Hinges or joints beginning to show signs of tearing, either through wear or defective binding.

Variations within an edition, which are made prior to publication; can include:

• alterations due to stop-press insertions, damaged type, etc.
• the addition of errata leaves, advertisements.
• textual changes affecting page lay-out.
• some special-paper copies.

This term applies only in connection with the printed pages, and not variations in bindings. (e.g.: a small number of copies of Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls were erroneously printed without the photographer’s credit on the back of the dust jacket. The presses were stopped midway through the first run, the credit was added, and the second state of the first edition resulted.)

A sticker has been left on a book for some time, and the glue, reacting chemically, has discolored the surface. Also, sticker residue.

Color sprayed on a book’s external edges.

Leaves are bound by tying with string, cord, or lacing that passes through drilled or punched holes. Typically, the leaves can be loose with board covers or folded and gathered in wraps. The first example image shows a side-stitched binding. The second example image shows a saddle-stitched binding. See Whipstitching.

Browning, yellowing, or fading of paper, dust jacket or binding as a result of sun exposure.

In the pictured image, the spine is sunned.

Bottom edge of the text block. Can also refer to the lower end of the spine.

Complications of adhesive-backed tape that remain on pages or covers of a book, resulting in staining or remnants of adhesive or tape adhering to the surface.

The first image shows a dust jacket stained from the adhesive of tape that deteriorated and fell off. The dust jacket flap was also stained from the remaining adhesive contacted it. The second image shows staining from tape that was removed from a book's endpaper. The surface tear of the endpaper is evidence that the tape was still well-adhered when removed. The third image shows staining where tape was used to retain a jacket protector. The adjacent smudges are likely from an ill-advised attempt to remove the stain. A remnant of tape is still attached to the jacket.

Refers to a hinge beginning to come loose. The binding is still together but there is some movement in the board.

Tête-bêche describes one volume that binds the text blocks of two separate works, one text running head-to-tail and one text running tail-to-head. Such a book has two front covers, a common spine, and no back covers.

These images show a Czech language tête-bêche volume of two collections of short stories, first published together in 1929. The first image shows the opposed covers, the second shows the opposed, facing tables of contents, and the third shows the dust jacket that replicates the covers.

Pages containing the content of a book (text, illustrations, etc.) bound together; does not include endpapers or covers.

The Bibliographical Society of America is an international, interdisciplinary, scholarly organization that has fostered the study of books and other textual artifacts in traditional and emerging formats since 1904. The BSA pursues this mission by hosting public programs, funding scholarly research, conferring awards, issuing publications, and collaborating with related organizations. The Society is committed to adopting policies and procedures that support and promote equity and inclusion in all programs, and to providing equal access to their events and electronic resources to people with disabilities and other access needs.

The Society offers electronic access to a number of reference resources, found here:

https://bibsocamer.org/bibsite-home/list-of-resources/

The Ephemera Society of America exists to promote the personal and institutional appreciation and preservation of ephemera. Emphasis is placed on historic significance and the enjoyment of ephemeral material by people of all ages, backgrounds, and interest levels. The Society sponsors an annual convention, as well as related seminars, exhibitions, shows, and conferences. The Ephemera Journal is a full-color publication published as a member benefit.

https://www.ephemerasociety.org

The Club has promoted “the study, collecting, and appreciation of books and works on paper" for the benefit of its membership since 1884. Its public benefits include the hosting of exhibitions, lectures, and symposia, plus the publishing of exhibition catalogs and fine books on the various book arts. The Grolier Club maintains a research library of more than 100,000 volumes devoted to the art and history of the book.

Founded in England in 1812, The Roxburghe Club is the world's oldest society of bibliophiles. Maintaining only 40 members with scholarly interest in books, the Club focuses on the publication of fine press editions of previously unpublished manuscripts, unknown or neglected works of history and English literature, and the reprinting of rare texts. Nearly 300 volumes have been published and feature fine printing and typography, with "Roxburghe Binding" that has been adopted by many fine presses.

The Zamorano Club is an organization of bibliophiles and manuscript collectors and is the oldest of its type in Southern California. Since 1928 it has offered lectures and publications, the most famous being the publications Zamorano 80 and Zamorano Select which identify significant books in California's history.

Thinning occurs when paper is damaged by removing a layer of the fibers that make up the paper. This can occur to any part of a book or paper item, and may cause portions of a text to be unreadable.

In the first example, a sticker has been removed roughly with resulting loss to a layer of the cover. In the second example, a newsletter stuck to another document resulting in damage seen at the top of the page.

Founded by a bibliophilic and scholarly family, the Ticknor Society is dedicated to the enjoyment and promotion of books and book culture. This Massachusetts organization supports book collectors, booksellers, librarians, historians, archivists, and those in the printing and publishing realms. The Society hosts exhibition and library collection tours, roundtable discussions at book fairs, and other events for members and the public. An annual competition judges private collections in the six New England states, USA.

https://www.ticknor.org/

Refers to binding that has not been loosened by frequent opening of the book. This term has been overused and should not be a default description without examining the book in-hand.

Paper, photograph, or print produced separately from the main text and glued down by only a narrow strip.