Book and Dust Jacket (dj) Conditions:

• Fine:  The book (and jacket) looks to be in the same condition as when purchased.  Be wary of this description: some sellers use it too liberally; it is not uncommon for used books to be in this condition.
• Very Good:  The book or jacket is not far from the fine condition, but there are some signs of wear from use.  Any damage will be mentioned in the description
• Good:  This is the condition of most used books and jackets (dj); there is obvious wear through use, but no obvious misuse.  Any damage will be mentioned in the description.
• Fair:  There is significant wear to the book, especially the covers (boards).  Individual points of damage will be mentioned in the description.
• Poor:  The book is generally poor condition and does not look presentable, however, the text is still readable.  This book condition is often described as a "reading copy."

Binding:

• Hardback:  Along with paperbacks, the common format of book publications.  Usually the book will first be published as a hardback, then paperback.  The covers (boards) will be stiff and often be covered in a dust jacket (dj) used to advertise the contents of the book.
• Soft back:  Usually a larger version of paperback with better quality materials, often the cover is quite stiff.
• Trade Paperback:  Usually better materials have been used than the on a paperback and often the book is larger.
• Mass Market Paperback:  The most common form of non-hardback book, cheap, small and usually produced in large quantities.
• Paper Covers:  These are usually small print runs and the cover is literally paper or light card.  Often these books are produced during a time of limited resources such as wartime.
• Pictorial Covers:  A form of hard-back; often there will be no dust jacket and as suggested by the name, the cover will be pictorial; often photographic
• Cloth Covers:  Often an older or better quality hard back, and sometimes before the common use of dust jackets, the covers are covered in cloth material
• Leather:  The best quality hard back.  The leather may cover the whole (or part of the) book; this will be clarified in the description of the book (full leather: covers the entire book; 3/4 leather covers the spine and extends a little out onto the cover.  Each corner is also covered in triangular fashion; 1/2 leather covers the spine and extends a little way onto the cover).

Book sizes:

• 64mo:  up to 3" tall (7.5cm)
• 48mo:  3" to 4" tall (7.5 - 10cm)
• 32mo:  4" to 5" tall (10 - 12.75cm)
• 24mo:  5" to 5 3/4" tall (12.75 - 14.5cm)
• 16mo:  5 3/4" to 6 3/4" tall (14.5 - 17.25cm)
• 12mo:  6 3/4" to 7 3/4" tall (17.25 - 19.85cm)
• 8vo:      7 3/4" to 9 3/4" tall (19.75 - 24.75cm)
• 4to:       9 3/4" to 12" tall (24.75 - 30.5cm)
• Folio:    12" to 15" tall (30.5 - 38cm)
• Elephant Folio:  15" to 23" tall (38 - 58.5cm)
• Atlas Folio:         23" to 25" tall (58.5 - 63.5cm)
• Double Elephant:  25" to 50" tall (63.5 - 127cm)

Common Abbreviations:

• dj:     dust jacket (wrapper)
• b/w:  Black & white
• pp:    pages
• o/w:  otherwise
• o/s:   Out-size, i.e., large
• Ex-lib:  Formerly a library book (usually with various library markings)

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