Glossary

I use fairly standard book terms in presenting my books. Brief explanations follow:

bindings                Books with hard boards covered with cloth or leather are designated "HB." Those with paper covers front and back are called "wraps." A few have a semi-stiff cardboard like cover which I designate "stiff wraps." Some wraps have been bound into hard covers for protection purposes. These are called "bound in."

ffep                        Front free endpaper. The blank pages at the front of the book's text.

Gluedown             The blank sheets front and back that are glued to the boards and are part of the binding operation. Sometimes marbled or presenting information like maps.

Ex-library              A book once in a library's inventory and frequently containing numbers, stamps, or in other ways altered. Some private owner's will also designate ownership with a bookplate. Usually these are not offensive and, in fact, some are objects for collectors. 

Dust Jacket            Often the colored paper cover that fits over the hard boards. Contains most information about the book. 

Signed                    A book designated "Signed" need not contain the author's signature. A prior owner with connection to the book counts; i.e.' a soldier who served in that unit's history. Those books with "From the Author" or "By the Author" are considered signed.

Inscription             Normally comments handwritten in the book to the book's new owner. Some can add great value to the book. 

Tipped in               An addition to the book by an owner that was not included when published. Photos, death notices, etc.

n.d.                         Date of publication unknown. Many times followed by "c' or "ca" [circa] indicating a best guess.

n.p.                         Place of publication unknown.

Limited edition     The publication run was resticted to a certain number of books. Some times these books are numbered individually, for instance #123 of 500.

Frontise                  That page most often opposite the title page. Frequently it is a photo but can be anything the author wants. Some books are published without frontise and when known, will be annotated as such.

Ephemera               Often loose items in the book. Newspaper articles, notes, etc.

Annotations            Notes and comments added to the text usually by a previous owner. Some make the book very special.

References/Bibliographies Used:

                                   "Nevins" Civil War Books: A Critical Bibliography. Nevins, Robertson, Wiley. Broadfoot Press, NC. 1996

                                    "Howes" U.S.IANA (1650-1950). W. Howes. Bowker, NY. 1962

                                    "Crandall" Confederate Imprints. M. Crandall. Boston Athenaeum, Boston. 1955. Two Volumes.

                                    "Parrish & Willingham or P&W" Confederate Imprints. M. Parrish & R. Willingham. Jenkins-Foster, Austin. n.d.

                                    "SP or Freeman" The South to Posterity."   D. Southall Freeman. Scribners, NY. 1939. (One of Larry's all-time favorites!)

                                    "TCS" Travel in the Confederate States: A Bibliography. E. Coulter. University of Oklahoma, Norman. 1948.

                                    "Krick" Neale Books: An Annotated Bibliography. R. Krick. Morningside Press. 1977.

                                    "Dornbusch" Military Bibliography of the Civil War. Four Volumes. Felton (Compiler). NY Public Library and Morningside Press. 1961-2000.

                                    "ITC" In Tall Cotton: The 200 Most Important Confederate Books..." R. Harwell. Jenkins and Foster, Austin. 1978.

                                    "UB" The Union Bookshelf: A Selected Civil War Bibliography. Mullins & Reed. Broadfoot Publishing, NC. 1982.

                                    "Broadfoot" Civil War Books: A Priced Checklist With Advise. 5th Ed. Broadfoot Publishing, NC. 2000.

                                    American Civil War Research Database, Historical Data Systems, Duxbury, MA, is used extensively for personal information of Civil War soldiers. It is also an excellent source for brief unit histories.