Book Condition Ratings

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Park Avenue Books Book Ratings

Park Avenue Books uses the AB Bookman's descriptive terms standard for rating book condition

There's more to rating a book's condition than "new" or "used". Park Avenue Books bookstore and the individual book listings on this website use the book description system developed by the Antiquarian Bookman in 1949. The AB Bookman's description system for books seeks to eliminate confusion about the condition of a used book by using a common set of descriptive terms and has become a widely accepted standard for booksellers and book buyers.

We have provided below in the Short Description column a summary of the full AB description. The full AB descriptions also call for noting "any defects" for each of the categories (except for the "As New" and "Poor" categories). Park Avenue Books strives to be honest in assigning description ratings and to indicate the additional rating information when appropriate.

AB Bookman's Description Term (rating)	Short Description
As New	same immaculate condition in which it was published (including jacket, when a jacket was issued)
Fine	approaches the As New condition, but without being crisp; no defects
Very Good	some small signs of wear; no tears
Good	average used and worn book, all pages present
Fair	worn, complete text pages; may miss endpapers or half-title, etc.
Poor	complete text and readable; worn binding and pages; possibly soiled, scuffed, etc.
* The list of description terms was published weekly in the Antiquarian Bookman.

In addition to the ratings above, we intend to note when a book (or other media) is an Ex-Library copy, Book Club edition or Binding Copy. If you are interested in one of our listed items and have any question about our assigned rating please contact us directly.

Thank you,
Linda and Diana.

Please note: Due to the nature of the used book business some used books listed may be out of stock, or another copy may be available in a different condition than a listed book. All listed items - new or used - are limited to stock on hand and subject to prior sale. Prices subject to change.

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