{"id":976,"date":"2017-04-15T16:39:15","date_gmt":"2017-04-15T16:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/?p=976"},"modified":"2022-06-27T12:37:18","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T16:37:18","slug":"john-carters-abc-for-book-collectors-revised-and-enlarged-by-nicolas-barker-and-simran-thadani","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/2017\/04\/15\/john-carters-abc-for-book-collectors-revised-and-enlarged-by-nicolas-barker-and-simran-thadani\/","title":{"rendered":"John Carter\u2019s ABC for Book Collectors, revised and enlarged by Nicolas Barker and Simran Thadani"},"content":{"rendered":"

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John Carter\u2019s ABC for Book Collectors<\/em>, revised and enlarged by Nicolas Barker and Simran Thadani, 9th<\/sup> edition. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2016. 264p., 32 illus. (22 colour and 10 halftones). ISBN 9781584563525. US $29.95 (hardcover).<\/p>\n

John Carter\u2019s ABC for Book Collectors<\/em> is without question a book that all serious book historians must read and a book that almost everyone with a genuine interest in books should own. It typically sits nicely on our reference shelves with such staple volumes that remain in the affordable range for all book-aficionados and bibliophiles as Philip Gaskell\u2019s A New Introduction to Bibliography<\/em> (1972, latest 1995), Fredson Bowers\u2019s Principles of Bibliographical Description<\/em> (1949, latest 2012), and one or more generalist or specialist study, such as D. C. Greetham\u2019s Textual Scholarship: An Introduction<\/em> (1992) or David Pearson\u2019s Provenance Research in Book History: A Handbook<\/em> (1994). Probably, the very serious book historian will own more than one edition of the Carter, as early prints are to be had very easily at book fairs, even at a price agreeable to those of us \u201cpoor scholars\u201d (Alan Thomas\u2019s turn of phrase, 86) on a modest income. With this 9th<\/sup> edition of the book, the first to upgrade Carter\u2019s name from author to title, Nicolas Barker (involved from the 3rd<\/sup> edition) and Simran Thadani (new to this edition) maintain much of the succinctness and opinionated humour of Carter\u2019s prose, which has kept the book a classic for generations (for example, Carter\u2019s very expressive dislike of \u201cissue-mongers\u201d [153], his turn of phrase with such dainties as \u201chugger-mugger\u201d [59], or his sneaky terms acquired over years of trade to mislead buyers in item descriptions [84-87]). All the while, they bring into the twenty-first century the scope, relevance, and utility of what began in the 1950s as a tiny corporate ABC.<\/p>\n

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A modern reconstruction of an \u00c0 La Grecque \/ Alla Greca binding (28).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are major enlargements to be found in this edition, particularly in the abbreviations, coverage of the graphic arts, and in the new respect expressed for the practical necessity of online tools in the quick-change world of book selling and book buying. In precise metrics, relating this new volume to the 8th<\/sup>, 40 abbreviations have been added to the \u201cAbbreviations\u201d section of the book (17-22), with this \u201cproliferation of acronyms\u201d (11) raising the total to 184. Some of these are technical, conveying to the ordinary, novice bookseller \/ bookbuyer advances and developments in the field of book cataloguing systems in libraries, such as \u201cAACR,\u201d referring to \u201cAnglo-American Cataloguing Rules\u201d (17), or its replacement adopted in 2010, \u201cRDA,\u201d referring to \u201cResource Description and Access\u201d (21). Many are indicative of sensitivity to multilingualism in the consumer culture that surrounds book buying and selling \u2014 an awareness that expansion of networks of communication and globalism has put new demands upon the ordinary Rare Book purchaser: the \u201cCPSCM\u201d denoting \u201cCum privilegio Sacrae Caesaris Maiestatis<\/em>,\u201d a privilege within \u201cthe jurisdiction of the Holy Roman Emperors\u201d (18), or the German \u201cGez<\/em>.,\u201d for \u201cGezeichnet<\/em>, drawn by\u201d (19). Beyond the abbreviations, the revisers and enlargers of this edition have added 57 entries (see below), growing the book from 235 pages to a still-slim 264. Such entries treat, for example, \u201cAbeBooks,\u201d the essential web resource for \u201cbuying and selling used, rare, and out-of-print books\u201d on-line (23), \u201cFloriated Initial,\u201d to distinguish clearer the large in-set initials of \u201cfloral or formal designs\u201d (121) from those of \u201cmen and animals\u201d (\u201cHistoriated,\u201d 142), and \u201cRed Rot,\u201d defined as \u201cLeather degraded by exposure to gas-lighting and other environmental pollutants\u201d (211), a term hard to find precisely defined in any such clearly understandable way on the web. In this edition, both \u201cArber\u201d (32) and \u201cBowers\u201d (61) receive name-entries, which exemplifies why, although the commercial viability of the all-purpose reference volume is in peril, the specialist handbook is not dying away any time soon. (Edward Arber\u2019s surname commonly appears without explanation in auctioneer catalogues and is thrown around casually among sellers, buyers, and scholars to denote his masterful A Transcript of the Registers of the Stationers\u2019 Company, 1553-1640<\/em> [1875-].)<\/p>\n

In Barker\u2019s words for his special \u201cNOTE TO THE NINTH EDITION\u201d (11; 11-12) our revisers and enlargers highlight the other great appeal, justifying the creation of this fresh chapter of the ABC<\/em>\u2019s history: \u201cBut the most significant difference between the present edition and its predecessors lies in the illustrations, added here for the first time\u201d (12). He continues: \u201cPrevious editions relied on the printed word alone. But facts and ideas about old books need images as well as words\u201d (12). I could not agree more. With 32 illustrations (22 colour and 10 halftones) wisely selected \u201cto reflect the diversity of material forms that books and their parts have taken over the last millennium\u201d (12), Barker and Thadani offer the most persuasive justification for laying out the asked sum to invest in a copy of the new edition. Although one of the illustrations is kind of cheeky, a self-congratulatory pat on the back (the inscription from Barker\u2019s copy of the 8th<\/sup> edition, donated to the Rare Book School, 34), and more than one also appear in the ubiquitous Gaskell (the printing press [198]; the rolling press [197]; and the letter \/ sort [159]), others add generously to the clarification of obscure jargon of a field renowned for its impenetrable terminology and its confounding retail expressions. I challenge anyone to find easily, through Google, an example of \u00c0 La Grecque<\/em> binding as beautiful and clarifying in its features as that selected for illustration on page 28 of this ABC. Similarly enlightening to even those of us beyond the \u201cnovice\u201d book-lover, this ABC depicts \u201ca cathedral binding in cloth\u201d (73), \u201ca binding with gilt and gauffred edges\u201d (131), \u201ca book bound in calf with raised bands, gilt\u201d (205), and \u201ca binding in Roxburghe style\u201d (219). I say with confidence that a purchase of this edition is a wise, time-saving decision for any student, apprentice, or would-be Rare Book collector.<\/p>\n

All of this being \u201cnew,\u201d though, must not in any way be perceived as a detraction by the traditionalist worrying that the volume has strayed away from classic \u201cCarter.\u201d Indeed, Carter is alive, and stronger than ever, for Barker and Thadani\u2019s wise preference for addition over subtraction, for restraint instead of re-drafting. All the entries of the 8th<\/sup> edition re-appear in this 9th<\/sup>. A few examples of the more prominent edits can be found in the titling of the entries: \u201cLarge Paper Copy\u201d becomes \u201cLarge (or Fine) Paper Copy\u201d (157); \u201cFakes\u201d (117) has been inserted to direct readers to \u201cFacsimiles and Fakes\u201d (114), as \u201cFacsimiles\u201d were more closely associated with forgery when Carter wrote his book. Parts have been properly alphabetized from the previous edition: \u201cBreaking copy or Breaker,\u201d \u201cBreaking up\u201d (61-62); \u201cImperial Paper Copy\u201d before \u201cImposition\u201d (145-46). Most important of all, as with Carter\u2019s intention and previous editions, the physical features of the volume are named, and their presence or absence referred to in the text. Subtly and not-so-subtly, all physical features demonstrated in earlier editions are better highlighted, often with cute little manicules, in this edition: broken type (63), a printer\u2019s blank (51-52), a guide letter (135), a running head (141), inner and outer margins (167), a shoulder and a side note (230), a device [264], etc. The close reader will find especially amusing the 12 variant spellings of \u201cmisprint\u201d in that entry (169-70), the beginner-student, that this edition preserves real signatures (i.e., \u201cA\u201d unsigned, \u201cB\u201d 33, \u201cC\u201d 65, \u201cD\u201d 97, \u201cE\u201d 129, \u201cF\u201d 161, \u201cG\u201d 193, \u201cH\u201d 225, \u201cI\u201d 233). Many of these examples are chopped from the PDF of the 8th<\/sup> downloadable online for free from the website of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Of course, there is substance enough for a 10th<\/sup> edition still, and I have a few suggestions for this. I think that booksellers and bookbuyers might benefit from entries on: the so-called \u201cRule of Gregory,\u201d \u201cthe practice in medieval manuscript creation by which the hair side faces the hair side and the flesh side faces the flesh side\u201d (see below for the reference), \u201cKettle-Stitch,\u201d since Barker and Thadani preserve this word in their revised entry on \u201cHeadband\u201d (141), and \u201cAntiphonals.\u201d The entry on \u201cRe-Backed\u201d (209) might be enlarged to define \u201csympathetically re-backed,\u201d meaning \u201cto imitate the style of the original binding\u201d (see below for the reference). As \u201cVolvelle\u201d (257) are usefully defined and illustrated, so might a definition and illustration be included of \u201cFugitive Pieces,\u201d which are physically similar. Justifying the entry on \u201cNumerals\u201d (174), Barker and Thadani might include an illustration of the deceptive \u201cI\u03fd\u201d or \u201cC|\u03fd,\u201d used in early imprints to denote the numerals \u201cD\u201d and \u201cM,\u201d for 500 and 1,000. They might further separate out the second meaning of \u201cDeposit Copy\u201d (94), a book belonging to a private owner but on loan to an institution for a period of fixed or indefinite duration (see below for reference).<\/p>\n

Now John Carter\u2019s ABC for Book Collectors<\/em> by Nicolas Barker and Simran Thadani instead of ABC for Book Collectors<\/em> by John Carter and Nicolas Barker, this 9th<\/sup> edition of a classic deserves serious attention. A copy of this book merits a place on your shelf. And this is the best edition, so far, of the book.<\/p>\n

Joshua McEvilla
\nIndependent Scholar<\/em><\/p>\n

Entries added: \u201cAACR\u201d 22; \u201cAbeBooks\u201d 23; \u201cAddenda\u201d 23; \u201cAdvance\u201d 23; \u201cAlbum Amicorum\u201d 27; \u201cAlibris\u201d 27; \u201cArber\u201d 32; \u201cArtist\u2019s Book\u201d 33; \u201cBinder\u2019s Sample\u201d 48; \u201cBook-Worms\u201d 60; \u201cCalendering\u201d 64; \u201cCatalogue Slip\u201d 72; \u201cCensorship\u201d 73; \u201cCentrepiece (Binding)\u201d 73; \u201cCondemned\u201d 84; \u201cDeposit Copy\u201d 94; \u201cDe Ricci\u201d 94; \u201cDerome\u201d 94; \u201cDime Novel\u201d 96; \u201cDisjunct\u201d 97; \u201cDrypoint\u201d 99; \u201cEntry (into the Stationers\u2019 Register)\u201d 107; \u201cEtching\u201d 110; \u201cExpurgated\u201d 112; \u201cFactotum\u201d 117; \u201cFakes\u201d 117; \u201cFestschrift\u201d 118; \u201cFlip Book\u201d 120; \u201cFloriated Initial\u201d 121; \u201cFore-Edge Title\u201d 125; \u201cInitial\u201d 148; \u201cJuvenilia\u201d 155; \u201cLeatherette\u201d 159; \u201cMarginal Marks\u201d 167; \u201cMercury Women\u201d 168; \u201cMezzotint\u201d 168; \u201cMutilated\u201d 172; \u201cNumerals\u201d 174; \u201cPhillipps\u201d 187-88; \u201cPlanographic\u201d 189; \u201cPochoir\u201d 190; \u201cPrice Clipped\u201d 197; \u201cPrice Code\u201d 197; \u201cPrinting Press\u201d 197-98; \u201cRDA\u201d 208; \u201cReam\u201d 208; \u201cRed Rot\u201d 211; \u201cRoman Numerals\u201d 217; \u201cScabboard\u201d 223; \u201cSchoenberg Database of Manuscripts\u201d 224; \u201cSelf-Publication\u201d 226; \u201cShagreen\u201d 227; \u201cSpaces\u201d 234; \u201cStoddard\u201d 239; \u201cUncorrected, Unrevised\u201d 251; \u201cviaLibri\u201d 256-57; and \u201cWood Letter\u201d 261. (Capitalization, my own.)<\/p>\n

Sources: The definitions provided in paragraph 5 are given verbatim or paraphrased from handouts provided by P. J. Carefoote in his class \u201cRare Books & Manuscripts,\u201d University of Toronto, September-December 2014, compiled from multiple sources and refined by years of practicing librarianship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Carter\u2019s ABC for Book Collectors, revised and enlarged by Nicolas Barker and Simran Thadani, 9th edition. New Castle, DE: Oak Knoll Press, 2016. 264p., 32 illus. (22 colour and 10 halftones). ISBN 9781584563525. US $29.95 (hardcover). John Carter\u2019s ABC for Book Collectors is without question a book that all serious book historians must read […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1888],"tags":[1905,1952],"class_list":["post-976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review","tag-bibliography","tag-provenance-collecting"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=976"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1323,"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/976\/revisions\/1323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharpweb.org\/sharpnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}