What are typical condition issues found in Vintage and Antique Books?

Age Tanning and Spotting:
Because of the effect of UV rays and oxidation, paper will gradually turn yellow or sepia coloured and may become brittle. Generally used paper is naturally acidic which is why collectors like to wrap books in acid free tissue paper or use other archival quality papers.

The natural aging process of books does not have to be a major problem if the books are properly cared for. Books produced in earlier times for example, the 18th century, were often made from better quality paper with a higher 'rag' content which means some antique books actually survive in far better condition than modern and contemporary cheap mass market books and paperbacks in which the pages often tan quite rapidly.

Sometimes the tanning is uneven for example, round the page edges only, or may be slightly speckled in nature. We might call this 'age freckling' which is a fun descriptive term. In antique books you often see tanning when a page has been next to a printed illustration.

This is why finely illustrated books would frequently have tissue guards. Sometimes previous owners would remove the these sheets of tissue paper so it is always nice if they are still intact in antique and vintage books. Tissue guards also protect against dampness, sometimes in an old book the tissue guard may be stained from 'Foxing' whereas the actual pages aren't.

Sunning:
This term is used when the spine or cover of a book has faded and has been bleached a lighter colour by the action of sun light. Often a vintage book's spine can be a few shades lighter than the rest of the book. If you are a general book collector this should not be something that detracts from a book as the books can still be in generally very good condition despite this minor flaw. Flaws such as this are what makes old books found in Fine condition extremely valuable as we are all subject to the often unavoidable wear and tear of UV rays and age.

Pulled Spines:
Many people incorrectly handle their books with a tendency to pull them from the book shelf via the 'head' (top) of the book's spine. Constantly doing this actually damages the top of the spine and distorts the shape, thins it and makes it prone to tears damage and chipping. The damage can occur on the book itself and particularly on any dust jacket.

Chipping:
May describe any part of the exterior of the book, boards, dust jacket etc., that have been damaged by small losses and nibbles to the paper/leather/boards.

Shelf Wear:
The wear that occurs as a book is placed onto and removed from a shelf. It may be to the tail (bottom) edge of the covers as they rub against the shelf, to the dust jacket or exterior of the covers (when no dust jacket is present) as the book rubs against its neighbours, or to the head of the spine which some use to pull the book from the shelf. A book with Shelf Wear is likely to have Edge Wear.

Edgeworn:
a fairly self explanatory term meaning the extremities of the book particularly the boards or wrappers are worn/rubbed.

Tear:
If the pages of the book have been ripped we describe this as a tear. If the tear fits neatly together without any loss this is classed as a 'Closed Tear' which could be repaired if preferred by recommended archival/conservator methods.

Thumbed:
When the pages of a book have been excessively handled and may no longer lay pristine and flat and may or may not have grubby finger marks.

Ex-Library:
As discussed regarding Condition notes many people see a public Ex-Library book as being one of the worse categories of condition as books are often extremely worn. Books that belonged to some 19th or early 20th school libraries can often be found in very good condition and are often attractively leather bound with a crest and come without the labels stickers and damage normally associated with more modern Ex-Library books.

Ex Libris:
This differs from Ex Library and is a term generally used to describe when a book has been in a private and not available to the general public collection ie that of a famous collector or private individual. If a book has a previous owners book plate 'Ex Libris' will be used to qualify this condition.

Book Club Edition:
Again not strictly a flaw but in the past book collectors have been very sniffy about Book Club Editions (often abbreviated BCE). In more recent times perhaps instigated by the popularity of books such as the James Bond Book Club Edition books (that still appeal to James Bond collectors because of their attractive wrappers) Book Club and Guild Publishing editions although not quite the quality of the original publishing house books have actually become popular with interesting period dust jackets and graphics so some are even sought after by collectors in particular genres.

Remainder Mark:
A remainder mark is an identifying mark placed on the outside of the text block either top edge or bottom by the publishing house, when a book has been returned to the publisher by the retailer as unsold. Often these books find their way again into the secondary market. This is not usually a problem other than when collecting First Edition Books. A remainder marked copy of a First Edition is deemed less valuable by collectors than a true First Edition.

Deckle Edged:
If a book was published with pages unopened then the reader would use a paper knife to slit the edge of the fold to open the pages which subsequently left the pages with an uneven ragged 'deckle' edge. Many Victorian children's books were issued with pages uncut hence they end up being deckle edged after having been read.

Trimmed:
When page edges have been neatened from the deckle edged state or reduced in size to remove other damage. If a book has been overly trimmed it could be said to have poor margins.

Price Clipped:
The price has been clipped away from the corner of the dust jacket.

Foxing:
Foxing is a richer rust-coloured staining, often in a filigree like form unevenly across the pages. Foxing is caused by the book having been subject to moisture at some point in its existence. It is difficult to remove and as long as the book is kept in a suitable (not damp) environment the foxing should not get any worse. If it is a very valuable book eg. a museum piece on display, a professional book conservator sometimes works to remove or minimise foxing but this is a complicated process and only necessary for very valuable and rare items.

Worming:
Yes there actually is such a thing as a Book Worm of the non-human kind! Although not a particular insect books can be attacked by a variety of pests usually when they have been left un-cared for, for many years and often when the book has been kept in very damp conditions.

Book worm damage causes tiny pin prick holes in the paper or covers. Books from the first half of the 19th century or earlier with leather covers very often have minimal book worm damage that happened many years ago.

This is not a problem as long as the book is currently free from pests and the damage is not progressing. Sometimes even pests such as Woodworm that live on cellulose content have been known to find a nice snack via a book and in an extremely damp environment Silverfish can be a problem. This is why it is important to regularly inspect your book collection and keep them clean and free from dust and moisture or excessive heat.

Bowing/Bowed:
This is when the boards of the book or even the entire book no longer lays flat. The boards may turn inwards distorting the leaves or outwards damaging the structure of the book and leaving it prone to damage. This problem is often caused by excessive moisture, extremes of temperature or indeed both. Bowed books often suffer from Staining particularly, Water staining or Damp staining.

Staining or Fading:
Can be for a variety of reasons from general handling, aging processes, foxing or other moulds and mildew, moisture, dampness, spillages and tobacco or smoke related. Fading generally the result of UV light. Darkening usually due to aging processes or reactions to items such as acidic papers old newspaper clippings etc or adhesive tape residue. Occasionally old books may have a splodge of ink from the old fashioned ink dip pens on the cover.

Water Damage:
Should be described separately from staining as this can often distort, misshape or 'crumple' the pages or boards of the book.

Smoke damage:
If a book has been owned by a heavy smoker it may have been nicotine stained or damaged from smoke, this may also impart a distinctive tobacco odour to the book that differs from the general 'old book' smell that is actually quite pleasant for many people. The old book smell is due to a break down of the lignin in the paper that releases a variety of fragrant notes often described as chocolate, vanilla or leather.

Shaken:
An adjective describing a book whose pages are beginning to come loose from the binding. A  shaken book is usually loose.

Loose:
with respect to the binding, a book that is loose has usually been frequently read and may have creases along the spine where it has frequently been opened. This condition may be deemed a flaw in a first condition modern or contemporary book as collectors generally seek books that appear unread except in the case of antique and scarce antiquarian books.

Working copy:
Even more damaged than a reading copy, the working copy will have multiple defects and may even need repair.

Binding Copy:
This book is in a sorry state! Probably with detached or even no boards or wrappers. Its saving grace may be that it is either complete in collation (ie. all pages and illustrations present) or it is of sufficient scarcity or beauty to warrant a full restoration and re-binding. Many copies such as this are bought by Book Breakers (people who dismantle books to salvage what they can like car wreckers and sell off in mass the remaining prints or maps). Even book breakers save books from landfill so it is not all bad!

Some Book Conservation Terms

Re-backed:
A book that has been repaired by replacing the spine and mending the hinges

Recased:
A book that has been glued back into its covers after having been shaken loose.

Re-jointed:
Means the book has been repaired preserving the original covers, including the spine.

Unopened:
The leaves of the book are still joined at the folds, not slit apart.