Full Leather  

Bound in full leather with 22 karat gold decoration and gilded endpaper (all three sides). You will recognize one from it’s pronounced raised spine hubs, sewn-in ribbon bookmarks and silk moiré fabric endpapers. These are the most desirable editions and usually command the highest prices.

Quarter-Bound      

The Quarter-Bound Leather editions have full leather coverings on the spines only, so they look similar to the full leather editions on the shelf, but the rest of the covers (boards) are cloth or leatherette covered.  These books also have a silk page marker, however, they do not have silk moiré endpapers.

Imitation Leather or Leatherette

The Imitation Leather editions or Leatherette (which is technically cloth) is just a cheaper version of the full leather editions. Although they look similar to the full leather editions, they actually have no leather on them. You can recognize these Leatherette books as they do not have the silk page marker or silk moiré endpaper.  Like their leather cousins, they will often have hubbed spines and gilded page edges (although usually not as bright) so they look nice on the shelf but any trained eye will see the difference.