An 1880s Dust Jacket
Title
An 1880s Dust Jacket
Description
Dust jackets have been used by publishers for at least a few centuries to protect a book’s binding and also to advertise the book’s contents and other works from the publisher. Dust jackets were often discarded, however, to reveal the attractive binding beneath or because readers found them to be a nuisance. As a result, pre-twentieth-century dust jackets are especially scarce. This dust jacket from 1886 simply reproduces the text found on the book’s boards. The book it covers is the only copy of this common title I have seen with its jacket. The jacket is the oldest dust jacket in my collection.
Creator
Justin Hanisch (photographer)
Source
The Sporting Fish of Great Britain with Notes on Ichthyology
Publisher
Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington
Date
1886
Contributor
H. Cholmondeley-Pennell (author)
Format
Octavo
Language
English
Coverage
London (published)
Citation
Justin Hanisch (photographer), “An 1880s Dust Jacket,” Bruce Peel Special Collections Library Online Exhibits, accessed July 11, 2025, https://omeka.library.ualberta.ca/items/show/3320.