it has come our attention that some of our newer followers are struggling to understand the words we use to describe our rare books, and you are in for a treat with this simple guide to "Words That Don't Mean Anything What It Seems Like They Mean"

[thread 1/?]

when we get books in, collectors want to know what the damage is, so we have to find a way to tell them, and over a few centuries bookstores have developed a form of shorthand for this, because business has always been done by catalogue from hundreds of miles away

[btw no rare bookstore uses the same keywords/phrases in -exactly- the same way, dont ask me why, I have no idea why. your mileage may vary. there is no real authority on it, I have checked, it's a bloodbath out there]

if we're in a hurry, we use broad strokes and consult the following table

FINE: the book was crapped out by an angel
VERY GOOD: no-one can prove anything
GOOD: lets just be grateful it has covers, shall we
FAIR: the book is on fire, guarded by a hydra
POOR: no book, only despair

most books we sell actually fit into the common understanding of 'Very Good', but as you can see that could mean anything from "it maybe has all the pages" to "it's almost perfect"

so its not really very helpful. 5 tweets in and we have learned nothing. you are welcome.