Glossary

Stain resulting from water or other liquid damage to a volume.

Natural or sometimes artificial rough edge of page, left uncut.

A binder’s term (from the French lace) meaning a border with a lacy pattern on the inner edge, usually gilt.

Danish: Kniplingsmønster
Dutch: Verguld randwerk, dentelle
French: Dentelle
German: Dentelle
Italian: Merletto
Spanish: Decorado en forma de encaje
Swedish: Dentelle

Descriptive term for a book or pamphlet which has been removed from its binding.

Danish: Uden bind
Dutch: Zonder band, band ontbreekt
French: Dérelié
German: Einband fehlt, ohne Einband, ausgebunden
Italian: Slegato, privo di legatura
Spanish: Sin la tapas, desencuadernado
Swedish: Uttaget ur band

A binder’s term, meaning that the paste-down (or inside lining of the covers) is not of paper but of leather, usually decorated.

Danish: Doublure, opklæbede forsats
Dutch: Doublure, binnenspiegel
French: Doublure
German: Doublure
Italian: Contropiatto
Spanish: Contratapa
Swedish: Foder, pärmfoder

A form of engraving in which the artist incises the surface of the plate with a sharp needle or stylus. This intaglio technique gives the artist the greatest freedom of line, from the most delicate hairline to the heaviest gash. As the artist scores the plate to create the image, ridges of shavings called burr are pushed up to the surface and sit alongside the lines. Because the burr is not cleaned from the plate, as in a copper engraving, it is able to hold ink, yielding lines that are characteristically soft and velvety. Drypoint plates (particularly the burr on them) wear more quickly than etched or engraved plates and therefore show far greater differences from the first impression to the last. Consequently, drypoint editions have fewer impressions.

The paper, often with illustrations and information about the book, used as a protective covering over the book; sometimes called a dust jacket.

Danish: Beskyttelsesomslag
Dutch: Boekomslag, stofomslag
French: Jaquette
German: Schutzumschlag
Italian: Sovracoperta
Spanish: Sobrecubierta
Swedish: Skyddsomslag