Subscription

Expensive books, privately printed books, special copies (e.g. on large paper or with proof plates), or even the whole edition would sometimes be issued on subscription. Subscribers who responded to the preliminary proposal might be asked to pay part of the price in advance, perhaps against a smaller total than that ruling after publication day. And in many cases their names would be printed, in a list of subscribers; hence, such catalogue notes as ?complete with the list of subscribers?, or ?fine copy, but lacks the subscribers?.

French: Souscription
German: Subskription
Swedish: Subskription