rubbing : Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.

dust jacket : A protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps around the binding of a book.

plates : Full page illustrations or photographs. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e., they are not sewn as parts of gatherings.

F/VG : Fine condition book, with a Very Good condition dust jacket. Fine approaches the condition of As New, but without being crisp. For the use of the term Fine there must also be no defects, etc., and if the jacket has a small tear, or other defect, or looks worn, those should be noted. Very Good can describe a used book that does show some small signs of wear - but no tears - on either binding or paper. Any defects must be noted. (condition definitions from AB Bookman's Weekly).