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BookScans |
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Go to the Scans (Database Index)
(Includes free on-line Reference books by Kenneth R. Johnson and Maurice Wadle)
Scans Needed to Complete the Project
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Graphically illustrating the evolution of Vintage American Paperbacks - 1939 through 1959 (and beyond)
BookScans is a free online reference site, listing tens of thousands of .jpg images, arranged numerically, by publisher, displaying how cover images and graphics changed during the early years of paperbacks. Click "Go to the Scans" to go to the Database Index Page for easy navigation to the various sections.
Trying to find a particular vintage paperback? There are plenty of resources to help you find a title (see "Reference Library"). BookScans is designed to let you see what the book looks like.
Back Covers Included in the BookScans database are images of significant back-cover artwork. This technique was especially prevalent with early Dell and later Popular Library books, as well as Bantam, Lion, and other publishers.
Artistic Interpretations Also included in BookScans is a section that is made up of different covers for the same title. I recently finished updating this section. There are now more than 3,000 entries in the "Interpretations" folder (with a thousand more on the way from Bob Gaines).
TWINS Thanks to contributors such as Tom Daniels and Bob Gaines, there are now more than 1,400 sets of "Twin" paperback and pulp magazine cover images.
I need collectors to help me fill in the blanks. Please help complete the BookScans Project by sending me scans of your vintage books. I'll be sure to give you credit for your contributions. Click the "About BookScans" link to learn more, and click the "Scans Needed to Complete the Project" link to see which ones are needed most.
Sleaze!
BookScans is NOT an adult-oriented web site. However, the inclusion of these books is vital for an accurate study of vintage paperback history and marketing techniques. While the covers for the "60's Sleaze" and "Sexy Digests" sections are pretty tame compared to today's adult standards, some viewer discretion is advised. Together, those two sections include almost 6,000 scans of books published in the 1950's and 60's.
UPDATE! 4,064 paperback scans added in the four months leading up to October! Many thanks to contributors over the past four months:
Alan Moore, Alex Henzel, Beverly Bass, Bill Kelly, Bill Taylor, Bob Gaines, Brian Maginnity, Bruno Schmidt, Dan Penwarn, Dave Crow, David Rachels, Dipankar Das Gupta, Gary Masters, Gary Watson, Jim Fitzpatrick, Jon Burchard, Kenneth R. Johnson, McClaverty, Paul Eng, Peter de Vos, Ralph Carlson, Robert Wiener, Ron Keesling, Ryan Richardson, Ted Haigh, Steve Ericson, Tom Daniels and William Taylor.
Look for the new Update under Update 18. The total number of unique images is now over 50,000*.
* That figure includes more than: 44,000 vintage paperback cover images 1,100 reference books & publications 5,000 pulp magazines, digest mags and dime novels
... plus, there are thousands of duplicated images in special groups, i.e., by authors, "twin covers," or other categories.
I will update the BookScans web site three times a year: in February, June and October.
Many thanks to vintage paperback enthusiasts who have pointed out errors on the web site. I strive to keep the information as accurate as possible. Please keep emailing me your comments and criticisms.
The Reference Library
I am still working to refine all the new reference books and critiques submitted by Bob Gaines in The BookScans Reference Library. I will be working on that section continuously in the coming months. Please check back often.
PLEASE NOTE: Kenneth R. Johnson has just revised and updated his free, online reference book The Digest Index. This is, by far, the most comprehensive study of digest-size vintage paperbacks in the world.
Strange! Odd! Weird! FOUR more entries in:
PLEASE NOTE: Thanks to comments from viewers and contributors, I've corrected previous errors in the "Oddities" section associated with these two covers. If you're a fan of that section, please revisit those write-ups to read about some really interesting stuff! There isn't one Ballantine dupe number; there are two ... sort of. And there aren't three "Maverick" variations; there are SIX!
Plus, more LINKS!
Please report any broken links.
This page was updated in October, 2010
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