How to Describe Rare Books, Manuscripts, Autographs, Maps, Prints, Atlases, First Editions, Illustrated Books - Glossary in English

Table of contents	» See translations
Table, index	» See translations
Tail	The bottom of the spine, also called the foot, of either the book or jacket » See complete definition and translations
Tail piece	» See translations
Tail-piece, endpiece	» See translations
Taille-douce	» See translations
Tanning	Darkening to paper and inks, often from exposure to sunlight, but sometimes resulting simply from prolonged exposure to ambient light. Books kept on a shelf for several decades will usually exhibit... » See complete definition and translations
Tarnished	Darkening of gilt lettering and decoration through oxidation over time. » See complete definition and translations
Temporary binding	» See translations
Tender	When the binding is loosening. » See complete definition and translations
Text woodcut	» See translations
Textblock	The rectangular accumulation of paper that constitute the pages inside a book. The textblock, after being tarted out with a binding, would constitute your garden-variety book. » See complete definition and translations
The Australian and New Zealand Association of Antiquarian Booksellers (ANZAAB)	The Australian and New Zealand Association of Antiquarian Booksellers (ANZAAB) was founded in 1977 and belongs to the League since 1978. The ANZAAB has 62 members today. Its President is Peter... » See complete definition and translations
Thesis	» See translations
Thesis, dissertation	» See translations
Thongs	» See translations
Three quarter binding	Volume has leather spine and corners which occupy approx. 3/4 of the space along top edge of board (cover). The remainder of the board is covered with marbled paper, plain paper, cloth, different... » See complete definition and translations
Thumb index	» See translations
Thus	As in "first edition thus," usually a reissue but with some new material that we hope some collector out there will care about. Sometimes the new material is illustrations, or a new introduction,... » See complete definition and translations
Tidemark	A line on paper caused by its interaction with water. Increased global warming may result in more of this, especially if you live at the shore. Differs from a stain in that tidemark connotes a... » See complete definition and translations
Ties	» See translations
Tinted	» See translations
Tipped-in	Attached to, but not integral to the binding of the book. We usually use this term to indicate something that has been added: a letter from the author, a newspaper or magazine review or obituary,... » See complete definition and translations
Tissue guard	A leaf of light, usually translucent tissue paper bound or laid over a plate or illustration to protect it and prevent off-setting to adjoining leaves. Almost invariable the plate doesn’t offset... » See complete definition and translations
Title engraving (engraved title)	» See translations
Title Page	The page where the full title, author, and other information appears, usually including the publisher, place of publication, and date. Information on the title page might constitute an issue point,... » See complete definition and translations
Title vignette	» See translations
TLS	Abbreviation for "Typed Letter Signed," which is a letter that has been typed, but has been hand-signed by its author. » See complete definition and translations
To publish	» See translations
Tool, stamp	» See translations
Tooling	The decoration of leather bindings. » See complete definition and translations
Top edge, head of a page	» See translations
Topedge and Top Edge Gilt	The flat surface that is created at the top of the textblock by the accumulated edges of the pages of a book. Sometimes called the "top edge," the space denoting a pause, during which the... » See complete definition and translations
Torn out	» See translations
Touch of	Some form of wear that is slight but worthy of mention, as in "fine, with a touch of rubbing" – just a tad, a trifle, a pinch, a soupcon, (whose got a Roget's?). » See complete definition and translations
Tracing	» See translations
Trade edition	The edition of a book intended for the public, such as would be sold in bookstores, as opposed to a limited edition, uncorrected proof, etc., which are intended for a more limited audience. » See complete definition and translations
Trade paperback	When the cloth-bound trade edition is issued by the same publisher, sometimes simultaneously, but bound in wrappers. Because the same sheets are used, such issues are often quite larger than... » See complete definition and translations
Translation	» See translations
True first	The correct first edition of a book, from its original country of origin. The term is most often used when the earliest edition is not obvious, or when copies most often offered in the book trade... » See complete definition and translations
Type, character	» See translations
Typescript	A generic term meaning a manuscript that has been typed with a typewriter, as opposed to handwritten, printed, mimeographed, computer generated, etc. » See complete definition and translations
Typographer	» See translations

Rare Book Gallery

Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or...

SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)

Bookseller: Donald Heald Rare Books

Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or Birds of Paradise and Ptilonorhynchidae, and Bower-Birds

London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co, 1891-98. 2 volumes in 8 original parts, large folio. (22 3/16 x 15 1/16 inches). Smaller... More

London: Taylor & Francis for Henry Sotheran & Co, 1891-98. 2 volumes in 8 original parts, large folio. (22 3/16 x 15 1/16 inches). Smaller format letterpress "Notice to Subscribers" tipped in at front of part VI, smaller format "Completion of the work" notice from the publishers tipped in at front of part VIII. 79 fine hand-coloured lithographic plates by William Mathew Hart, after his own drawings (52) and John Gould (20) or John Gerrard Keulemans (7), 13 uncoloured illustrations. Original pictorial grey paper-covered boards, dark blue cloth spines, the upper cover of each part with the letterpress title beneath a large wood-engraved title vignette, the eight parts contained in two dark green morocco-backed cloth boxes, the spines in six compartments with raised bands, lettered in the second and third compartments, the others with repeat decoration in gilt made up from various small tools. A very fine copy of this, the first monograph devoted to these remarkable birds and the "last of the fine bird books" (Fine Bird Books p.107). This copy, in original parts, with the best colouring of any copy that we have handled in past forty years. The remarkable-looking Birds of Paradise have captivated western science since Magellan first brought back a skin of such a creature in 1522. The skins, highly prized by East Indian natives, was given by the ruler of Batchian (in the Mollucas) as a gift to the King of Spain. The legs and wings of the bird, however, had been removed when skinned, presumably to better show its impressive plumage. When asked why the bird had no wings or feet, the natives replied that none were needed as the bird simply floated in its heavenly paradise. Thus, the earliest descriptions of the species, and indeed even its scientific naming by Linnaeus in the 18th century as Paradisaea apoda (legless bird of paradise), perpetuated that myth. Due to the remote nature of their rain forest habitat in New Guinea, it was not until the mid-19th century that these remarkable birds were first scientifically observed and accurately described. Gould had intended to publish a the first monograph devoted to the birds of paradise following completion of his Birds of New Guinea, but he did not live to do so. When Sharpe took over the task of completing that work, he appealed for subscribers for the proposed monograph. The response was clearly enthusiastic as within three years the first part of the present work was published. Some of the plates had previously appeared in Gould's Birds of New Guinea as "Messrs. Sotheran purchased the stock of Gould's works after his death [and] acquired the stones with which he had intended to illustrate his Monograph... Many of them were broken or otherwise damaged, and of these some have been redrawn or replaced by new plates by Mr. Hart. Since Gould's time, however, many marvelous new species have been discovered, and these have been described and figured in the present work" (Appendix). As the small format slip in part six makes clear, the timing of the publication of the work could not have been better, as so many beautiful new species were discovered whilst the work was in preparation that Sharpe felt justified in extending the size of the work from six to eight parts. Copies of this work were issued at a later date with inferior hand-colouring. The quality of the colouring of the plates in the present copy is outstanding, and it is only with examples of this work in the original parts that the colouring can be guaranteed to be contemporary with the original publication dates. Copies such as the present example are very rare: only three are listed as having sold at auction in the past thirty years. Fine Bird Books (1990) p.107; Nissen IVB 581; Ripley 263; Wood, p.565; Zimmer, p.581. Less

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Biblio

Price: 95000.00 USD

The Federalist: A Collection of...

[HAMILTON, Alexander (1739-1802), James MADISON (1751-1836) and John JAY (1745-1829)]

Bookseller: Donald Heald Rare Books

The Federalist: A Collection of Essays, written in favour of the new Constitution, as agreed upon by the Federal Convention, September 17, 1787

New York: Printed and sold by John and Andrew M'Lean, 1788. 2 volumes, 12mo. (6 1/8 x 3 3/4 inches). vi, 227; vi, 384pp. Expertly bound to style in... More

New York: Printed and sold by John and Andrew M'Lean, 1788. 2 volumes, 12mo. (6 1/8 x 3 3/4 inches). vi, 227; vi, 384pp. Expertly bound to style in contemporary tree calf, the covers with a neo-classical Greek-key roll- tool border, the flat spine tooled in gilt, divided into six compartments with a Greek-key roll, lettered in the second compartment, numbered in the fourth, the others with an elegant repeat pattern in gilt, both contained within a recent black morocco box, spine gilt. Rare first edition of the most important work of American political thought ever written and according to Thomas Jefferson "the best commentary on the principles of government." The first edition of The Federalist comprises the first collected printing of the 85 seminal essays written in defense of the newly-drafted Constitution. The essays were first issued individually by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay in New York newspapers under the pseudonym 'Publius' to garner support for the ratification of the Constitution. This first collected edition was published in early 1788: volume I published in March, contains the first 36 numbers, volume II published in May, includes the remaining 49, together with the text of the Constitution. Upon its publication, George Washington noted to Alexander Hamilton that the work "will merit the Notice of Posterity; because in it are candidly and ably discussed the principles of freedom and the topics of government, which will always be interesting to mankind" (George Washington, letter to Hamilton, 28 August 1788). The genesis of this "classic exposition of the principles of republican government" (R.B. Bernstein, Are We to be a Nation? The Making of the Constitution, 1987, p.242) is to be found in the "great national discussion" which took place about the ratification of the Constitution, and the necessity of answering the salvos in print from the Anti-Federalists and other opponents of a strong Federal government. The original plan was that James Madison and John Jay were to help Hamilton write a series of essays explaining the merits of their system, whilst also rebutting the arguments of its detractors. "Hamilton wrote the first piece in October 1787 on a sloop returning from Albany...He finished many pieces while the printer waited in a hall for the completed copy" (R. Brookhiser Alexander Hamilton: American, 1999, pp.68-69). In the end, well over half of the 85 essays were written by Hamilton alone. Despite the intense time pressures under which the series was written "what began as a propaganda tract, aimed only at winning the election for delegates to New York's state ratifying convention, evolved into the classic commentary upon the American Federal system" (F. McDonald Alexander Hamilton: A Biography, p.107). The Federalist is without question the most important commentary on the Constitution, the most significant American contribution to political theory and among the most important of all American books. Church 1230; Cohen 2818; Evans 21127; Ford 17; Grolier American 100, 19; Howes H114, "c"; Printing and the Mind of Man 234; Sabin 23979; Streeter Sale 1049. Less

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Price: 225000.00 USD

[GUTENBERG BIBLE]. A noble fragment :...

GUTENBERG, Johannes (c. 1398 - 1468)

Bookseller: Douglas Stewart Fine Books

[GUTENBERG BIBLE]. A noble fragment : being a leaf of The Gutenberg Bible 1450 - 55

With a bibliographical essay by A. Edward Newton. New York : Gabriel Wells, 1921. Designed by Bruce Rogers and printed by William Edwin Rudge.... More

With a bibliographical essay by A. Edward Newton. New York : Gabriel Wells, 1921. Designed by Bruce Rogers and printed by William Edwin Rudge. Folio, full black blindstamped gilt-lettered morocco by Stikeman & Co. (corners a little rubbed, a few mm loss to foot of spine), gilt dentelles, [6] pp. preliminary text, with an original leaf of the Gutenberg Bible tipped-in. The leaf measures 388 x 287 mm. printed on recto and verso, black gothic lettering of forty-two lines in double columns, rubricated in red, with headlines, chapter numbers, and large initial letters in red and blue, being three two-line initials (two 'E's' and one 'P'), three Roman numeral verse numbers, and the headline. A very good example with wide margins, some minor foxing, the ink black and crisp. The text is the Vulgate Latin text of Jeremiah Chapters 15 and 16 in their entirety, with the closing ten lines of Chapter 14 and first eight lines of Chapter 17. "Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth." A LEAF FROM THE FIRST WESTERN BOOK PRINTED BY MOVABLE TYPE. "Its printers were competing in the market hitherto supplied by the producers of high-class manuscripts. The design of the book and the layout of the book were therefore based on the book-hand and manuscript design of the day, and a very high standard of press-work was required--and obtained--to enable the new mechanical product to compete successfully with its hand-produced rivals. Standards were set in quality of paper and blackness of ink, in design and professional skill, which the printers of later generations have found difficult to maintain." (Printing and the Mind of Man). Only forty-eight copies of the Bible are known, most of which are incomplete. The provenance of this leaf is the imperfect Mannheim-Zouch-Sabin copy, divided into leaves and sections by New York bookseller Gabriel Wells nearly a century ago. The Gutenberg Bible, the first complete book printed in Western culture using the radical technology of movable pieces of type, is perhaps the most famous and important book in the world. Complete examples are now rarely procurable in the marketplace, yet a single leaf, extracted from an incomplete copy of the Bible by New York dealer Gabriel Wells in 1921, captivates the imagination when one contemplates the impact this revolution of the Renaissance had on humanity. Printing and the Mind of Man 1. Exhibited: 'The Mirror of the World', State Library of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, October 2009 - October 2011, alternating on view with the example of The Noble Fragment held in that institution's collection. Less

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Price: 85000.00 AUD

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How to Describe Rare Books, Manuscripts, Autographs, Maps, Prints, Atlases, First Editions, Illustrated Books - Glossary in English

Rare Book Gallery

Monograph of the Paradiseidae, or...

SHARPE, Richard Bowdler (1847-1909)

The Federalist: A Collection of...

[HAMILTON, Alexander (1739-1802), James MADISON (1751-1836) and John JAY (1745-1829)]

[GUTENBERG BIBLE]. A noble fragment :...

GUTENBERG, Johannes (c. 1398 - 1468)