THE PLAINS & THE ROCKIES. A Critical Bibliography of Exploration, Adventure and Travel in the American West. 1800-1865. Fourth Edition Revised, Enlarged and Edited by Robert H. Becker

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.

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.

8vo : Short for Octavo, A book whose page size is approximately 8-10 inches tall. The size is based on a sheet of paper 25 inches by 38 inches, the size of paper traditionally used by book printers, which has been folded and cut into 16 pages.. Unfortunately often misunderstood to mean 8 volumes.

Cloth : Generally refers to a hardcover with cloth covering the outside of the book covers.