You may find it helpful to print this page out, so that you can refer to it alongside email listings or the book lists on this web site.
medievalbookshop's
policy
on book descriptions aims to provide honest descriptions and avoid
confusion.
However, much of any description is subjective, so if at any time you
are
unsure about what is meant , please email your queries and comments
using the links above - further details can nearly always be supplied.
You
can reserve items while you are making enquiries, and cancel the
reservation
without obligation. The aim is that you should be happy about an
item before you confirm your order and despatch your payment
(see
the refunds policy page).
Each item on the
medievalbookshop web site is
described
as accurately as possible and, because many customers are not
collectors, jargon
and abbreviations are mostly avoided.
Catalogue number.
This is a seven-character ID
found in the title bar of the page. Each number refers to the book
shown on that page, so if you wish, you can use this number when making
a
reservation.
Cover
image. Some pages on the site now carry a scan of the item being
described. This is usually a scan of the actual item, though if
several copies are in stock in a similar condition it will show a
representative copy (this particularly applies to items listed as
"unused bargain"). Other parts of a book may be shown where relevant,
for instance a page carrying an author's signature, or a case of
significant damage that is otherwise difficult to describe. In most
cases, the images are smaller than life size. If click on the thumbnail
next to the book description it will link to a larger image showing
more detail.
Please note, although some minimal image correction is applied, it is
medievalbookshop policy that images should not be distorted to give a
misleading impression of a book's condition; however, due to the
limitations of scanning technology, images are
not entirely true to life. In particular, red, orange and yellow tones
are
likely to look unnaturally bright, detail with dark patterns or colours
will be difficult to distinguish, and metallic blocking (usually gilt
or silver) will tend to look dark or black, and may disappear against a
dark background.
Author(s)
or editor(s). As named on the title page; other names may be listed
here, such those of translators or illustrators. The form and spelling
used on the book's title page will be reproduced, though occasionally
other spellings may be added in square brackets if they are more widely
known.
Title.
The book's
title as given on the title page: this may be amalgated with the
title given on the cover, spine, half-title page, or elsewhere, if
these are different. Titles
are usually reproduced in full, though very long titles might be
abbreviated.
Place of
publication.
Where two or more locations are given, this will usually note only the
first. It is not mentioned separately where it is given as part of the
Publisher's name (as is the case with many university presses, for
example).
Publisher.
As
named on the title page (except that variations of "University
Press"
will nearly always be abbreviated to "U.P."). It is now possible to
browse books by a given publisher using medievalbookshop's browse by publisher
facility: this is in progress but it is regularly updated and added to.
There is also a page giving links to many publishers' own websites.
Date of
publication.
This is as stated on the copyright page or title page. If the book
is a reprint, reissue, or new edition, this will be the date listed,
usually with
the original date of publication following in brackets. More recent
books
often only list the number of the reprint without a date, in which case
this number may be given with the original publication date in
brackets.
Some
books do not give a date at all, in which case they are described as
"n.d." (=no date),
but if an approximate date can be inferred from the content of the book
itself, this will be noted in square brackets.
Likewise, some reprints don't add the date of the reprint, so
that the book may appear to be an earlier printing than it really is
(others
give different dates on the title and copyright pages) - this is
increasingly true of digital reprints, for which some publishers make
no attempt to distinguish the reprint from its original copy; the
upshot is
that
no guarantee is offered as to the edition of any book, other than that
the dates as given will be presented as accurately as possible. Where
possible,
if an item is known to be a reissue or reprint, a note will be made in
brackets about the original publication.
First
editions (and
others): usually no mention is made of whether a book is a first
edition
for several reasons. An obvious one is that in an academic book, the
later
impressions or editions will often incorporate corrections and so are
likely
to be more valuable to the user; there is also the fact that certainty
is difficult in some cases, and only a few publishers make it easy by
stating "first edition" on their copyright page; and finally, the
nature of
many
of the titles listed by medievalbookshop is such that they never get
past the first printing of
the
first edition anyway. In general you can assume that if no indication
is
given to the contrary, the book is probably a first edition, but that
no
guarantee is offered; conversely, no guarantee is offered about whether
a revised edition might be available elsewhere. If a title is thought
to be collectable, I might mention its first edition status, but as
always, if any of
this
is important to you, please use the email link at the top of this page
to enquire about any item you are interested in before confirming
your
order.
Series. Where other books in the
same series are regularly in stock, this line will provide a link to
the relevant "Books in series" page.
ISBN/ISSN.
The
International Standard Book Number has come into increasingly common
use
since the mid-1960s, so that now few books are issued without one.
ISSN
(International Standard Serial Number) is the equivalent for journals
and
other publications that are issued on an ongoing basis. Most large book
sites such as Amazon and ABE now support searches on these numbers, so
medievalbookshop items catalogued since March 2004 also include
them
where available, formatted without dashes or spaces; they will
gradually
be added to older back catalogue descriptions. Numbers will
be copied from each book individually, so may differ from those
appearing
on any edition currently in print (and are occasionally erroneous on
the book itself).
A new
13-digit system is being
introduced, so newer titles may indicate both the old 10-digit and the
new 13-digit versions. The new system is being made universal for new
books as of January 2007, and it is anticipated that 10-digit numbers
will cease being issued at some point during 2007. In some older books
an SBN number is given
- these appeared before the standard became more widely used, and may
be
converted to the current ISBN format by adding "0" as the first
digit. NB: searching on an ISBN number will not locate book club
and privately published editions, as these are usually issued without
them.
Format.
This indicates
whether the book is hardback or paperback. It also notes features such
as illustrated boards or a slipcase, and if a hardback is known to have
been issued without a dustjacket this will be noted here; the phrase
"no
dustjacket" indicates uncertainty as to whether this particular print
or
issue of the book was originally issued with a dustjacket. There is
usually
also a note here as to whether the book is stitched or perfect bound,
though
this is absent on some of the older back catalogue items.
Printer.
Indicates where the book was printed, and (if details are available)
who printed it. No particularly good reason for including this, it's
just the kind of thing some people like to know. This feature was
introduced in mid-2008, so it will be some time before it appears on
any large number of this site's pages.
Size. This is stated in
millimetres and gives the measurements of the front cover or board, top edge
first,
then side edge (so if the first measurement given is larger, then the book
is landscape format); these are larger than the page area in most
hardbacks and some paperbacks. Most
descriptions
also indicate
the width of the spine, though this has not
yet been
implemented in some older pages of the back catalogue. All measurements given are
approximate.
Each item
is measured individually, so similar items may sometimes be listed with
slightly different measurements. Please bear in mind that postal
packaging
will add to the measurements
given.
Millimetres
are chosen
as the default with some reluctance: many non-collectors don't like
having
to work out how big "folio" or "quarto" etc. might be in real life; and
web pages still have trouble displaying fractions accurately, which
makes
inches
unsuitable. Given that an arbitrary choice had to be made, millimetres
won on the grounds that they allow slightly more precision.
[L]
after the
size indicates that if ordered on its own and wrapped in standard
packaging,
the item should be small enough to fit through a standard size
letterbox
or mail slot. This feature has been withdrawn from book descriptions in
favour of the three dimensional measurements described above, but may
still turn up on one or two of the older ones.
Page
count. Given as printed, usually any
pages with roman numerals followed by the main run of pages.
Pages with
Roman numerals will not be mentioned if they are part of
the
main page count of the book. Occasionally the first few pages (title
page,
copyright page, contents, etc.) aren't numbered at all, and so may not
be mentioned if they include no significant
matter. More recent catalogue pages now make a separate mention of any plates that are not included in the main text page count, though please note, different publishers' opinions of what constitutes a "plate" can vary considerably: in many cases they will be plain black and white illustrations, and not printed on gloss paper. Publisher's matter at the front or end of the book
("forthcoming
titles", etc.) is not usually included in the page count.
Illustrations.
On older descriptions (those created before June 2009), any
illustrations are mentioned after the page count. Typically,
figures,
charts and basic illustrations are included in the page run, while
plates
are usually numbered separately, but there are plenty of variations on
this
theme.
Illustrations may be referred to as "plates" even when they are printed
on the same grade of paper as the rest of the book: descriptions
generally
follow each book's individual usage. Minor text decorations are
usually
not mentioned. As of June 2009, mention of any illustrations and maps
has been moved to the foot of the page with the rest of the book's
apparatus.
Language.
The
main language(s) in which the book is written. Usually, no mention is
made of quotations
or short passages in other languages, unless they are a significant
part of the book's main text.
Condition.
This is the most subjective category (and the most important).
Descriptions
attempt
to draw attention to any major defects that fall outside the following
broad categories, especially those that will affect a book's
practical
usefulness. You should assume that even books labelled "very good" will
have the kind of small defects common to used books, such as minor wear
and tear, small creases and bumps, grubby page edges, library plates or
markings inside the endpapers indicating previous ownership or pricing,
and so on. Unless specifically described as "unused", all books may
contain some ink or pencil marking, but
this
will be mentioned if it is extensive or intrusive. The aim is that any
major defect will be described.
In the
medievalbookshop
listings a book is almost never described as "mint" or "fine", partly
because
most medievalbookshop customers want usable books rather than display
items,
but also because these two terms don't always apply even to brand-new
shop-bought
items. With this in mind, descriptions of a book's condition fall into
one of five broad categories as follows
Very
good.
In this instance, "very good" means that, taking account of
age
and production quality, the book is as good as a secondhand copy can
be:
it will probably have minor blemishes or show slight evidence of
storage
or previous ownership, especially if it's an older title; in older
titles
the paper may also show evidence of age, though not obtrusively so;
more
recent
titles sometimes look nearly as good as new. Regardless of condition, a
book will only be stated as "unused" where this is known to be
definitely the case, and any
obvious defects will be mentioned. Despite what it says above, the
terms "mint" or "fine" may occasionally be added in brackets, though
usually
only to give further
guidance to collectors ("mint" indicating that the book is known to be
unused, "fine" indicating that it may have minor blemishes but shows no
obvious signs of use).
Good.
About average for a secondhand book. The book may have been stored
badly
(faded spines, saggy stitching, mild damp staining, etc) and may show
signs
of having been used, or read more than once (unobtrusive pencil or
minor
ink marking, folded page corners, lightly worn edges to pages and
covers,
some curving of spines in paperbacks, and so on). Except in very recent
books, the paper will probably show signs of age. In paperbacks the
corners
of the cover and pages may be starting to curl.
Fair.
Better than poor, but not actually falling apart, and not good enough
to
be honestly described as "good". Many older paperbacks come into this
category
(creased spines, yellowed paper, curling to page edges or covers, but
pencil,
ink or highlighter markings not usually too heavy - the extent of any
markings
will be mentioned if they are heavy or intrusive). Usually indicates a
good working copy.
Poor.
Likely to have loose or detached pages, covers, or other bits. Probably
scribbled all over. Quite likely to have faded covers, yellowed paper,
foxing or staining, and all manner of unpleasant personal habits. Might
smell funny. But all of the pages should be present, unless stated
otherwise.
Should be usable as a working copy, but not a collector's item unless
you
collect very shabby books.
Unused
bargain. Exactly what it says: a brand-new book of which
medievalbookshop
has a limited number of copies for sale at less than the publisher's
recommended
price. Despite what it says above, they are in a condition that would
usually be
described as "mint" or "fine" (subject to the kind of ordinary minor
blemishes which you would
find in any shop-bought copy), so further mention of
their condition is only given if this is not the case.
Any of these
categories
may merge into each other, and they will often be modified by words
such
as "generally" (for instance, "generally good" means that the book is
better
than "fair", but overall fails to make the grade to "good"; likewise
"generally
very good" means you couldn't reasonably describe it "as new"). A
common
mix is where an otherwise new book has been dropped; in this case the
damage
will be described, followed by "otherwise very good". In all cases, you
are encouraged to satisfy yourself about a book's condition before
confirming
your order and despatching your payment: you can email your questions
about
any item to the email address at the top of this page.
It should
be noted that
dustjackets in particular will usually show some fraying and small
rips.
A dustjacket may be described separately if its condition differs
greatly
from the book it encloses. NB: "no dustjacket" indicates that it is not
known
whether one was present to begin with; "dustjacket missing" indicates
that
the book was originally issued with one and it is not present on this
copy.
Some books have a rubber stamp mark reading "damaged" or some similar phrase: these are usually unused books that have been returned to the distributor or publisher for various reasons; sometimes the damage is obvious, in which case it will be described; in many cases they are shop exchanges such as unwanted gifts or unwanted book club selections, which means they will probably be unused and there will be little wrong with them other than minor shop-soiling or bumping. Purchase of these titles is fully protected by medievalbookshop's returns policy, subject to the usual conditions (i.e., they must be returned within 30 days of order date in the same condition as they were despatched; the cost of the book is refundable in full, and postage & other additional costs are also refundable if the book is not as described) - see the returns and refunds policy for full details.
If a book is ex-library, this will be described as "ex-lib."; if known, the identity of the library will usually be given. These books are described using the same criteria as other secondhand books, according to the four categories "very good" down to "poor" listed above. There will usually be ownership marks at random intervals throughout the book. You should note that libraries often do not cancel their ownership marks if they sell their books in job lots (with a stamp reading "withdrawn" or otherwise), but library books are not offered for sale by medievalbookshop if there is reason believe they have been stolen.
Price. The second most subjective category, which may be adjusted from time to time to reflect current retail prices or other market indicators. The editor's decision is final.
NB: Prices are set in sterling, but other currencies can be quoted on request subject to the customer meeting any extra banking or other charges that might arise.
Postage cost Some item descriptions now also state a postage price. This may be given either as an additional sum to the price of the book, or as an inclusive price. In both cases, these prices apply to UK delivery only, and delivery to addresses outside the UK will be charged extra at current post office rates: please enquire. Please note: postage is charged on all books that do not specifically state "P&P inc."
Publisher's price. Where shown, this is given for purposes of comparison only. This is the publisher's recommended price for a brand-new copy at the time the catalogue listing was prepared, so it may have changed since, and you may find significant variations by shopping around; usually it will not include any associated postage or shipping costs. Where possible any such price indicates an equivalent edition to the one being offered ("equivalent" in this context generally meaning same format and publisher), and may refer to a print-on-demand edition. Other editions may also be available in other formats, at other prices and from other publishers, so if no equivalent edition appears to be available, another edition that can be found in print may be mentioned.
Any "publisher's price" is quoted purely for purposes of comparison; it usually won't have been checked since the item was catalogued and indicates only that a version of the same title was available elsewhere when the item was catalogued. Its absence should not be taken to imply that the title is out of print. As with all old books, a lower retail price may be printed on the copy being offered, which may also differ in details of presentation (size, cover design, etc.)
If a book is described as "out of print", this usually means that when the item was catalogued it was listed as such by the publisher of the edition being offered, but it may since have been reissued by them or by another publisher. You can use the publishers' links page to check for current information.
Weight. Quoted in grammes (g) or kilogrammes (kg). Where given this is purely for use as a rough guide when consulting the price lists provided by the Royal Mail; it should not be taken as an accurate measure. It does not include the weight of any packaging, which may be quite significant for larger items. This was added to the cataloguing procedure in late 2004, and is gradually being added to older items in the back catalogue.
Additional notes. This category is not always present in a description. When it is, it's often an observation on the book's content; for example, the book might be a general survey that doesn't contain any specifically medieval material; anything noteworthy that doesn't fit into one of the other categories might be mentioned here, such as themes or content that are not made obvious by the book's title. Unless a source is given, any matter within quote marks is taken from the book itself.
Books decribed as "unused bargain" will usually have a blurb from the book's cover or the publisher's web site reproduced - this material is written by the publisher and should not be taken as an independent opinion.
Contents and apparatus. Many of the book descriptions now carry a contents list, and a note of any
apparatus included within the book. The extent of these will always be
variable - for example, there's usually no need to include them at all
for a novel, but a book of essays will require a quite extensive
listing of the book's contents. Where a book's title is sufficiently
indicative of its content, or the chapter titles are uninformative, a
list of contents will generally not be given. The list of apparatus is
also variable, again partly depending on what any given book actually
includes, and partly on a guess as to what readers might expect to see
in that book.
Any of the
categories described
above may be absent in a catalogue listing. This would usually mean
that the book
itself doesn't provide them; but it might just be that I dozed off
while
I was typing and so counts as errors and omissions.
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