Clausen
Books
Book Grading Standards
return home
For purposes of appraisal, or when we list a book on the internet or in
a printed catalog or flyer,
we adhere to the following standards as they relate to the condition
of the book:
Very Fine - The highest
rating assigned to a book is Very Fine It is rarely used, as it requires
that a book and its dust wrapper (jacket) be absolutely flawless,
and perfectly pristine, without even the slightest hint of a rubbed or
bent edge to the wrapper, or lean to the spine. Few books meet
this rating, even most new books. Manufacturing flaws, careless glueing
or sewing at the bindery, may relegate a new book to a less than VF category.
Books in Very Fine condition should never be casually handled or opened,
although a careful bibliophile can examine and read a VF copy without
reducing its condition.
Fine - Most new books
that have not been handled by the browsing public and are not marked, stamped,
written in or altered in any way, are initially rated Fine, provided
their dust wrappers also meet the criteria. A Fine copy may permissibly
have a slightly rubbed edge or tiny crease, and this must ALWAYS be identified.
However, a torn edge or dirt smudge renders the book less than Fine.
Fine copies have no flaws, but are not as crisp, tight or ramrod
straight as a VF copy.
Near Fine -
These books have some minor flaw(s) that keep them from being assigned
to the Fine category. It is generally permissible (except by the
most stringent purists of book collecting) to give a book a Fine rating
and at the same time, downgrade the dust wrapper to Near Fine or lower,
so that descriptions of NF/NF, F/NF or NF/VG+, may be routinely used.
In ALL cases, flaws must be described. This is especially important
for expensive, collectible books in Near Fine or better condition.
To err on the side of understatement rather than over-praise a book's condition
is our policy.
Very Good -
The most of our books fall into the Very Good (VG) category. These
books have identifiable minor flaws. The overall condition
of a book is taken into consideration before being rated as VG. A
book with a pristine book block (the contents from the first to the last
page), but with minor tears to the spine, worn edges, or small stains on
an otherwise clean unblemished binding, would be rated as VG or even VG+,
if the defects are minor enough. Very clean and tight (relating to
the binding) ex-library books, that are stamped, labeled, or marked in
the usual manner by librarians, are graded as VG or VG+, depending upon
the crispness and cleanliness of the pages. When grading books in
the VG category, dust wrappers are graded SEPARATELY, and all flaws noted.
Common entries may be seen as VG/VG, VG+/VG, NF/VG+, and so on. Books
in the VG category are open to the most criticism, and so we are particularly
careful to note all flaws and understate the condition.
Good - Books in Good
(G) condition are worn, usually inside and out, but all printed pages are
present, and the binding is intact. The book cloth may be worn through,
pages torn, soiled, marked, or fragile, but the book will be perfectly
readable. It is usually identified as a reading copy.
Cloth bindings are subject to wear and tear, stains, rips, rubbing, bumping
to the corners, and bending, but if they do their job of protecting the
contents and keeping the pages clean and intact, we rate the book as Good
(G). Many discarded library books meet this standard, and again we
describe all flaws.
Fair to Poor -
We try not to sell books in this condition, unless they are highly desirable
or collectible as reading copies, in which case all printed pages would
have to be present. Books in this condition are very worn, stained,
ripped, unattractive, with broken or weak hinges and/or spines.
Some children's titles end up in fair to poor condition, but are so desirable
to many collectors, that their condition is forgiven. We scrupulously
list all identifiable flaws, but a rating of Fair or Poor speaks for itself.
return
home