Cancel - A tipped-in (i.e., pasted in) page to replace a page removed after a book has been bound.

Case-Bound - The book is hardbound as opposed to a paperback.

Chapbook - A cheaply printed book of the kind sold by street vendors in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

Chemise - A sleeve wrapping around the spine and covers of a binding to protect it from wear when inserted into the slipcase.

Chiaraoscuro - Literally, "clear-obscure." In the context of print-making, a technique for producing color prints from wood by multiple blocks, used for the reproduction of old master drawings and objets d'art from the Sixteenth century on.

Chipped - Used to describe where small pieces are missing or where fraying has occurred on a dust jacket or the edge of a paperback.

Chipped -  With reference to the covers of a book: marred by light gouging or nicked. Leather is particularly susceptible.

Chromolithography - Color printing from multiple impositions of lithographic stones or similar lithographic printing surfaces. A process of illustration that reached its zenith in the mid-Nineteenth century.

Chromoxylography - Color printing from wood blocks, a technique extensively used for illustration in the mod Nineteenth century.

cl - See Cloth.

Clamshell Case - A protective case with hinged side that securely retain the book within while permitting easy inspection.

Cloth - A cloth-bound book. The covering can be linen, buckram or another textile.

Clothbound - A book with cloth covering the boards.

Cocked Spine - Refers to a spine which is angled, so that the boards will not line up evenly with each other.

Cockled -  In paper, having an uneven or blistered surface, possibly even curling at the edges.

Collation - Technically, the examination and notation of the physical makeup of a book. By checking for the presence of every leaf or page originally in the volume when issued, a book may be collated as complete.  The act of checking a book for completeness. A collation formula is an algebraic expression of the arrangement of the leaves and signatures in a book.

Collotype - A photomechanical process of reproduction capable of producing results of exceptional fidelity. It does not use a screen (like a half-tone) but produces continuous tones. Colophon - A statement found at the end of a book. A colophon may give information about the typography and printing methods used in the book or may serve as a statement of printing limitation. An identifying inscription or emblem from the printer or publisher appearing at the end of a book.

Color Plate Book - A volume illustrated with hand-colored aquatints, engravings or the like.

Compartment - On the spine of a book, the areas between the raised bands. These are considered from top to bottom; the title label is usually in the second compartment.

Conjugate - Joined at the gutter margin.

Conjugate Leaf  - The unsevered second half of a printed page.

Contemporary - Refers to bindings and hand-colored plates (generally of the period when the book was published) and author inscription (dated the year of publication).

Cornerpiece - In a binding, the decorative elements in the corners of the covers in the angles of the fillets.

Covers - The front and rear surface of a binding, as opposed to the spine. These may be composed of card, wood or other materials, covered by cloth, paper or leather.

Covers bound-in - The original cloth covers, usually including the spine, bound into the book when a new binding is made. Normally they are mounted as pages at the end of the book. Also refers to the covers of books originally issued in boards or paperwraps, but in these cases the covers are usually bound in their proper positions.

Cracked - Hinges are cracked when the spine of the book is starting to come apart and the cover is beginning to hang loose.

Crimped - Fluted, indented, or pinched e.g.: from pervasive dampness.

Cropped - An excessive cutting down of the margins at the bindery.

Cut - Many modern books are smooth-trimmed after binding so that all edges are even, or flush. This is described as having been "cut".

cwo -Check or cash (payment) with order.

D
 
Damp stain - Very light stain caused by moisture (perspiration, a piece of moist food, etc.)  Usually not as severe as water stains. 

Deaccessioning - Selling or disposing of books from a collection.  

dec, decor - Decorated. Often referred to a binding, as in dec. cl.

Deckle Edge - In paper, the untrimmed feathery type of edge which occurs naturally in handmade papers, sometimes imitated by a machine.

Dedication Copy - The copy of the book inscribed by the author to the person to whom the book is dedicated.

Dentelles - French for "lace." An ornate border on a binding, usually gilt. An "inside dentelle" is an ornate border on the part of a binding left showing on the outside edge of the inside of a board after the binding has been folded over the edge of the boards and the pastedown endpaper has been applied.

Designer or Design Binding - A product of the modernist approach to binding that seeks to reflect (and sometimes deconstruct) the text within, rather than providing a simple ornamental container.

Device -A printer's ornament. Also an insignia that is the publisher's identifying mark.

Disbound - This term refers to a book or pamphlet, once bound, from which the binding has been removed.

dj - See Dust Jacket.

Dos-a-dos - Two separate books bound together so that each cover represents the cover for a different title. The Ace paperbacks or many science fiction books were issued this way.

Doublure - The paste-down of a binding when covered with decorated paper, silk, leather or a similar material.

Dummy - A mock-up of the book, used by salesmen in the late 19^th and early 20^th century to show prospective buyers what the book would look like. It usually had a title page, 10 or 20 pages of text, and then blank pages to fill out the rest of the binding.

Duodecimo or 12mo - Small book, approximately 7 to 8 inches tall, roughly the size of a mass market paperback. Term may also be used to describe a book in which the pages are printed "12-up" and the sheet folded in three and then twice (or various similar combinations).

Dust Cover - See dust jacket.

Dust Jacket, Dustwrapper, or dj - The dust jacket is a decorative piece of paper wrapped around modern books to protect their cloth binding. The absence of a dust jacket on a book that was originally issued with one lowers its value. This decline in value varies greatly on the basis of the subject matter of the book. Modern firsts are devastated by the loss of a dustjacket while art books may suffer only a slight decline. The dust jacket is also referred to as the "wrapper."

Dustwrapper - See Dust Jacket.

dw - Dust Wrapper. See Dust Jacket.

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