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If you’ve spent much time looking at descriptions of rare books for sale, you’ve probably noticed that the most complicated part is the condition summary. Here’s an insider overview of condition, the most subjective part of a rare book listing.
The first and easiest part of condition descriptions is the grade. The highest grade is “fine.” (Traditionally, we don’t use “mint,” which is an abomination leaked from other collectible fields.) Next is “near fine.” Then “very good.” In rare books, “good” is BAD.
You’ll also sometimes see little wedges between these terms: “very good plus” is better than very good but not quite near fine; “about fine” is better than near fine but not quite fine. Keep an eye out for abbreviations too, e.g. “VG” for very good.
Condition grades seem objective, but they are not! What’s very good to one dealer may be near fine to another. This is one of the reasons it’s important to get to know the dealers who handle material you like. You’ll develop a feel for the quirks and patterns of each dealer.
The inherent subjectivity is also why I use grades only as summaries of my condition statement. I list the traits, then cap it off with the grade: “hinges a little weak, only light rubbing to extremities. Near fine.” This is like showing my work for the grade.
Another important aspect of condition is that a book should be graded in the context of other books of its kind. The “near fine” example in the previous tweet comes from a description for an 1883 book; the exact same one might only be “very good” for a 1983 book.
Each book is a historical artifact made with a unique combo of materials, creating different patterns of wear. I don’t hold an English book published in 1944 — with wartime restrictions that led to unusually poor quality paper — to the same standard as one published even in 1954.
Condition descriptions are also tricky because they have a number of conventions that act like euphemisms, like “good” meaning “bad.” (Even worse: “good only.”) Keep a close eye on modifiers — adverbs and adjectives — to navigate this.
Dealers LOVE modifiers as an efficient way to soften flaws. “Light foxing”; “faint creasing”; “spine gently sunned.” It adds a layer of nuance with a single word. If you see a word like “foxing” on its own, no modifiers, that’s often dealer speak for “a lot of foxing in fact.”
Condition descriptions are also full of precise vocabulary that can be difficult to parse if you don’t have a strong handle on rare book terms. Because we booksellers strive for economy of words here, the technical vocab is super useful for us! But it’s hard on new collectors.
If there’s a specific piece of vocab you want explained, use the hashtag #rarebookwords and ask @typepunchmatrix, where we have an ongoing project of defining these words on Twitter.
I’ve only scratched the surface of how condition descriptions work, so if you have other questions about them, let me know. I’ll try to QT with an answer today to continue the conversation.
