Refers to the application of metallic gold or a gold-colored finish to the top, fore, and bottom edges of the text block.See Gilt Edges.

The first example shows gilt edges with square corners and the second image shows gilt with rounded corners.

American Booksellers Association, founded in 1900, is a national not-for-profit trade organization that works to help independently-owned bookstores grow and succeed. ABA’s core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and to assist them ABA provides education, information dissemination, business products, and services; creates relevant programs; and engages in public policy, industry, and local first advocacy.

Traditionally a seller of older rare books. In today’s usage, the term describes a bookseller whose stock in trade is primarily old, rare, and/or collectible books.

The Antiquarian Booksellers Association is a  trade association in the British Isles for dealers in antiquarian and rare books, manuscripts, and allied materials. Founded in 1906, it is the oldest organization of its kind in the world. ABA is the UK equivalent of the ABAA.

Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America is a trade association of booksellers, established in 1949, with over 450 members located throughout the United States, specializing in fine and rare books, maps, documents, autographs, illuminated manuscripts, ephemera, and prints spanning the economic spectrum. ABAA is the U.S. equivalent of the U.K. ABA.

Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of Canada is a trade association of booksellers in Canada, founded in 1966 with the aim of fostering interest in rare books and manuscripts and maintaining high standards in the antiquarian book trade. ABAC is the Canadian equivalent of the U.K. ABA.

Arbitrage is the financial term for buying an item in one market or venue and offering it in another market or venue, so as to take advantage of price differences between the markets. Applied to books, someone might buy a book on one site to sell on another, thus taking advantage of pricing differences. This can produce greater profit, after all costs, than use of a sole marketplace. Sellers can exploit buyers' ingrained habit of making nearly all purchases using one online venue rather than looking at the universe of offerings. Price differentials between markets have reinforced the practice termed bookjacking. See bookjacking / bookjacker. Sites like viaLibri.net search multiple bookselling sites and allow one to see pricing differentials between sites.

Advance Review (or Reader's or Reading) Copy. A special pre-publication copy distributed by publishers for review purposes. ARCs are sent to reviewers and editors prior to publication date. ARCs are usually softbound in wrappers, which may be similar to dust jacket art of the first trade edition, but the wrappers are more typically merely printed text. ARCs are sometimes issued as a hardcover with a review slip laid in by the publisher. Occasionally the distribution of ARCs lead to textual differences between an advance review copy and a first edition. The textual differences between various versions may give value to ARCs to the collector.

A particular copy of a book once belonging to the author, or signed or annotated by the author to someone closely associated with the author of the book or the book itself in some way.

The image shows an author-to-author association, with an inscription to fantasy novelist David Gemmell who lived near the author.

Since 1977 this Australia-based organization has promoted the welfare and growth of the antiquarian book trade. Australian & New Zealand Association of Antiquarian Booksellers encourages its members to follow ethical and honourable trade practices and provides statements of policy regarding public and political issues that affect the antiquarian book trade, collecting, and libraries. The hosting of book fairs is one of the main activities of the organization.

Around the turn of the nineteenth century, many titles in the international book trade were “pirated,” or published without authorization. The “Author’s Edition” let the reader know that the book was published with the author’s approval.

A letter written entirely in the hand of an individual and signed by them.

The image depicts a hand-written, signed college acceptance letter.

A strip used by binder to reinforce the back of folded sheets in the binding of the spine. Sometimes used as a synonym to Spine.

Founded in 1954, the Baltimore Bibliophiles is the only major United States bibliophilic society founded by women. "The purpose of the Baltimore Bibliophiles is “to provide a focal point for community interest in matters pertaining to books and manuscripts, bindings, typography, printing, paper, preservation, calligraphy, book illustration, cartography and related fields.” Annually, the organization has five meetings, each featuring an invited speaker lecturing on bibliographic topics.

http://www.baltimorebibliophiles.org/

Boards edges are cut at an angle before covering material is added. The angle and board thickness can vary and generally gives a pleasing effect.

A reference work detailing published titles on a given subject or by a given author; used by book sellers and collectors to verify the authenticity of an edition or issue of a given title.

The image depicts a bibliography of The Golden Cockerel Press, one of many issued by the press to document its work by period of issue.

A lover of books. Sometimes also called a Bookworm.

Material used as a protective cover for the pages of a book (e.g.: leather, cloth, buckram, paper, etc.)

A book whose text block is complete and serviceable (and usually in reasonably good condition), but contained within a binding that is defective or incomplete. The term suggests that the book is suitable for rebinding. Note: Technically, what we call bindings on most books today, where the text block is glued in (in a hardcover book the text block is glued to a cover by some mull and end sheet paper, and in a softcover book normally the text block is glued directly to the spine of the cover), is actually a casing. Traditionally, bindings were actually sewn to the collected gatherings. The two terms- Binding and Casing – are, becoming interchangeable today).

The image shows a binding copy of The Essence of Malone by George Hardinge. All signatures are present and are fit for stitching and binding.

Damage to a book caused by a living thing. Common sources of biopredation are insects, animals and other small organisms such as molds.