually fifty pages or fewer, usually self published in small numbers by poets or short story writers.

chapter book. any juvenile literature having chapters. This is a very recent term created to provide a label for children's books other than picture books and young adult novels. It generally refers to material for children aged about seven to thirteen. Chapter books are normally published in a slightly larger format than mass market paperbacks; the standard size is (13 x 19 cm) 5 1/4" x 7 1/2". Compare chapbook.

chemise. a cloth or soft leather cover, designed to be wrapped around a book, with pockets at both ends for the boards to be inserted. Invented in the middle ages. Primarily seen today in conjunction with bibles and prayer books. Sometimes made of fake leather.

chewed. damaged by having been gnawed or chewed on by a toothed creature such as a dog or mouse.

chipped / chpd. small pieces are missing, or nicking or fraying has occurred, usually on the edges of a dust jacket or book.

chrome. a color printing process much used on souvenir postcards beginning in 1939, named for Kodachrome. Does not refer to a shiny or metallic appearance.

chromolithograph / chromo. a type of color illustration in which layers of different color are applied one at a time. See lithograph.

cibachrome / ciba. color print made from a color slide, printed on a specially prepared plastic sheet, rather than paper, and noted for its sharp, intense colors. Developed by Ciba-Geigy Corporation of Switzerland in the 1960s; Ilford company later purchased the rights and termed the process ilfochrome.

CIP. Cataloging In Publication data. Standardized descriptive information about a book, established by the Library of Congress, or by similar agencies for books published outside the US. Often printed on the copyright page of the book, the CIP gives the exact title, authors, and subject categories under which the book should be indexed in a library card catalog in a standard format.

circular. another name for flyer.

ck. check. Seen in some dealer's terms as a form of acceptable payment.

ckbk. cookbook; book of recipes.

cl. cloth.

clamshell box. a tray-shaped box with a tray-shaped lid that folds down along the edge of the box, usually used to store high quality books or archival papers. Clamshell boxes without lips around the edge of the lid, more or less similar to cigar boxes, are less expensive but do not serve to protect the book as well. Also called lipped clamshell box, drop-spine box.

clipped / price clipped / pc. indication that the corner of the dust jacket, where the price was printed, has been cut off and discarded. In most cases it refers to a diagonal cut of the inside upper front corner of the dust jacket.

clipping. a type of paper ephemera consisting of a section physically cut and removed from a larger work, such as an article trimmed from a newspaper. Compare disbound.

clo. cloth.

closed tear / cl.tr. rip or tear in which no material is missing. The opposite is an open tear.

cloth / clothbound. a hardcover book on which the boards covered with cloth. Cloth was first used to cover boards in 1823; prior to that, boards were covered in either paper or leather. Common cloths used in bookbinding include buckram, canvas, linen, muslin, and ribbed cloth.

clr. color.

cl.tr. see closed tear.

COA / CoA. Certificate of Authenticity. A document issued by a manufacturer or other authority validating that the item in hand is genuine, not a fake.

coated. covered with a thin durable transparent surface permanently bonded to the material. See also glossy, slick. Compare laminated.

cocked. indicates that the spine is twisted or askew, or that the boards do not line up evenly with each other. May be minor or severe. Also called slanted, or the book is said to lean.

cockled. having an uneven or wrinkled surface, referring to paper.

coffee table book. general term for any large, heavy book with a lot of good quality photo illustrations, suitable for browsing, often employed as an object of display in household living rooms.

collation. the examination and notation of the physical makeup of a book in order to confirm the presence of every leaf or page originally in the volume when issued. Antiquarian books offered for sale are often accompanied by a collation statement.

collectible. refers to anything for which there are enough collectors to make the item sought after. Generally speaking, the value of an item increases when the number of collectors increases, or when the rarity of the item increases, or when the example in hand is in the best possible condition.

collodion positive. another name for ambrotype.

Colograph (brand name). a patented printing process using pure oil paints to produce a durable, waterproof print. Invented in 1918, the process was used mainly for producing outdoor advertising signs and posters.

colophon. 1. a descriptive paragraph or emblem from the printer or publisher. In the US, the colophon usually appears at the front; in European and in some older US books it is often at the rear. 2. a short paragraph describing typestyles or other typographical information about the book, usually appearing at the end. 3. any trademark or logo of the publisher.

comb. a type of binding, the spine consisting of a cylinder with a number of teeth, each page having holes through which in the teeth pass. Usually plastic, sometimes metal, comb bindings are often seen on cookbooks published for local fund raisers. Plastic combs were first used to bind books in the 1930s but did not become common until the 1950s.

comic book. small, thin, softcover booklet containing color pictures, captions and dialog rather than pages of text, usually featuring fantastical characters and storylines, and often superheroes. Not considered a book by some dealers. See graphic novel.

compartments. sections on the spine set off by raised bands. Usually found only on antiquarian leather books and expensive bindings.

composite. inexpensive paper-based material having a finish vaguely resembling cloth, sometimes used for covering boards.

concertina folded. another name for accordion folded.

conjugate leaf. opposite leaf; opposite half of a printed page. For example, in a book with one signature of 16 pages, pages 1-2 and 15-16 will be conjugate leaves, being two halves of the same piece of paper.

contemporary. 1. refers to the same period in which the book was published. For example, contemporary leather means the leather over the boards is as old as the book and presumably original. 2. contemporary inscription: an author inscription dated the same year the book was published.

copper plate engraving / copperplate. a type of engraving in which the original illustration was prepared on a copper sheet and printed from the copper. Replacing the woodcut, copperplates were invented some time in the 1400s; they were gradually replaced by steel engravings beginning in the 1820s.

copyright. ownership of a written work, or of an intellectual work such as a piece of art or music. Under common law all created works are copyright to the creator, but for legal protection, copyright may be registered with the US copyright office, or an equivalent agency in other countries. Abbreviated C, c, cr, cprt. The symbol is ©.

copyright page. page, usually the back of the title page, giving the copyright date and details of publication. Sometimes called the publication data page.

condensed / condensed edition. refers to a reprint containing a shortened or incomplete version of the original text. Also called abridged, concise edition.

cordovan. horsehide leather used for bookbinding.

corduroy. a type of ribbed cloth with a deep pile and a furry feel, sometimes used for bookbinding.

corgorbled. a defect that, when found, usually affects only the corner of one or two leaves where the paper was unintentionally folded during the printing and binding process and, as a result, the page edges near that corner are not evenly trimmed. Not considered a serious defect unless there are accompanying chips or tears, or there is any unreadable text, in which case this should be noted. See sharkfin.

corners. 1. corners of a book, in the usual sense, or corners of the boards. Also called tips. 2. printing ornaments used to connect horizontal and vertical sections of a border.

covers. outside surfaces of the book, most particularly the front and back, and sometimes including the backstrip. Can refer to a hardcover or softcover.

covers bound in. 1. the original covers, often including the backstrip, are preserved inside the book when a new binding is made, usually mounted on blank pages at the end of the book. 2. the original covers of a book are preserved, in their proper positions, beneath new covers, when the book is rebound.

CP / cp. copyright page.

CR / cr. copyright.

cracked / crkd. extremely damaged and starting to come detached from the book. Usually refers to one or both hinges.

creased. folded, leaving a visible wrinkle along the fold.

crimped. having indentations caused by dampness.

crisp. very clean; appears to be almost untouched or unread.

crnr. corner.

cropped. 1. edges or page margins are neatly trimmed. 2. closely cropped: refers to excessive trimming of page margins in which the cuts are dangerously close to the text.

crosscrack. a crack running laterally across the spine, rather than along the length. Usually refers to a small crack across the spine of a mass market paperback. Usually minor but should always be noted.

crown. upper end of the spine. Sometimes called the head.

crushed levant. see levant.

cup ring. circular stain caused by a damp drinking cup or glass placed on the item. Also called a wet glass mark.

curiosa. a topic or category including any unusual subject, difficult to classify. In bookdealer catalogs of the 1800s, the term usually referred to erotica.

cut / flush cut. edges of pages are smooth-trimmed after binding so all edges are even, or flush.

cut. illustration printed directly on a text page; the opposite of a plate. Cuts are more commonly called illustrations in text.

cutout / cut-out. another name for remainder. Compare machine cut.

cutline. another name for caption. See cut.

cvr. cover.

CWO / cwo. Cash With Order. Payment must be received before the order will be completed.

cyanotype / blueprint / ferroprussiate print. a type of reproduction process, invented in 1841, similar to photography but requiring no darkroom and no caustic chemicals. Cyanotype prints usually appeared to be blue and were not subject to fading like silver prints were.

< D >

daguerreotype. an early type of photograph, in vogue 1839-1850s, invented by Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre, consisting of a silver image on a polished copper plate. Now a collectible type of ephemera.

dampstained. same as waterstained; stained from contact with water or dampness. Dampstains exist in degrees from very mild (nearly invisible) to very severe.

debossed. indented. The term refers to an intentional indentation rather than a defect; for example, a school seal debossed on the cover of a yearbook. When the image is raised rather than pressed in, the term is embossed.

dec / decor. decorated.

dec.cl. decorated cloth.

dec.eps. decorated endpapers.

deckle edges / feathered edges. refers to paper with untrimmed, naturally rough edges, a feature of better-quality handmade paper.

decorated / decor. usually refers to cloth having designs stamped in color.

dedication copy. copy inscribed by the author to the person to whom the book is dedicated. Such inscription is generally valued over any other insciption.

dedication page. a page, usually following the copyright page, giving the name of the person, movement, organization, pet, etc., to whom the author has dedicated the book. In more recent books the dedication is often found on the copyright page.

defect. any kind of flaw or damaged area. Some common defects are: browned, bumped, chipped, clipped, cracked, dampstained, edgeworn, ex-library, foxing, remainder mark, rubbed, underlined, waterstained, and yellowed.

deluxe binding / deluxe edition. marketing term which may refer to any kind of feature such as color illustrations or imitation leather covers. Not necessarily a valuable book.

Demco (brand name). clear plastic sheath into which a dust jacket is inserted to protect it. Sometimes used as a verb; for example, all jackets Demcoed.

demi jacket. another term for wrap-around band.

dentelle. 1. fine scrollwork or lacy patterns tooled into the leather covering of a book. 2. raised band on the backstrip, usually found on a leather bound book. 3. inner dentelle: decorated fold of leather turned in around the edges of the boards, usually decorated in gilt, and often having the binder's name. Compare gauffered edges.

device. 1. printer's ornament. 2. any insignia or logo, such as the identifying mark of the publisher.

diced. decorated with an even pattern of diamond or lozenge shapes. Usually refers to blind-stamped leather.

die-cut. trimmed into a special shape as part of the process of manufacturing the item. Die-cut pages are usually seen in shape books and as the specially designed movable parts of pop-ups.

digest. 1. publication containing an assortment of abridged novels or similarly shortened material. 2. small-sized comic book.

dime novel. a type of cheap paperback containing low-brow fiction. Dime novels were first published in 1860 and were later superceded by pulps. Now collectible.

disbound. 1. the binding has been removed or has separated from the rest of the book. Also called sprung. Compare unbound. 2. refers to a section of a bound work that has been removed from its binding and sold separately, such as a single issue removed from a bound periodical. Compare clipping.

discography. list of audio recordings, often musical, by the same artist, or related by a theme. Often found as an appendix.

discolored / discoloration. refers to change or loss of color, usually on the binding. Commonly found in connection with being faded, flaked, or waterstained.

ditto. another name for mimeograph.

DJ / dj. see dust jacket.

dog eared. refers to a page corner that is folded over, creased or worn. Very heavily worn page corners are sometimes said to be frayed.

dos-a-dos. old name for what is now called a double.

double. two separate books bound together, back to back, with one upside down, each cover showing a different title. Invented in the middle ages (when it was called a dos-a-dos); this is more recently a popular binding style with paperback science fiction novels. Sometimes called a flip-flop book.

double-folded pages. describes pages of a book that was printed on one long sheet of paper, accordion folded, and bound along one edge, so that each page is a double sheet of paper folded along the fore-edge.

double slipcase. a type of slipcase having two separate slots, usually side by side.

doublure. a type of endpaper made of silk or leather rather than paper. Usually found only in expensive bindings.

dressed. treated with preservative oil, usually referring to treatment of leather bound books.

drop box. protective box having a lift-off lid.

drop-spine box. another name for clamshell box.

drop title / drop-head title. title of a leaflet or pamphlet that does not have a title page; in other words, the headline above the first paragraph.

dummy. 1. mock-up of a book, used by salesmen in the late 1800s and early 1900s, often having a title page, ten or twenty pages of text, then blank pages to fill out the rest of the binding, to show prospective buyers what the book would look like. Also called a salesman's dummy. 2. mock-up used by printers and binders as a guide to properly produce the finished book.

duodecimo. 12mo. See Part B. Size Terms.

duograph. another name for duotone (sense 1).

duotone. 1. a type of black and white photograph printed from two halftone plates, one plate printed in a dark tone, the other in a lighter tone, to produce a two-tone effect. Some duotones appear to be simple black and white photos. 2. any illustration printed in two colors.

dupe / duplicate. identical item.

dust jacket / DJ / dj / jacket / dust wrapper / DW / dw / dust cover / book jacket. a paper wrapper, usually decorative, placed around a hardcover book, or sometimes a softcover, to protect the covers and to advertise the book. Occasionally made of some flexible material other than paper, such as acetate. The earliest known examples are unprinted and date from the 1830s. They became more common by the 1880s, and as late as 1954 were considered only as throw-away advertising and were expected to be discarded by the purchaser. Now generally valuable and collectible when accompanying a collectible book.

dust wrapper. another term for dust jacket.

DW / dw. dust wrapper. See dust jacket.

< E >

E / e. edition.

e-book. any of a number of types of electronically published books. Being a very recent invention, the collectibility of e-books has yet to be determined.

ecru. another word for beige.

ed. 1. edition. 2. editor. 3. edited. 4. education.

edges. 1. thin outer surfaces of the boards. 2. thin outer surfaces of the pages of a book. 3. outer surfaces of the text block.

edgeworn. edges are rubbed or worn. Usually refers to minor wear to boards.

edited. prepared for publication.

editio princeps (Latin: first edition). usually used to describe an antiquarian first edition.

edition. 1. all the copies of a book printed from the same plates. 2. all the copies of a book having the same version of the text. See first edition. Compare printing.

editor. one who gathers material for a book, oversees a text written by others, or makes a text more readable.

8vo. octavo. See Part C. Size Terms. (Note: This term does not mean 8 volumes.)

elephant folio. an extremely large book, about (50 cm) 23" tall or larger.

else fine. other than defects noted, the condition is Fine.

else very good. other than defects noted, the condition is Very Good.

ember holes. holes, usually small and blackened, caused from the book having been near flying hot ashes. Normally found only in antiquarian books.

embossed. having a raised surface, usually referring to raised lettering or raised ornamentation on the binding. Sometimes described as in relief. When the design is indented rather than raised, the term is debossed.

embroidered. a fancy type of decorated binding consisting of cloth bearing hand-applied decorations in colored thread. Such books were popular in the 1500s.

endpaper / ep / eppr. sheet of paper pasted onto the inner cover, joining the text block to the cover. Endpapers have two halves: the paste-down is pasted to the inside cover; the free endpaper is left free. Enpapers are sometimes called liners. Endpapers made of leather or silk are called doublures.

engraving. type of illustration usually made from a metal plate, technically called a line engraving, the other type being a wood engraving. See also copper plate engraving, steel engraving.

envelope flap. a type of self-closing binding having a triangular flap extending from the rear board that folds over the fore-edge and goes under the front board. Most often seen on Islamic books of the 1700s and earlier, and on stationery.

EP / ep. endpaper.

ephemera (Greek: ephemeron = something that disappears quickly). collectible printed paper items other than books. The term covers a wide range of paper items, such as blotters, broadsides, brochures, cabinet cards, flyers, menus, postcards, playbills, stereographs, ticket stubs, and trading cards, that were intended to be used for a short time then discarded. Most periodicals can be considered ephemera. Some modern plastic items, such as phone cards, are also considered ephemera and are sometimes collectible.

ephemeron. singular of ephemera.

erasures. marks or scuffs indicating removal of pencil lines.

erotica. material, including literature, art, or illustrations, relating to sex and usually intended to be arousing.

errata (Latin: errors). mistakes corrected, usually on an errata page. Sometimes a corrected page is pasted by the publisher over a bound page; in other cases a small piece of paper, called an errata slip, is laid in or bound in a book.

ex. 1. from; as in ex-library = from a library. 2. example.

ex-library / ex-lib / xlib / xl. refers to a book which was once in a lending library, and may have library stamps, a library pocket affixed to the front page or an endpaper, heavy wear, or other defects. While most ex-library copies only rate a condition grade of Good, some can be rated higher, depending on what flaws are present. Compare ex-libris.

ex-libris (Latin: from the library of). bookplate printed with an owner name or initials. Compare ex-library.

example. a particular copy.

exonumia. tokens, medals, badges, and similar metal or coin-like items. Collectible exonumia are related to coins but are not standard currency.

expected. commonly found defects. For example, ex-library with expected marks.

extra fine. Very Fine.

extra illustrated. 1. refers to a copy of a book into which additional illustrations have been bound, or in some cases have been added by the owner. 2. refers to an edition in which additional illustrations have been added.

extremities / extrems / exts. the edges of the book, particularly the corners of the boards and ends of the spine, that usually receive the most wear.

< F >

F. Fine. a very high condition grade, nearly As New, but not perfectly crisp; there are no defects of any kind, no torn pages or any other flaws.

f. / fo. / fol. folio.

Fabrikoid (brand name). an inexpensive coated paper with an imitation leather finish, commonly used for the bindings of inexpensive hardcovers such as book club editions. In use as early as 1933.

facsim. facsimile.

facsimile. 1. an exact reproduction, usually taken from a photo, of an original work, retaining the colors and details of the original. Facsimiles of artworks and autograph letters are often printed as illustrations in books; they are of a much higher quality than photocopies. Abbreviated facsim.

facsimile reprint. a modern type of reprint in which an old and usually rare book has been reproduced, page by page, directly from the original, with no changes made. Compare stereotype edition, Books on Demand.

FAE. first American edition. See first edition.

fair. quite worn. Such a book has all its text pages including those with maps or plates, but may lack endpapers, half title, or other pages, as noted.

fake. imitation.

false. imitation.

false bands. decorative raised bands attached to the backstrip of a book for visual effect, usually to impart a more antique look.

faux leather. imitation leather.

feathered edges. another name for deckle edges.

ferroprussiate print. another term for cyanotype.

ferrotype. another name for tintype.

ff. 1. folios; the plural of folio. 2. bold type; an abbreviation of fullface.

FFEP / ffep / front free endpaper. that half of the front endpaper that is not attached to the inside front cover. Sometimes called a flyleaf.

fibercoid. a type of very thick, heavy buckram.

fiction. material not based on fact, including all types of novels, short stories, and other literature. (Note: A novel loosely based on real events is still considered fiction, not fact.) The opposite is nonfiction.

figures. general term for printed features other than simple text, including diagrams, tables, graphs, formulas, and musical examples.

file photo / wire photo. a form of ephemera being an original news photo issued by a news agency such as International News, Associated Press, or United Press International. Circulated in limited quantities, usually of about 25 to 50. Used extensively in newspapers and other print media in the early to mid 1900s. Authentic file photos can be distinguished by one or more of the following signs: photographer or news agency rubber stamp; newsprint caption attached on the reverse, or on the front for some post-1950s examples; age of the photographic paper.

filk song. a species of song usually consisting of a new lyric written to a familiar tune, and expressing the author's personal attachment to a particular TV show, movie, or star. Filk music is usually met with among science fiction, fantasy, and horror fans. Books of filk songs are usually self published and have a limited circulation.

fillet. long narrow line, rectangular ornament, or repetitive design. Often seen on decorative leather bindings.

filmography. list of films made by one person, or related by a theme. Often found as an appendix.

fine. A very high condition grade. Such a book is nearly As New but is not perfectly crisp; there are no defects of any kind, no torn pages or any other flaws. Some dealers never grade above Fine. See Part C. Condition Grading Terms.

fine binding. general term for any book having a rich, expensive, tastefully done binding, usually of high quality leather. This refers to the materials and artistry of the binding and is not to be confused with Fine as an indication of condition.

first. see first edition.

first edition. first appearance of a work in book or pamphlet form, in its first printing. Only a 1st edition, 1st printing should be described as a first; later printings, such as a

tomfolio

Glossary

Glossary of Book and Ephemera Terms and Abbreviations

Contents:

Part A. Alphabetical List of All Terms

Part B. Size Terms

Part C. Condition Grading Terms

Part A. Alphabetical List of All Terms

< A >

< B >

< C >

< D >

< E >

< F >