Thursday 30 April 2015

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DUST JACKET

 Neues Taschenbuch Von Nürnberg (2 Volumes)
Neues Taschenbuch Von Nürnberg (2 Volumes)
As most collectors are aware, a dust jacket in fine condition can greatly enhance thevalue of a book. Indeed, for modern first editions, a book without the dust jacket will sell for only a fraction of the price. Once intended to be temporary and disposable protection for beautifully bound books, dust jackets have become–in some ways–more valuable than the books they protect. How and when did this change occur?
Prior to the 1820s, most books were issued as unbound sheets or with disposable board covers. Customers would buy the text-blocks and commission bindings themselves–often to match the other titles in their library. For this reason, dust jackets were neither needed nor desired. Instead of a dust jacket, some printers would protect the exterior with a blank page (called by some a “bastard title”).
Besides these temporary boards or blank pages, the earliest version of the dust jacket was a slipcase, or sheath, first seen in the late 18th century. They were essentially small boxes, open on one or both ends, often constructed of pasteboard. The sheaths typically housed literary annuals, gift books, or pocket diaries. Literary annuals were quite popular and during the 1820s, it became common for publishers to print them in sheaths.
According to dust jacket authority, G. Thomas Tanselle, it was likely these sheaths that “gave prominence to the idea of a detachable publisher’s covering.”  Indeed, typographer Ruari McLean asserted that the sheath “can be called the progenitor of the book jacket, since its function was to attract and protect.”
The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
The Second Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
But of course, though forerunners, sheaths were not dust jackets. During the 1820s, publishers began encasing annuals and gift books in a sort of wrapping paper, printed with just enough text to identify the volume. While many book bindings of the period plain, annuals and gift books tended to be more ornate, and publishers sought to protect these books in transit.
In 2009, the Bodleian Library, Oxford discovered what is often cited as the earliest known example of a dust jacket. It was a paper wrapper for a gift book, bound in silk, entitled Friendship’s Offering (1829). The wrapper was intended to completely enclose the book, and in fact, there remain traces of sealing wax from where the paper was secured. Prior to the discovery of this volume, the earliest-known example was another gift book, The Keepsake (1833).
However, it is now considered uncertain whether Friendship’s Offering is the oldest known dust jacket (although it does seem to be the earliest English language example). The German two volume Neues Taschenbuch Von Nürnbergsurviving in multiple copies–seems to precede Friendship’s Offering by over a decade. Published in 1819, the set, encased in plain paper dust jackets, describes many of Nürnberg’s most famous attractions and personalities, including Albrecht Dürer and Peter Vischer.
Leaves Of Grass Including Sands at Seventy...1st Annex, Good-Bye my Fancy...2nd Annex, A Backward Glance O'er Traveled Roads, and Portrait from Life by Walt Whitman
Leaves Of Grass Including Sands at Seventy…1st Annex, Good-Bye my Fancy…2nd Annex, A Backward Glance O’er Traveled Roads, and Portrait from Life by Walt Whitman
It is difficult to ascertain when, exactly, paper wrappers first were employed by publishers, since they were intended to be discarded. In fact, the wrappers were frequently destroyed in the process of opening them–think of all the torn wrapping paper on birthdays or Christmas. Nevertheless, examples have survived from 1829 through the early 20th century.
The modern-style dust jacket was first introduced in the 1830s–although possibly earlier (evidence is inconclusive). Featuring flaps, it was a much-improved design. These dust jackets could remain on the book when it was opened, providing protection for volumes even as they were read.
By the 1870s, dust jackets had become common–although in many cases, they were left blank. A letter from Lewis Carroll to his publisher in 1876 provides insight into how dust jackets were viewed in the period. He requested that the publisher print the title of his latest book, The Hunting of the Snark, on the spine of the “paper wrapper” so that the book would remain in “cleaner and more saleable condition.” He goes on to ask that the same be done for his older books, “even those on hand which are already wrapped in plain paper.”
Carroll’s letter is evidence of the next stage of dust jacket evolution. From plain paper, publishers began printing titles on the spine of the jacket–allowing customers to view a book from the shelf and know its contents without opening it or removing the paper. While some dust jackets of the 1870s and 1880s did feature printing on the front, back, and flaps, these practices were not common and were instead specific to each publisher.
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Through the early 20th century, dust jackets were employed to preserve the ornate bindings underneath. For this reason, although the jackets were common at the time of printing, collecting 19th and 20th century works in dust jacket can prove a challenge. Many owners discarded the jackets, preferring to display the bindings of their books instead.
A fundamental change in attitude occurred in the 1920s. For the first time, publishers began emphasizing the dust jacket instead of the bindings. Although there were some decorative dust jackets before, they generally mimicked the binding design. After World War I, more artists began accepting corporate work, and publishers employed them to design attractive dust jackets.
Moreover, the jackets boasted more information than ever before. Instead of including only a printed title, or perhaps a design similar to the binding, publishers began printing book synopses as well as author biographies. Now, when many authors from the time have become obscure or unknown, their biographical information as preserved on dust jackets has become an important source of knowledge.
Since the 1920s, while graphic design has evolved, dust jackets have remained relatively unchanged. Interestingly, however, there was a brief period in the 1940s when paperbacks were printed in dust jackets.
As the 20th century progressed, dust jackets became increasingly ornate and the bindings beneath correspondingly plain. The golden age of bookbinding came to an end, and the once-disposable dust jacket became an essential component of the book industry.


Wednesday 29 April 2015

Monday 27 April 2015

What If? ~ Jennifer Zang {Poem}

Via Jennifer Zangon Aug 26, 2014

Depression-loss_of_loved_one

What if…

I stay, pretending I am not crumbling inside? That with each passing day I decide to start loving myself as much as I love you?
What if…
I stay, using the pain as a secret ingredient, creating a concoction, sustaining both of our souls.
While lost in my crafts, I discover a hidden map in the landscape of the photography or a cryptic message between the lines of my erratic writings. The mystery of finding us again is solved.
What if…
I share a soliloquy with friends, portraying our struggles in the eloquence of a fleeting summer rainstorm.
We lean into each other as angry thunder erupts from our souls, holding a space to be heard and loved.
What if…
I know all of this is a maze of lies. Intricately designed twists, blind alleys and turns. I am unable to find the path leading to the outside.
So I stay.
Or rather, some form of me stays. A foreign being with a sealed door to her heart, the light within extinguished. A stranger to both of us.
Somehow you know the way out. Or maybe, the truth is, you never walked on a path with me. You remained on the outside.
I am stuck… with me, this foreign being, this stranger. And a growing collection of, “What if?”
I am running to the past, trying to recapture time. In the darkness, I stumble. Falling to my knees.
I am too tired to stand. Too tired to cry. Too tired to fight.
In the darkness, a soothing sound washes over me. My inner voice gently shares…
What if…
You let go of the questions from the past, the illusion of going back in time to change the outcome.
You quit running, trying to block the pain. Embrace it. Accept it as part of your journey.
What if…
You allow yourself to drop into this moment. Stand in your own truth, even if it feels messy and ugly. Drop the judgment, the fear. Open the door to your heart, inviting in the unknown.
You realize in this moment, in every moment, you are enough. Release the thoughts of inferiority hindering you from moving forward with your life purpose.
What if…
Pain is replaced with the love of forgiveness.
Forgiveness for him.
What if…



http://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/01/remember-who-you-really-are/

Remember Who you Really Are.

Via Alexa Torontowon Jan 4, 2015
Contemplation

You are not what you do. You are not what you don’t do.

You are not the job title. You are not a labeled societal sub group.
You are not your personality;
You are not a happy person, a depressed person or an angry person.
You are not a definition of your own qualities.

Who are you? 
You are not who your mother says you are.
You are not who your best friend says you are.
You are not your own descriptions of yourself.

Drop all the labels, titles, designations, descriptions, accomplishments and even failures.

Below the labels, beneath the layers, on the most subtle level…

What do you feel?
What is left?
What is there?

Who are you?

If you are not what you do,
If you are not what other say you are,
If you are not a set of descriptions,
Who are you?
Lets move a little deeper.

You are not defined or confined by the limits of your physical body.
You are not your beating your heart, you are not your breath.
You are not your mind, emotions or thoughts.
If you are not all these “things”…
Who are you?
A better question may be not who are you, but what are you?

Take a deep breath into every cell of your being. As you exhale release all the labels, all the descriptors, titles, both other and self created. Bask in this space.
What are you?
Close your eyes and feel your way to it. Don’t define it, don’t put it into words, but feel it completely.
Do you feel a sense of spaciousness, of limitlessness, of infinite potential?
If you are not all or any of these things, if you can not be defined or put into words, but only felt.
What are you?
Remember who, or better yet, what you really are.
Remember your potential, remember your limitless possibility.
Remember that you can not be defined, by self or other.
Remember what you are, where you come from and why you’re here.
Remember your knowingness, your awareness, remember your truth.
What are you?

You are the awareness of all these things.
You are embedded deep within yet extend far beyond.
You are the driving force of all these things.
You are both the wave and the ocean.
You are both the dance and the dancer.
You are both the creator and the container.
You are me as I am you.



Sunday 26 April 2015

Walt Whitman: this is what You shall do.

Via on Mar 15, 2010
walt whitman this is what you shall do
This is what you shall do: dismiss whatever insults your own soul.
Walt Whitman: this is what You shall do.
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Saturday 25 April 2015

Honey-Roasted Cinnamon Chickpeas

Roasted Honey Cinnamon Chickpeas

INGREDIENTS

15-ounce can organic garbanzo beans
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpatsilicone mat.
  2. Drain and rinse the chickpeas in a colander. Place them on a towel to dry off.
  3. Spread chickpeas on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until crispy. Test one, and if it's still soft, bake for longer.
  4. While the chickpeas are still hot, toss them in a bowl with the oil, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Enjoy as is, or for a caramelized effect, place them back in the oven for another 10 minutes or so.
  5. Store leftover chickpeas in an airtight container.
Makes four servings. See below for the nutritional information of one serving.


Meat and Potato Casserole
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon garlic powder or to taste
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon rosemary (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups thinly sliced potatoes (about 5 potatoes)
1 1/2 cups cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup beef stock
1/4 cup milk or cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
Preheat oven to 350° degrees F and lightly grease an 11 x 8 glass baking dish.
In medium frying pan, cook the onions and ground meat until done, add the seasonings (if you choose any), and some pepper. Drain the grease.
In a medium bowl, mix together the cream mushroom soup, beef stock, milk, salt and pepper.
Layer into the baking dish half of the potatoes, then pour some soup over them. Then sprinkle in half the meat, then the cheese. Repeat with the rest of the potatoes, soup, meat and then the cheese.
Cover with lightly greased (on it's underside so the cheese doesn't stick to it) aluminum foil and bake for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the potatoes are tender.
RUM GLAZED ROASTED PECANS
 
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
TOTAL TIME
 
Author: 
Recipe type: Snack
Cuisine: American
Serves: 2 cups
INGREDIENTS
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 4 tbsp rum
  • 2 cups whole pecans
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. In a medium sauce pan, heat the sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons of rum over medium-high heat until it boils. At this point, stir the mixture until the syrup starts to turn clear and turn the heat down to medium-low so the syrup doesn’t burn.
  2. Pour in the pecans. Once the pecans are coated, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of rum. The syrup will thin out at this point. Stir continuously until the syrup returns to a boil.
  3. Spoon the pecans onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
  4. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180°C – 350°F for 15 to 20 minutes until the bubbling stops and the syrup appears hard.
  5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a baking sheet.
  6. Break apart and store in an air tight container or glass jar.





“The library smells like old books,
a thousand leather doorways into
other worlds. I hear silence,
like the mind of God.
I feel a presence in the empty chair 
beside me. The librarian watches
me suspiciously. But the library is a
sacred place, and I sit with the patron
saint of readers. Pulsing goddess light
moves through me for one moment
like a glimpse of eternity instantly forgotten.
She is gone. I smell mold,
I hear the clock ticking,
I see an empty chair. Ask me now and
I’ll say this is just a place where you
can’t play music or eat. She’s gone.
The library sucks.”
~ Laura Whitcomb, A Certain Slant of Light
‪#‎lifeandpoetry‬