<book grading guide>

The following is the system used for grading books ~

New  ~ New unread copy.  There may be slight signs of storage / shelving.  This is the condition you would expect to find in a high street bookstore or on mail-order.

Fine ~ The book appears to be in excellent condition.  Tight bright and clean.  Appears almost as new.  A closer look may reveal some light signs of previous ownership, such as shelf-rubbing.  On the whole, the book is in perfect condition.

Very Good + ~ Less than excellent condition with no more than minor signs of previous ownership.  Still a tight bright and clean copy, with no reading crease to the spine.

Very Good ~ The book is used but well looked after: it does show some signs of previous ownership.  The binding is firm and the book is clean. There may be some age toning / foxing to pages, slight reading creases to spine or cover, or inscriptions from the previous owner (typically their name or words of presentation).

Good  ~ The book is well used with obvious signs of ownership: the cover and contents may have faded in colour and there may be creases, wear and inscriptions.  However the book is still intact and perfectly readable.

Reading copy ~ The book has obvious defects such as looseness or other problems associated with age and / or mishandling.  However all pages are accounted for, and the book is still an acceptable reading copy.

Poor ~ A book described as in poor condition may have more value in relation to its collectibility than its readability.  The condition will vary from book to book: one may be badly worn but intact, while another may have missing pieces or pages.  Please pay particular attention  to the description in the listing.

N.B. where a double grading is given, the latter refers to the dust-jacket, wrapper or cover

This grading guide is updated monthly to save you scrolling through archives.