Since this handbook was first published in 1994, interest in the book as a material object, and in the ways in which books have been owned, read and used, has burgeoned. Now established as a standard reference work, this book has been revised and expanded with a new set of over 200 colour illustrations, updated bibliographies and extended international coverage of libraries and online resources. It covers the history and understanding of inscriptions, bookplates, ink and binding stamps, mottoes and heraldry, and describes how to identify owners and track down books from particular collections via library and sale catalogues. Each section features an evaluated bibliography listing further sources, both online and in print. Illustrated examples of the many kinds of ownership evidence which can be found in books are also shown throughout. Relevant to anyone seeking to identify previous owners of books, or trace private libraries, this title will also support the work of all book historians interested in the history of reading or the use of books and in the book as a material object. An essential handbook for anyone working in provenance research.

Birth records typically give the child's name, date of birth, place of birth (or where recorded), parents' names, parents' places of birth, and reference source volume, page and line number. Marriage records typically give the bride's and groom's places of origin, date and place of marriage, bride's and groom's ages and places of birth, whether this is the first marriage, and bride's and groom's parents' names, followed by reference source volume, page and line number. Death records typically give the decedent's date and place of death, place of birth, parents' names, and reference source volume, page and line number. Contains the following records: births for the years 1737 through 1863; deaths for the years 1737 through 1857; marriages for the years 1737 through 1857; and baptisms for the years 1800 through 1816. Nearly all of the information falls between 1737 and 1857, but a few vital records go back as far as 1654. This volume has a new fullname index (containing roughly 6,000 to 10,000 names) to ease research.