Book Description
London: G.G. and J. Robinson.. 1798. 5 vols. Lg. 4to. Illustrated with a total of 166 plates. All half titles present. Contemporary mottled calf, gilt spines. Spine extremities a bit chipped. Spines and hinges repaired or rebacked so that all of the bindings are sound. Some light foxing. The first issue. Hazen, A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF HORACE WALPOLE #27.
Not sure what some of these terms mean? Look it up in our glossary.
spine : The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf. Also known as the back.
rebacked : having had the material covering the spine replaced.
chipped : A defect in which small pieces missing from the edges.
gilt : The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book. The edges of the text block, or an inlay in the front cover of the boards, for example.
calf : Leather binding made from calfskin. Most common form of leather binding.
plates : Full page illustrations or photographs. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e., they are not sewn as parts of gatherings.
4to : Or quarto. A term used generally to describe the approximate size of a book, a book that is about 10" to 12" tall and roughly squarish in shape. The term is based on the size of paper traditionally used by book printers which has been folded and cut into 16 pages.
