Book Description
London: William Pickering.. 1853. Sm. 8vo. lxxiv,(2),150pp. Frontispiece portrait (foxed). Woodcut printerís device on title. Nicely bound in full purple calf, gilt & blind stamped, red calf spine label. Top of spine a bit rubbed. Bookplate dated 1858 on front pastedown.
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.
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.
frontispiece : A portrait or illustration on the page opposing the title page.
calf : Leather binding made from calfskin. Most common form of leather binding.
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.
device : A printers mark which usually appears on either the colophon or the title page.
bookplate : A device (often decorative) affixed to the book, usually on the endpapers, which designates ownership (or former ownership).
pastedown : The paper glued to the inside cover of a hard cover book.
