The
Art of the Dust Jacket.
Anyone who walks past a
bookshop today will take for granted the display of assorted books in their eye
catching colours. Dust jackets that will
whisper to you of the delights you might expect upon purchase of your choice. Yet how many of those who pass by will be
aware of the amount of thought, creativity, and planning that has gone into the
design of those covers? The Dust jacket
must convey to the viewer, by word or design the character of a book that may
run into hundreds of pages. Those who
manage to do this have every right to be called true artists.
The Art Of The Dust Jacket.
The dust jacket was an English invention
but it was not originally made of paper.
In the early years of the nineteenth century velum and calf bindings
began to be replaced by less durable cloth ones and these required some form of
covering. Cardboard protective covers (slipcases)
intended to protect the fine leather and watered silk bindings were in use
before the first known dust jacket and it was around these covers that
book-sellers wrapped plain sheets of poor quality paper in order to further
protect the books. These covers were
discarded as they had no value. It was
well into the nineteenth century before the dust jacket as we know it today was
to appear. Publishers began to realise that the cover could provide a dual
purpose in life, (a) to inform and (b) to protect. The importance of this would be seen after
the First World War by which time almost all books had a printed jacket.
The years between the two World Wars saw
the art of the dust jacket being developed and refined as publishers began to
understand the relationship between well-designed dust jackets and book sales.
At the same time artists who would previously have worked exclusively in the world
of fine art began seeking work as commercial artists. Gradually, good book
design began to be considered an important factor in the world of publishing.
Today old dust jackets have become valued items. A
first edition book becomes infinitely more collectable (and valuable) if paired
with its original dust jacket. What was once a throw away item used purely to
preserve the book it housed has now become collectable in its own right. In 2009 a 1925 first edition, first issue
copy of The Great Gatsby was
sold. Its most outstanding feature was
its remarkably good dust jacket. The
dust jacket was considered to be exceptionally rare and contributed
to its record price of $180,000.
