Before The Industrial Revolution European Society and Economy, 1000 - 1700

Glossary

First Edition

In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...[more]

shelf wear

Shelf wear (shelfwear) describes damage caused over time to a book by placing and removing a book from a shelf. This damage is...[more]

octavo

Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...[more]

New

A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects,...[more]

jacket

Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...[more]

title page

A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...[more]

tight

Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.

spine

The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....[more]

edges

The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...[more]

plate

Full page illustration or photograph. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e.,...[more]