Sanctuary: The Journal of the Massachusetts Audubon Society, July/August 1987 (Vol. 26, No. 8)

rubbing : Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.

jacket : Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps around the binding of a book

tight : Used to mean that the binding of a book has not been overly loosened by frequent use.

4to : Or quarto. A term used generally to describe the approximate size of a book, a book that is about 10" to 12" tall and roughly squarish in shape. The term is based on the size of paper traditionally used by book printers which has been folded and cut into 16 pages.