Collecting guides Books Collecting guide
How to Collect Books Printed books from incunabula to modern first editions.
In book collecting, the same title can be worth a few coins or a small fortune. The difference lies
in the edition, the printing, the condition of the book and its jacket, and its history. Booksellers
describe these with great precision, and a collection catalogued the same way keeps its value.
Getting Started ordicio sorts books as the antiquarian book trade does:
Maps and atlases and autographs and manuscripts have categories of their own.
Collect an author, a publisher, an illustrator, a subject or a period. A focused collection is easier
to complete and more interesting to others.
What to Record Author, title, publisher, place and year as printed on the title page.Edition and printing , and the “points” that identify a first edition, such as a misprint or a
number line.Format and binding: folio, quarto, octavo and smaller; cloth, leather or paper; original or
rebound.Dust jacket: present or not, price-clipped or not, first issue or later.Signed, inscribed or association copy: a signature, a dedication, or a copy owned by someone
connected to the book.Provenance marks: bookplates, ownership signatures, library stamps.Condition and Grading Booksellers use the terms of AB Bookman’s Weekly - Fine, Near Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor -
separately for the book and the jacket (“Very Good in a Good dust jacket”). Record faults: foxing,
spine fading, tears, missing pages, ex-library marks.
Care and Storage Shelve books upright, not too tight, away from sunlight, heat and damp. Protect jackets with archival
covers. Large heavy books lie flat. Never use adhesive tape for repairs.
Mistakes to Avoid Taking a book club edition or a later printing for a first edition. Discarding the dust jacket, which can be most of the value of a modern first. Writing in a valuable book or adding labels with adhesive. The Data Sheet for Books The 34 fields worth recording for books, grouped as in the
ordicio app.
Identification
Title Text The title or name the object is known by, as given by its maker, publisher or catalogue.
Author Text Author or editor, as on the title page.
Publisher Text Publisher as on the title page or imprint.
Place of publication Text Place of publication as on the title page.
Year published Text Year of publication as printed or established, e.g. 1925, [1925], n.d. (c. 1890). Edition Choice Edition and printing; first editions are identified by the publisher's statements or the points in the bibliographies.First edition, first printing First edition, later printing First edition thus Later edition Limited edition Facsimile / reprint Unknown
Edition points Text Evidence of the edition and issue, e.g. number line 1-10, first state of the dust jacket, misprint on p. 11.
ISBN Text ISBN-10 or ISBN-13 (books since about 1970).
Language Text Language of the text.
Reference link Link Web page about this object or its reference entry (catalogue, database, sale). Physical description How the book is made and what it contains.
Binding Choice, or your own Kind of binding.Hardcover, cloth Hardcover, paper boards Full leather Half / quarter leather Vellum / parchment Paperback Wrappers / pamphlet Spiral / comb Unbound / in sheets Dust jacket Choice Presence of the dust jacket, which is a large part of the value of 20th-century first editions.Original dust jacket Later or facsimile dust jacket No dust jacket Not issued with a dust jacket Format Choice Size of the book in the booksellers' terms (by height).Folio (over 30 cm) Quarto / 4to (about 25 to 30 cm) Octavo / 8vo (about 20 to 25 cm) Duodecimo / 12mo (about 17 to 20 cm) Sextodecimo / 16mo (about 15 to 17 cm) Smaller Oblong
Pages Text Pagination and collation, e.g. xii, 320 pp., 24 plates.
Illustrations Text Illustrations, plates and maps, with the illustrator.
Height (cm) Number Height, measured upright as the object is meant to stand or hang. Copy specifics What makes this copy different from others.
Signed / inscribed Choice Signatures and inscriptions; an association copy is inscribed to someone close to the author or the work.Signed by the author Inscribed by the author Association copy Signed by others Not signed
Provenance marks Text Bookplates, ownership inscriptions, library stamps and labels.
Limitation Text Limitation statement, e.g. one of 500 numbered copies, this is no. 23. Condition Condition (book) Choice Condition in the terms of the antiquarian book trade (AB Bookman's scale); describe faults in the notes.As new Fine Near fine Very good Good Fair Poor Ex-library Binding copy Condition (dust jacket) Choice Condition of the dust jacket on the same scale.As new Fine Near fine Very good Good Fair Poor
Condition notes Text Faults, wear and damage in detail.
Restoration & repairs Text Restorations, repairs, replaced parts and cleaning, with who did them and when if known. Acquisition How and when the object came into the collection.
Acquisition date Date Date the object came into the collection. Acquisition method Choice, or your own How the object came into the collection.Purchase Auction Gift Inheritance Exchange / trade Self-collected / found Commission
Acquired from Text Seller, auction house (with sale and lot number), donor or place where it was found.
Purchase price Amount Price paid including fees and premiums.
Provenance Text Earlier owners and the object's history, oldest first, with sources (labels, invoices, sale catalogues). Value Estimated and insured value.
Estimated value Amount Current market value as estimated.
Valuation date Date Date of the current value estimate. Valuation basis Choice What the estimated value is based on.Own estimate Recent sales / auction results Dealer offer Catalogue value Professional appraisal Insurance valuation
Insured value Amount Sum the object is insured for. Collection record Your own inventory data.
Inventory number Text Your own number or label for the object, e.g. C-0042, as written on its label or album page.
Storage location Text Where the object is kept, e.g. room, cabinet, drawer, album and page, box. Catalogue your books in ordicio.
Record every piece with its photos and a data sheet, keep it
private or share it with other collectors. This data sheet comes to the app with the next catalog release.
Open ordicio
Standards and References The data sheets follow the standards collectors, dealers and museums use:
ILAB / ABAA glossary and the AB Bookman's Weekly condition terms (As new, Fine, Very good, Good, Fair, Poor) Bibliographic format terms (folio, quarto 4to, octavo 8vo, duodecimo 12mo ...) ISBN / OCLC WorldCat identifiers; Ahearn and other first-edition points guides Antiquarian map trade conventions (Tooley's Dictionary of Mapmakers; Shirley, Burden, Koeman references) Autograph trade abbreviations (ALS, TLS, DS, SP) and authentication services (PSA/DNA, JSA, Beckett) Updated October 24, 2026
