Early Modern English-Language Books

Use terms developed by the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section of Association of College and Research Libraries to browse VCU's Early Modern Imprints.

Binding

• Binders' instructions
• Binders' tickets
• Calf bindings
• Decorated edges
• Fore-edge paintings
• Gilt edges
• Goatskin bindings
• Gold tooled bindings
• Half bindings
• Leather bindings
• Marbled edges (edges of the textblock marbled by the binder)
• Marbled papers (marbled endpapers)
• Original covers (from the publishers ; not a bespoke binding)
• Ribbon markers

Format 

• Folio format 
• Quarto format
• Octavo format
• Duodecimo format
• Sixteenmo format
• Thirty-twomo format

Paper

• Laid papers
• Watermarks
• Wove papers

Printing and Publishing

• Book prices
• Booksellers' advertisements
• Catchwords
• Feet (Type)
• Integral errata lists
• Press figures
• Printers' devices
• Printing in multiple colors in separate passes
• Publishers' advertisements
• Signatures
• Tail-pieces
• Type ornaments

Provenance 

• Armorial bookplates
• Autographs
• Bookplates
• Booksellers' labels
• Ink stamps
• Labels
• Marginalia
• Markings
• Presentation inscriptions
• Sammelbands

Additional ways to browse the catalog :

English Short Title Catalog Collection (VCU) - Items held by VCU Libraries published in English or in English-speaker countries before 1800. For titles in other libraries, see the union catalog maintained by the British Library.

Early American Imprints Collection (VCU) - Items held by VCU Libraries published before 1819 in the United States ; included in Evans and Shaw-Shoemaker's bibliographies. 

Early American Medical Imprints Collection (VCU) - Items held by VCU Libraries in Robert B. Austin's 1961 bibliography of American medical books printed before 1820.

Lynwood Giacomini Collection (VCU) - Items held by VCU Libraries related to James Boswell's biography of Samuel Johnson