What are generally accepted practices for grading the condition of books?
The following listing comes from one of our society member book dealers, Paul Schildgen, of Yesterday’s Memories: BOOK CONDITION GUIDE So you want to sell or buy some books and are not sure of what the various grades mean? Here is a paraphrase of the A. B. Bookmansf Grading guide, developed in 1949 and in general use by booksellers today. As New: As it comes from the publisher. No defects, no markings, no library stamps, etc. Dust jacket if one was issued must be immaculate. Fine: approaches As New but not crisp. Again no defects, markings, etc. If dust jacket has any minor damage it must be noted. Very Good: A used book that shows small signs of wear, but no tears of either binding or paper. Any defects must be noted. Good: The average used and worn book, with all pages and leaves present. Any defects must be noted. Fair: A worn book that has complete text pages including any maps or plates, but may lack endpapers, half title, etc. Often the terms gnearlyh gexcepth or gelseh appear in
