"Quite simply, a revelation. Lucidly written, with useful illustrations, exploding the myth that dust jackets only came into use in the late nineteenth century."
- James Murray, Adrian Harrington Rare Books, London

"A fascinating, well-illustrated excursion into the evolution of dust-jackets and the sheaths and wrappers that preceded them."
- Jeffrey Mifflin, Printing History, Summer 2017

"Godburn ... has spent many years studying his subject. Some of his story overlaps with that of G. Thomas Tanselle's Book-Jackets: Their History, Forms, and Use (2011), which he acknowledges, but his account is greatly enriched by reference to German, Norwegian and French examples, and by the plentiful and fascinating illustrations, which are almost all in colour, and integrated with the text."
- Sebastian Carter, TLS

"The manner in which the microcosm of the dust-jacket is able to reveal an overall picture of the book trade is a particular strength of Godburn's book. ... Nineteenth-Century Dust-Jackets is very satisfying in terms of its form and method."
- Henry Gott, The Book Collector

"Godburn's book is a key contribution to our understanding of not only the dust jackets themselves, but also the individuals, institutions, and economic currents that created them, and is deserving of a place in any bookseller's reference library."
- Laura Massey, ABA Newsletter


Nineteenth-Century Dust-Jackets is a comprehensive general history of publishers' dust jackets during the first century of their use. From the earliest known jacket issued in 1819, the author surveys the entire field of British, American and European jackets and documents a part of publishing history that was nearly lost to the nineteenth-century custom of discarding dust-jackets so that the more decorative bindings could be seen. The book examines when and why publishers began to issue dust-jackets, the subsequent growth of their use, and the role they played in marketing.

Included are the rare all-enclosing jackets that were issued on some annuals and trade books, ornate Victorian jackets, binders' and stationers' jackets, and many others. A chapter on Lewis Carroll's jackets includes letters he wrote to his publisher on the subject, which are published here for the first time.

The appendices list all known jackets to 1870 and examine the John Murray and Smith, Elder archive which contains over 200 nineteenth-century jackets. There is a supporting bibliography, notes and index, and over 100 photographs in color, many never before seen.

Mark Godburn is a bookseller and collector who has written widely about the evolution of the dust-jacket in the nineteenth century. His research has brought to light many previously unrecorded examples, including the earliest jackets now known.