I have a decent collection of unique SF/Fantasy/Horror hardcovers. Many of these are from small press publishers—vs. mass-market publishers like Tor and Baen. Some are from defunct mass-market publishers, lost in the mists of near-time (1970s and 1980s, with publishers like Doubleday or Blue Jay). When I buy older books from dealers or other collectors, the books usually come with mylar protection over their dust jackets. When I buy direct from publishers, or newer books from (cough) online major outlets, the books usually arrive with no extra protection. It’s up to the buyer at this point.
Until recently, when acquiring new books, I tended to cannibalize some covers I already had from older books, applying any covers the right size to special books that came with no such protection. At some point, one runs out of books from which to cannibalize these covers. I finally bit the bullet this year and ordered 100 mylar covers from one of several such manufacturers/resellers. Although I have over 100 books that need these extra covers, I decided to start with 100, and at the size that covered book up to 10″ tall.
It’s a tedious and not too easy affair to wrestle dust jackets into these covers. The covers I bought are usually slightly taller than the books. The first step is then to adjust the covers to the right size. The next, straightening a reluctant cover inside its new protection, and the last step, bringing the book into its new jacket.
With 100 covers, I started with what I considered “high priority” books. Maybe that was a bad decision, as I was still figuring out how to fit the jackets into these covers. So far I’ve maybe done 20 books, and gotten slightly better at the process. I do feel a bit better about having the books protected this way. There’s one book I know that is beyond help, with a small quarter inch tear on the jacket. Other books have slight stains, likely from exposure to the sun before I bought them, or just part of the paper aging process.
So far I have prioritized small press books—those from Subterranean Press, Dark Harvest, Underwood-Miller, Zeising; a few others still yet identified. Lined up and waiting are books from favorite authors big enough to warrant mass-market publishers: Vernor Vinge, Charles de Lint. James P. Blaylock, Tim Powers. Other books, especially from Arkham House and Golden Gryphon, which are shorter, probably require jackets of a smaller size. It’s likely that I’ll run out of the first batch of 100, but at that point I’ll have a process in place, and will continue with the rest of them.
It’s interesting when stripping the jacket from a book to see what’s underneath. In some cases, the books are just books—nothing extra. In other cases, the publisher has made something special of the book itself, with text or art, that almost warrant its own attention. It’s here that I’m reminded of Steve Jobs, who made even the parts not usually visible to user as artistic and beautiful as the parts that were visible. This is counter-balanced by the moments when you remove a cover and see flaws that can never be undone; yellowing, spotting, foxing, and worse. Here you wonder whether any attempt to protect the book is worth it, for entropy comes to all things. In the meantime, I feel that I’m almost discovering some of these books anew. An exciting time.
