1. Marks or stamps made by a printer or publisher on books to identify the printing house or edition.
Usage: plural of pressmark; chiefly British; used in book history and bibliography
2. Reference marks or call numbers written or stamped in books to indicate their location in a library or archive.
Usage: plural of pressmark; chiefly British; library and archival context

Examples

• The rare book contained several pressmarks from different printers across its pages.
• Librarians use pressmarks to organize and locate manuscripts in the collection.
• The pressmarks on the title page revealed the book was printed in London in the 18th century.
• Each volume in the archive had pressmarks indicating its catalog number.
• Scholars study pressmarks to trace the publication history of early printed books.