Book plates? Color plates? Black and white plates? And how do you tell what edition book you have?
I have recently been put in charge of selling a number of old books on Amazon.com for my employer. I know very little about the world of books, the lingo if you will. I have been reading about the conditions of different books being sold and some of the lingo I feel I should know. What are color plates? Black and white plates? And how do I tell what edition a book is if it doesn’t SAY “First Edition” or whatnot. is there some hidden mark on the inside of the book I can look for, or a watermark or something I’m missing I should know to look for?
Any help anyone can give me to enlighten me on this subject would be much appreciated!
Color plates are color photographs or illustrations, generally. Black and white plates are b/w photos. There was a time when “plates” had to be created for illustrations and photos, then transfered to the pages during the printing process. It was expensive and so books with plates, especially color plates, were more costly.
If the book doesn’t say “first edition,” then it is not. Collectors are concerned with first edition, so subsequent editions are not marked in the book because it is not significant.
These two sites give some info about the book trade lingo:
http://www.bookride.com/2007/01/slang-of-book-trade.html
http://www.bookride.com/2007/01/slang-of-book-trade-part-2.html
Check out http://www.abe.com, which is a network of booksellers offering used, remaindered, out-of-print and antique books. You can get a good idea of how to list your books and what price to ask.
Generally speaking, most people think their old books have far more value than they do. Before you invest too much time in any one listing, look it up on ABE and get some solid info.
Tagged as:
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plated black washers