1) Short title [i.e., what is the book in the shortest description?]

2) Title page transcription, colophon transcription or copyright page (if it has a colophon [very early books] or copyright page [modern books])

3) Imposition format (e.g., 2^o, 4^o, 8^vo, 12^mo, 16^mo, etc.), collation of binding signatures (e.g., A-Z⁴, AA-BB⁴), and pagination or foliation (e.g., [3], 1-122, [4] pages; or [12], 1-254 leaves).

4) Contents [signatures, foliation, or pagination followed by main section titles if present]

5) Paper and type [watermark description(s), type font style (e.g., Roman, Italic, Gothic) and size by x-height) and ink colors [N.B., W&A list a lot more description of type and paper but that would be uncommon unless you were describing a very valuabke copy of a very rare book whose surviving copies differed from one another in many ways]

6) Binding (and dustjacket if present in modern rare editions) [N.B., this is copy-specific and used only in rare book libraries but you should know how to describe bindings]

7) History of edition's printing and publication [See ESTC or bibliographic scholarship via JSTOR--you're into extra credit territory if you can find this for your book]

Sample Desbib (in progress--needs paper and type, and binding notes)

History of the church of Englande.

THE HISTORY OF | THE CHVRCH OF | ENGLANDE. | Compiled by Venerable Bede, | Englishman. | Translated out of Latin in to English by Thomas | Stapleton student in diuinite

You being sometimes straungers and enemies in vnderstanding &c. He hath | now reconciled in the body of his fleshe through death &c. If yet ye conti | new grounded and stedfast in the Faith, and be not moued away from the hope | of the ghospell, which ye haue heard, which hath ben preached amonge all crea | tures vnder heauen.

SPES ALIT AGRICOLAS

[Set around oval compartment containing printer's mark, parable of sower and seed]

Imprinted at Antwerp by Iohn Laet, | at the signe of the Rape: with | Priuilege. Anno. 1565.
4⁰: *⁶ >⁴ / / ⁴ A-3C⁴,ꭓ ⁴. [14], 192, [4] leaves.

Contents: *v, E. R. God saue the Quene. [Set in square compartment with Royal coat of arms]; *2r-*3r, TO THE RIGHT EXCELLENT AND MOST GRATIOVSE PRINCESSE, ELIZABETH BY THE GRACE OF God Quene of England, Fraunce, and Ireland, Defendour of the Faith.; *3v-||r, DIFFERENCES BE- | TWENE THE PRIMITIVE FAITHE OF | ENGLAND CONTINEVVED ALMOST THE- | se thousand yeres, and the late pretensed faith of pro- | testants; gathered out of the History of the Chur- | che of England compiled by Venerable Be- | de and English man, above DCCC. | yeares paste.; ||3-||4, 1-9v; THE PREFA- | CE TO THE RE- | ADER.; 10-11r; THE LIFE OF S. BEDE: | WRITEN BY TRITHEMIVS; 11r; BEDE TO THE READER.; 11v-12v; TO THE RIGHT HO- | NORABLE KING CEOLVL - | PHE BEDA THE SERAVNT | of Christe and Priest.; 13r-191v; Text; 192r-four unnumbered leaves; A TABLE OF THE | SPECIAL MATTERS, | The Figure signifieth the leaf. A. B. the | first and second side.; unnumbered fourth leaf v; Faultes escaped in Printing.

Running title reads: The history of the Chvrch of England.

Type: Roman with Italic type for contrasting matter and emphasis, and frequent use of long "s".

Paper:

Translation of Bede's Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum.
One of four English language recusant Catholic publications produced for English export by Laet in 1565, two by Stapleton.