back printing
second print cycle that prints the second page of a sheet and follows face printing
banishment
a temporary or lifelong ban on residence imposed as a penalty
Bänkelsänger
wandering circulator of news who performed sung moritats and ballads, and also showed pictures at the same time
Baroque
period in European history between 1560 and 1730, the age of the Counter-Reformation and absolutism; stylistic term in art history
barter
a form of trade that dispenses with the use of money in preference of the direct exchange of goods
bastard title page
page preceding the actual title page of a book with a short line referencing the name of the work
batch composition
typesetting of complex texts
Bauhaus
art and design institute active in Weimar, Dessau, style- and trendsetting through its creativity and teaching methods
belly band
a strip of paper stretched over the dust jacket of a book carrying promotional text
Benedictines
oldest existing Western religious order, which lives according to the Rule of Saint Benedict of Nursia from the 6th century
Berliner format
widespread standard newspaper format with a double-page size of 470 × 630 mm
Berne Convention
international convention dating from 1886 guaranteeing authors’ rights over their works of literature, art and music
bestsellers
books that sell quickly and in great numbers, which requires, as a rule, large marketing campaigns
Bézier curve
special mathematically defined curve with two endpoints and two supporting points with great significance for computer graphics and typography
Bible
collected holy writings of Judaism and Christianity
Bible paper
thin wood-free paper with high fastness and high grade opacity for the production of books of lasting value
bibliography
systematic catalogue of media that is prepared according to unifying principles such as time period or other characteristics
bibliomania
compulsive passion for collecting books that goes as far as violating moral and legal standards
bibliophilia
love of books leading to the building of a private library, often turning into the collection of rare and special editions
bilingual inscription
an inscription or handwriting giving the same text in two languages
binding
the process of combining single pages or folded sheets using thread or wire
binding book price
in Germany and Austria, books are subject to binding sales prices, with the exception of second-hand books
binding copy
book with a flexible cover directly stuck to the text block
biography
account of a person’s life or a collection containing the description of several lives
blank
deliberately planned as a blank page without content but included in the page count
blind embossing
a book cover decorated using stamps, burnishers, blocks etc., and without using ink or leaf metal
blind text
meaningless text to enable the checking of the visual appearance when designing layouts
block book
book with pages only printed on one side, often furnished with pictures, printed with woodblocks using a rubbing technique without the use of a printing press
block letters
a script suitable for printing (as opposed to handwriting)
blockbuster
a term in television and cinema for a hugely successful production
blog
a web diary written in public on the internet (“web log”)
blue books
collections of documents in which matters of foreign policy of individual states are published in characteristic colours: blue being the colour of the first such publications in England
blurb
the text on the dust jacket of a book that usually provides information on the contents and the author as well as other works by the same publisher
body painting
body art with direct application of paint to the skin which, unlike tattooing, is only temporary
body text typeface
predominant typeface of a printed work in which the main justified paragraphs of the text, distinct from the headings, is set
body type
in terms of form and size, the primary font used in a printed work
book art
handcrafted accentuation in book design and manufacture in terms of the typography, layout, illustration and binding
book art movement
reform movement arising as a reaction against industrial book production around 1900
book burning
burning of printed matter, most often demonstratively carried out in public, of the publications with content subject to official disapproval or by condemned authors
book clasps
elements (clips made of metal or straps) most often placed on the leading edge of a book to avoid it falling open
book club
club whose members undertake to regularly purchase special low-price editions of books
book decoration
ornamental or pictorial elements for the decoration of a book, such as borders, title edging or publishers’ marks
book fair
book trade sector event that may also have the character of an exhibition as a fair for customers, often involving authors and readers as well
book format
originally indicated the number of leaves per folded sheet (2 in a Folio, 4 in a Quart, 8 in an Octavo)
book genre
subset of book type classified according to aspects of form, content, target readership or use and function
book illustration
the pictorial furnishing of a book, which may also encompass ornamental accessories such as initials and vignettes
book object
art objects tending towards book form, where the artist in part views books as a raw material
book of hours
prayer book popular in the Middle Ages with psalms and devotional texts for each hour of the day
book of tables
collections of scientific or mathematical tables or charts
book paper
machine-finished printing paper with high leaf thickness and low transparency
book plundering
the looting of the libraries of the disenfranchised and the expelled, primarily in the Nazi period
book price fixing
although price fixing is prohibited for most goods, in the book-selling trade, prices set by the publishing house apply for all vendors (in Germany)
book printing
printing of books and brochures that contain mostly text
book trade
the business of the production, marketing and distribution of books and other media in the form of publishing houses, book dealers and bookshops
book tub
waterproof and easy-to-transport container for unbound books in the pre-industrial era
book-form
physical form of storing long, often illustrated texts (in scroll, codex or leporello form) made from papyrus, parchment or paper
bookbinder
occupation in the print industry requiring formal training that deals with the manual or industrial manufacture of book covers and bindings
booklet
brochure-like supplement to a compact disc
bookmark
placeholder, digital or otherwise, inserted into a text for the rapid retrieval of a reader's place
bookplate (ex-libris)
small-format graphic print or label stuck inside a book as a mark of ownership
books on demand
protected trademark of a system providing temporarily digitally cached books upon customer request
bookseller
a company which is active as a bookseller and/or distributor with its own shop
bookwheel
rotating bookstand allowing several open books to be read simultaneously
bookworm
book pest whose larvae eat through the pages of books; also figuratively a passionate reader of books
border
term for vignettes, title framing and other ornamental forms
born-digital materials
media originally created on, or with the use of, digital devices
from 1825 the short form of Börsenverein der Deutschen Buchhändler (tr: Stock Exchange Association of German Book Dealers), since 1990 of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (tr: Stock Exchange Association of German Book Trade )
boycott
the exclusion of persons, companies or states from business and trade in the pursuit of economic, social or political aims
Braille script
script pressed into paper from the rear side, which can be read by touch with the fingertip; for the blind
breviary
liturgical book containing the daily acts of worship
brief
term for a short papal decree
broadsheet
normally a sheet printed on one side only, primarily from the 15th and 16th centuries
brocaded paper
coloured paper decorated with embossed metal leaf
browser
computer program for the rendering of internet-based content on screen
Bücher dispute
conflict centred on fixed shop prices and discounts in the German book trade in the late 19th century
bulletin
daily report, daily military orders, official communiqué
Byte
an 8 Bit (binary digits) unit of data that assume 256 different values
Byzantine iconoclasm
dispute concerning the worship of religious images in the Byzantine church in the 8th and 9th centuries
Byzantine studies
the study of the history, culture and population of the Byzantine empire
