Antiquarian & Collectible Book Terms Dictionary - M

A glossary of words with definitions starting with the letter M related to collectible, rare and antiquarian books.

If you find this guide helpful, please vote yes at the bottom of this page. If you have a suggestion on how we can improve this guide or need a word added and defined please contact us through the eBay system by clicking our feedback score above or clicking here.

Need to find another word? Click any of the letters below to go to the appropriate letter.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

M.E. or me - Marbled edges.

Made-up - A book that has been repaired, restored, or even added to. Also known as doctored.

Made-up Copy - A copy of a book whose parts have been assembled from one or more defective copies.

Mag - Magazine

Manuscript - The original text of an author's work, handwritten or typed. It can also refer to a book or document written before the invention of printing.

Marbled - A faux-marble pattern often used for endpapers.

Marbled edges - Usually the top, bottom and foreedge of a book with a multi-colored, swirled design, somewhat resembling the coloration pattern of marble stone.

Marbled paper - Colored paper with a veined, mottled, or swirling pattern, in imitation of marble, which is used with paper-covered boards and as end papers in books. The use of marbled papers was especially popular during the Victorian era and with 3/4 or 1/2 leather bindings.

Margin - The space between the edge of the page and the printed text. Sometimes in binding, the margins are trimmed or cropped.

Marginalia - Notes written in the margins of a page around the text. Frequently used by students and others when studying a text. Also known as Highlighting and Underlining.

Mass-Market Paperback - The most common paperback book, about four inches wide and seven inches high. Seen most often as mystery, science fiction and romance books. See also Trade Paperback.

Mint - Refers to the condition of a book; it is either a brand new copy, or in the same new and unblemished condition as when it was first published. Many booksellers and collectors dislike using this term and prefer to use "as new" in describing this condition. Also known as a bright copy.

Mint Copy - An absolutely perfect copy; as perfect as the day it was issued.

Misbound - An illustration, map, or a number of pages that have been incorrectly folded, bound out of order, or bound upside down.

Modern First Editions - Generally used for books published in the last 100 years.

Modern Firsts - Generally used for books published in the last 100 years.

Monograph - A work, generally short, dealing with a single subject and usually issued in pamphlet form.

Morocco - A type of leather made from goatskins, especially suitable for book bindings because of its durability and beauty. Straight-grained morocco was popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Also see calf, sheep and vellum.

Mottled calf - Calf leather that has been sprinkled with copperas acid, a chemical used in tanning, giving it a mottled or spotted effect.

Mounted -- An illustration can be mounted, as opposed to printed directly, on a blank sheet in a book. Also means damaged leaves, illustrations, maps, and/or photographs that have been strengthened by backing with paper or thin cloth.

Mrbld - Marbled

Ms or Mss - Manuscript(s)

Mssg - Missing

To see the current eBay listings of collectible books and coins from Extraordinary Things LLC click here.