This is not an encyclopaedia. It is an ABC. And it is not an ABC of bibliography, or of printing or binding or book-production terms, though many of these come into it. It is an ABC of book-collecting, for novices, would-be collectors and that section of the literate public which takes an interest in our pursuit without necessarily wishing to share it.
From John Carter’s ABC for Book Collectors, pages 11-12, available online.