How to Describe Rare Books, Manuscripts, Autographs, Maps, Prints, Atlases, First Editions, Illustrated Books - Glossary in English
| Rag book |
A children's book printed on and bound with cloth fabric. |
|---|---|
| Rag paper | |
| Raised bands |
On a cord-bound book, the horizontal raised bands on the spine, usually of a leather binding. Not often used in books published today, except for quality leather-bound editions. |
| Rare, scarce | |
| Re-issue |
A term encompassing all types of a reprinting of a work; it can be a later printing of a book, which is substantially unchanged, or an entirely new edition, such as a cloth edition re-issued as a... |
| Re-sized |
Usually means that all of the pages in the book have been "washed" and sizing material, such as gelatin or glue, has been re-applied. The washing may have been done to remove stains, writing, or... |
| Reading Copy |
A copy which is not a collectible copy, either because it is a reprint edition, or because the condition is so far gone that the cataloger, faced with the prospect of the term "about fair," decides... |
| Rebacked |
The spine or backstrip has been replaced with new material, in some cases the original worn backstrip is saved and glued over the new material. |
| Rebound |
When the boards of the book have been detached or lost from the text of the book, and the binding has been replaced. Sometimes books are rebound simply because a collector appreciates the look more... |
| Recased |
A repair, where a book is taken apart and put back together using original pages, cloth, and endpapers. Usually done to tighten the sewing or to wash the pages, etc. |
| Recased (in an old binding) | |
| Recommendation |
A (usually positive) small review or comment by an important author or commentator that has been printed on the dustwrapper to stimulate interest in the book. Recommendations can be... |
| Recto |
The "front" of a page in a book, or the page that is on the right-hand side of a book when it is opened. Also called the obverse. |
| Reference Library |
What every legitimate bookseller should have, and what many take great pride in. The Internet is a great tool, but it is a poor substitute for a comprehensive library of bibliographic reference... |
| Regesta (documents) | |
| Réglé (exemplaire réglé) | |
| Reinforced corners | |
| Reissue under a new title | |
| Rejointed |
A book which has been repaired preserving the original covers & spine. |
| Remainder |
A new book returned to the publisher as unsold, then re-marketed at a much lower price. |
| Remainder mark |
A mark (rubber stamp, felt marker stroke, or spray, often on a book's bottom edge) signifying that the book was returned to publisher as unsold, and then sold at a much lower price. |
| Remarque | |
| Remboîtage | |
| Repaired, restored | |
| Repertorium | |
| Reprint |
Later printings of a book, or something you usually don't want if you are a first edition collector. You can read them though. There are two common exceptions among collectors: 1) textually or... |
| Reprinting (early methods) | |
| Residue (Stickerghost) |
As in "sticker residue" or "tape residue" - once upon a time long ago, the book in question had a sticker or tape on it, someone removed the latter, but some of the adhesive or some evidence of it... |
| Retouched | |
| Review slip |
A small printed piece of paper either laid into or affixed to a regular trade edition of a book, sent to reviewers, in order or the publisher to stimulate interest in the book. Usually sent out... |
| Ribbed back | |
| Rice paper | |
| Roan |
A soft, flexible, sheepskin binding. This durable, yet cheap, leather material came in to use around 1790 as a replacement for the more expensive morocco leather, and is not known for its elegance. |
| Rocaille | |
| Role-stamp | |
| Roma | |
| Roman Type | |
| Roth 101 |
Andrew Roth's The Book of 101 Books: Seminal Photographic Books of the Twentieth Century, which has been a convenient guide to photography collectors. |
| Rough |
Unpolished suede-like leather, which was primarily used for binding of reference books, music scores, working manuals, and similar books, since the 18th century. Also known as reversed calf. |
| Rubbing |
Wear, often to the edges, caused to a book or dustjacket that is the result of friction, often from being removed and replaced upon a shelf with other books. |
| Rubricated |
"A rubric is a heading to a chapter or section written or printed in red (with a specialised meaning in liturgical books). Rubricated, as used in descriptions of MSS. or early printed books,... |
