Explanatory Notes

Scope -
We stock all books, periodicals, brochures, yearbooks and other printed ephemera on the game of cricket. In addition, books that contain passages on the game are included.

Entries -
Entries consist of author, editor or compiler; title and sub-title; notes and price. Notes include publication year; page size; pagination (except in more than one volume as in a yearbook); illustrations; maps; match scores; statistics; glossary; bibliography; index and condition of an individual copy. These are set out in abbreviations listed below.

Authority -
Where possible in describing a book we include a reference from E.W.Padwick's "Bibliography of Cricket" which is the accepted "bible" of cricket world-wide among collectors and students of the great summer game. 'Padwick' was published in 2 volumes - Volume I in 1977 (second edition 1984); Volume II in 1991. Volume I lists 8294 entries covering all known titles up to December 1979; Volume II has 4029 entries of works published between 1980 and 1989, as well as those published prior to 1980 that were not included in Volume I.

Dates -
Dates of the work are those given on the title page or elsewhere in the publication. If it is inferred, the date is enclosed in brackets '()'. I f there is doubt about the inferred date, it is followed by a '?'.

Condition -
The following terms are used when describing the condition of dust wrappers and books:

Mint: As new (including, if required) the dust wrapper
Fine: Nearly as new but showing very slight signs of having been read.
Very good: Sound, firm, clean but with minor marking/tearing of dust-wrapper or slight wear to covers.
Good: Sound and firm but covers marked or faded and contents show signs of use.
Fair: General wear and marking with possible weakness to hinges. Only a good 'reading' copy.
Poor: Generally marked and shaken - a last resort when no better copy may be found.

Abbreviations and Terms -
8vo. octavo - a format term meaning that 8 pages have been printed together on each side of a sheet of paper which is then folded 4 times to create a 'gathering' of 16 pages on eight leaves. The majority of hardback books are published using this form and measure approx. 14cms x 22cms
4to. quarto - a format term meaning that 4 pages have been printed on each side of a piece of paper which is then folded twice to create a gathering of 8 pages on four leaves. Used loosely to describe a squarish-shaped book, larger than 8vo, of perhaps 21cms x 28cms.
adverts. - advertisements
backstrip - see 'spine'
bibliog.- bibliography
bs.- broadsheet
c.- circa
ch. chapter
chipped - refers to very minor tears/ creasing of the upper/lower edges of dust-wrappers
col. coloured
deckled edges - rough/uneven edges of pages of handmade paper that has not been trimmed.
diagr. diagram
dw. dust wrappers (or jackets) - the printed paper cover which protects the cloth binding of the modern book
ed. - edition
endpapers - leaves added by a publisher to the front or end of a book immediately inside the covers
facsim.- facsimile - an exact copy of the original. Used largely in connection with Wisdens where a missing wrapper or page is reproduced by a professional bookbinder.
figs.- figures
fo.- folio - a format term - 2 pages printed on 1 side of a sheet of paper; 2 pages printed on the reverse, giving a gathering of 4 pages on 2 leaves. Usually loosely refers to the larger book - perhaps 25cms x 35cms.
fore-edge - page-edge that runs parallel with the spine of a book
foxing - brown/yellow spots which sometimes appear on paper which has been subjected to damp or lack of ventilation
frontis. - frontispiece - any illustration facing the title-page of a book
hinge - inside joint of a book cover
illus.- illustrations
incl. - including
isbn. - International Standard Book Number
limited edition - edition strictly limited to a stated number of copies - each being individually numbered and often signed
m.s. - manuscript
marbled - a coloured marble-like pattern applied to end-paper or paper edges
n.d. - no date given or inferred
no. - number
n.p. - no publisher given or inferred
orig. wrappers - paper covers usually of cheaper quality, slim volumes - otherwise referred to as paperbacks
pastedown - leaf pasted to the inside of the binding of a book
pp.- pages
pbk. - paperback
port.- portrait
prelims.- preliminary pages which appear before the main body of text
presentation copy - copy of a book given by the author as a gift
pseud. - pseudonym
pub. published
publisher's cloth - the original cloth binding in which a book was published ready for sale at the booksellers and usually uniform with other copies of the same edition
rev.- revised
scores - full match scores
shaken - describing a book no longer tight and firm in its covers
slip-case - slip-in case of card, leather or other material which allows the backstrip of a book to show -thus protecting all edges of the book
spine - the back of a book where the gatherings of pages are sewn together. The covering material over the Spine is the Backstrip
stats.- statistics and records of team or individual performances
vol. - volume
v.p. - various pagination
v.y. - various years