Unlike today's dust jackets, wrappers of the early 19th century were used to enfold the book completely, like a parcel.
"These books were like gift books, often bound very nicely and probably in silk," said Clive Hurst, the Bodleian's head of rare books and printed ephemera. "Silk bindings are very vulnerable to wear and tear and handling so bookselllers would keep them in these wrappers to protect the silk binding underneath. When you bought the book you would take the wrapper off and put it on your shelves, which is presumably why so few of these covers have survived."
`Unlike today's dust jackets, wrappers of the early 19th century were used to enfold the book completely, like a parcel.`
`"These books were like gift books, often bound very nicely and probably in silk," said Clive Hurst, the Bodleian's head of rare books and printed ephemera. "Silk bindings are very vulnerable to wear and tear and handling so bookselllers would keep them in these wrappers to protect the silk binding underneath. When you bought the book you would take the wrapper off and put it on your shelves, which is presumably why so few of these covers have survived."`
Excerpts from a 2009 article [The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2009/apr/24/earliest-dust-jacket-library)
The saying goes “never judge a book by its cover” but here at /s/TheDustJacket that’s exactly what we are going to do.
This sub is about book covers, the dust jacket. The stories and people behind the designs and the iconic covers that have captured our attention and got us to pick up a book and read.
Check the comments! I’ll post the picture of the book cover and include background information in the comment area.
Unlike today's dust jackets, wrappers of the early 19th century were used to enfold the book completely, like a parcel."These books were like gift books, often bound very nicely and probably in silk," said Clive Hurst, the Bodleian's head of rare books and printed ephemera. "Silk bindings are very vulnerable to wear and tear and handling so bookselllers would keep them in these wrappers to protect the silk binding underneath. When you bought the book you would take the wrapper off and put it on your shelves, which is presumably why so few of these covers have survived."Excerpts from a 2009 article The Guardian