Advance Review Copy: A printed copy of a new book sent to reviewers, chosen booksellers, judges of book clubs, etc. in advance of publication. Such copies are normally either final proofs or the first of the main run.

Association Copy: A copy which once belonged to, or was annotated by, the author, or belonged to someone connected with the author or someone of interest in his or her own right, or belonged to someone peculiarly associated with its contents.

Author Copy: A copy of a book the author wrote and personally owned. The author might use this copy for reading publicly or for editing a later edition. It is particularly coveted by collectors.

Binding Variant: A general term for the variations of colour, fabric, lettering or decoration between different copies of the same edition of a book bound in publisher’s cloth.

Dedication Copy: It is customary for an author to present an early copy to the person (if any) to whom it is dedicated. The dedication copy ranks very high in the estimation of most collectors.

Endpapers: Double leaves are added at front and back by the binder; the outer leaf of each is pasted to the inner surface of the cover, while the inner leaves (or free endpapers) form the first and last of the volume when bound.

First Edition, First Impression, First Issue, First Printing: These terms mean the first appearance of the work, independently, between
its own covers.

Galleys: Early proofs are pulled on long strips. They contain any printer’s errors and misprints. Some carry marginal corrections by the author.

Perfect Bound: This type of thermoplastic binding uses a plastic solution rather than sewing to hold the leaves together.

Presentation Copy: For books which win the Governor General’s Literary Award, this is the copy, in a specially commissioned art binding, which is presented to the author by the Governor General.

Proofs: First proofs of a book are provided by the printer for the author’s correction and the publisher’s scrutiny. Revised proofs are the intermediate stage either to final proofs or to the finished book.

Review Copy: Review copies, sent out to reviewers after the official publication date, are either stamped as such or have a printed slip loosely inserted, possibly with other information or material such as the retail price, publication date, first print run, early reviews, promotional plans, or an author photograph.

Trade Edition: An edition of a book published for distribution to the general public through booksellers.

These descriptions are largely excerpted from John Carter’s classic ABC for Book Collectors, revised by Nicolas Barker, 6th ed. (London: Granada, 1980). Please refer to Carter for more elaborate descriptions of the terms used in this catalogue.