Berger (The Dictionary of the Book) is the most problematic of all. First, he comes down fully on the side of dealers who describe books at "first edition, fourteenth printing" - he even chides the use of "stereotype edition" (made after a first printing from standing type): "It is not strictly accurate, then, to call one the 'first edition' and the other the 'stereotype edition' because... they are both first editions(!!!!!) [He says he is writing for collectors and then only presents the bibliographer's definition, see https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/what-has-happened-to-the-first-edition ]
Berger doesn't define issue - a serious shortcoming in a dictionary on book collecting. The closest he comes is "All copies released to the public at one time are said to be 'issued' on that date. They constitute the "issue" of the publisher of that title." That's Carter without Carter's nuance, and the whole point of my post was that even in 1952, Carter's definition was out of date. Berger defines "state" as a stop-press variant and by analogy similar changes during production to other components of the book.
So according to Berger, if a publisher printed a book on paper and on vellum, they'd be issues if they were made available on different days and states if they were on the same day. Ditto books issued simultaneously in hardcover (cased) or paperback (wrappers). Most everyone would call those issues, and Carter and Tanselle provide definitions to allow that. Carter and Tanselle also don't require you to know exactly which order they were released to the public or to even define what, exactly, released means.
And citing Carter on almost every page is pretty lazy for a dictionary. Write your own definitions!
Thanks Scott
Throw away Carter. Riddled with errors. Get Berger (2nd edition). Essential!
Berger (The Dictionary of the Book) is the most problematic of all. First, he comes down fully on the side of dealers who describe books at "first edition, fourteenth printing" - he even chides the use of "stereotype edition" (made after a first printing from standing type): "It is not strictly accurate, then, to call one the 'first edition' and the other the 'stereotype edition' because... they are both first editions(!!!!!) [He says he is writing for collectors and then only presents the bibliographer's definition, see https://downtownbrown.substack.com/p/what-has-happened-to-the-first-edition ]
Berger doesn't define issue - a serious shortcoming in a dictionary on book collecting. The closest he comes is "All copies released to the public at one time are said to be 'issued' on that date. They constitute the "issue" of the publisher of that title." That's Carter without Carter's nuance, and the whole point of my post was that even in 1952, Carter's definition was out of date. Berger defines "state" as a stop-press variant and by analogy similar changes during production to other components of the book.
So according to Berger, if a publisher printed a book on paper and on vellum, they'd be issues if they were made available on different days and states if they were on the same day. Ditto books issued simultaneously in hardcover (cased) or paperback (wrappers). Most everyone would call those issues, and Carter and Tanselle provide definitions to allow that. Carter and Tanselle also don't require you to know exactly which order they were released to the public or to even define what, exactly, released means.
And citing Carter on almost every page is pretty lazy for a dictionary. Write your own definitions!