Glossary of Rare Book Terms
What is a rare book? What is signed versus inscribed? What is a first edition? What does 8vo stand for?
Find some of the common jargon booksellers and bookcollectors often use.
Would you like to see a glossary term added? A term you heard but don't know what it means? Suggest a Term
Paper Proof
A paper proof is issued later in the editing process, when all mistakes and changes have presumably been made. The paper proof is therefore the “final version” before a book officially is printed for release. Unlike galleys, paper proofs generally have “all the details,” such as pagination, indices, and illustrations. They are sometimes also called uncorrected proofs.
Paste-Down
That half of the endpaper which lines the inside
cover (its other half is often called the free endpaper). Binders generally refer to the paste-down as the board-paper.
Pritzel
Reference/Bibliography: G. A. Pritzel; Thesaurus literaturae botanicae. Leipzig, 1871-1877.
