The appearance and line quality of a wood engraving is similar to that of a copperplate engraving. The lines are rigid, noticeably tapered at the ends, and vary in thickness and length to create tone and texture. Wood and copper differ insofar as a copper engraving is printed using an intaglio technique where the incised lines receive ink, and print on paper as black. Wood engravings are printed in relief; the ink is rolled onto the surface, so the incised lines remain white.

Danish: Træsnit
Dutch: Houtsnede
French: Gravure sur bois
German: Holzstich
Italian: Incisione in legno, xilografia
Spanish: Grabado en madera
Swedish: Træsnitt

A type of print made by drawing or painting onto the surface of a zinc plate in much the same manner as used in “lithography”.

A style of binding where the edges of the covers overlap the exposed edges of the paper . It is named after a London bookseller who invented it around 1860, and is mostly used for books of devotion and verse.

Illustrations produced when the original printing plate was engraved on a block of wood. One of the oldest methods of printing, dating back to eigth century China.

French: Gravure sur bois
German: Holzschnitt
Swedish: Träsnitt

The paper covers of a pamphlet, often of a paper of heavier weight than the text paper; when you see “wrappers” you know the item is not a hard bound book, but is instead a pamphlet or magazine with paper covers.

French: Couverture, jaquette

An image, logo, or symbol embedded in a sheet of paper that identifies the mill at which the paper was made as well as the paper type/style, and in some cases, a date. The mill’s logo is woven with wire into the mesh of the paper mould and as a result less pulp collects on top and around the image making that area of the page thinner. Watermarks, which are typically located in the lower right corner of a sheet of paper, are often only visible when the sheet of paper is held in front of a light.

A small ornamental or decorative design, used on a title page or as a head- or tailpiece to a chapter or division of a book. Also, any illustration not enclosed in a border or squared off at the edges but shading away.

Danish: Vignet
Dutch: Vignet
French: Vignette
German: Vignette
Italian: Vignetta
Spanish: Viñeta
Swedish: Vignett, även vinjett

The reverse or opposite or left-hand side, especially used in reference to a leaf which has a recto and verso side; in a open book the recto is the right hand page and the verso is the left hand page; in the case of a broadside only the recto is printed and the verso is blank.

True vellum is a thin specially treated untanned “leather” from calf skin, also known as parchment (high quality parchment from calf skin is called vellum; general quality parchment is made from calf, goat or sheep skin); used for documents and for book bindings; many early books have vellum bindings.

French: Vélin
Italian: Pergamena
Spanish: Pergamino