From: kamorgan@athena.mit.edu (Keith Morgan)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books
Subject: Re: Book catalogs. Code meanings?
Keywords: Catalogs
Date: 5 Jan 93 04:34:17 GMT
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

John Newman asked about some of the codes used in antiquarian book
catalogs. This has come up before and since it's not in the FAQ I offer
some brief explanations of first, bindings, second, condition
descriptions of out-of-print books, and third, an explanation of some
of the codes John mentions.

Keith
___________________________________________________________________________

			Binding

1. Full Binding: book is completely bound in leather (calf, morocco,
etc.) 

2. Three-Quarter Binding: leather spine and corner occupy only
three-quarters of width of top edge of cover and space between, only
one-quarter. (In large books, space can be one-third.)

3. Half-Bound: leather spine and corner occupy only half width of top
edge.

4. Quarter-Bound: ordinarily with no corners, leather spine occupies
only one-quarter width of top edge. Measurements are approximate.
Don't worry; you will find French (and other) quarterbounds with small
("bat-wing") corners, true "half-bound" spines with no corners
(generally Continental bindings).

5. Three-Quarter, Half, and Quarter-Cloth: in these bindings cloth
instead of leather is the spine and corner material,  in the
proportions mentioned above, with the balance of the cover in paper
boards.

FORMAT			ANTIQUARIAN		NEW-BOOK

F (folio)		over 13"		over 30 cm
4to (quarto)		     12"	 	     30 cm
8vo (octavo)	              9"		     25 cm
12 mo (duodecimo)	    7-8"		     20 cm
16 mo (sextodecimo)         6-7"		 17 1/2 cm
24 mo (vigesimoquarto)      5-6"		     15 cm
32 mo (trigesimosecundo)    4-5"                 12 1/2 cm

			Condition Descriptions
		          Out-of-Print Books

Fine --		No signs of wear; next state to being new.
VG (Very Good)- Minimum signs of wear; a clean, tight copy.
G+ (Good+) --   Better than "Good", but not quite "Very Good."     	
G (Good) --     An average used and somewhat worn book.
Fair --         A well-worn book that has the complete text, but the
                binding can be shaken, and the cover may be badly
		worn.
Reading Copy -  A complete book, but not much more can be said for it;
		mainly used for information.


       Condition Descriptions as Used in Out-of-Print Book Trade

1. 	*As New* is to be used when the book is in the same immaculate
	condition in which it was published. There can be no defects,
	no missing pages, no library stamps, etc., and the dust jacket
	should be perfect without any tears.

2. 	*Fine* approaches the condition of newness without being
	`crisp' but there are again no defects, etc., and if jacket
	has small tear, etc., or looks worn, it should be noted.

3. 	*Very Good* is a used book that does show some small signs of
	wear - but not tear - on binding, paper, jackets. No defects.

4. 	*Good* is average used and worn book, but still with all the 
	pages present.

5. 	*Fair* is a well-worn book that has complete text, but may
	lack endpapers, half-title, etc. Binding, jacket (if any)
	etc., may also be badly worn. Note any defects.

6. 	*Poor* is reserved for a book so badly worn that its only
	merit is as a "reading" or "working" copy because it does have
	the complete text which must be legible. Soiled, scuffed,
	stained, spotted binding, loose joints, hinges and pages, etc.

7. 	*Ex-lib*. No matter what the condition of the book, it must
	always be noted if it is an `ex-library copy'.

8. 	*Book-Club* edition must always be noted. (Same as 7).


			References

Carter, John. *ABC for book-collectors*. Sixth ed., with corrections
	and additions by Nicolas Barker. London: Granada, 1980.


Glaister, Geoffrey Ashall. *Glaister's glossary of the book*. 2nd ed.
	completely rev. Berkeley: University of California Press,
	1979.

Turner, Mary C. *The bookman's glossary.* Fourth ed., rev. New York:
	Bowker, 1961.

________________________________________________________________________




--

Keith Morgan kamorgan@athena.mit.edu
In the end nothing could be said of his work except that it was
preposterous and true and totally unacceptable. Edward Whittemore
Newsgroups: rec.arts.books