Special Sub-Topic: Book Collecting Click Here To Play: Book Collecting

When you open an ordinary book what is the first page called?

The free end-paper. Sometimes mistakenly called the fly-leaf. The free end-paper is opposite the paste-down end-paper which is stuck to the front board.

In the world of book-collecting the name of Thomas Wise is famous. For what is he known?

As a forger. Wise's forgeries of such authors as Elizabeth Barrett-Browning are so notorious that they sometimes fetch better prices than the originals.

If you saw the letters t.e.g. in a book auction catalogue, what would it mean?

Top edge gilt. The other frequently seen abbreviation is a.e.g. - all edges gilt.

Books before a certain date are called 'incunabula' (or 'incunables'). What date?

1501. From 'incunabulum' the Latin for a cradle. These books are from the cradle of printing.

The format of books depends on how many times each sheet of paper used in its manufacture has been folded. How many times would the sheet have been folded for an octavo format book?

3. 1 fold is a folio, 2 is quarto and 4 is sexto-decimo or 16mo.

What is a colophon ?

Details of author, publisher, date, etc at the end of a book. Frequently incorrectly used of printer's or publisher's device or logo.

The famous family of Dutch bookbinders the Elsevirs were specially known for what feature in their books?

Wide margins. Fussy collectors eagerly seek 'a tall Elsevir'.

A bibliophile is a lover of books, a bibliopole is a seller of books but what is a bibliopegist?

A collector of fine bindings. This term is also used of bookbinders.

If a book was described as half-bound in leather, what would you expect?

Only the spine and the corners of the book in leather. If the leather was only at the spine the book would be described as 'quarter-bound'.

A book is made up of single sheets of paper folded. The amount of the book from one sheet of paper is known as what?

Any of these. The thickness of each signature will depend on the format of the book. Frequently a signature letter will be found on the first page of each gathering (normally alphabetically from A to Z then AA to ZZ etc.).