This 1967 text, though somewhat dated, is a comprehensive introduction to the various elements included in book design.  Author Adrian Wilson devotes chapters to a variety of topics, from typography to paper to binding.  Of particular interest is chapter eight, which is devoted to Jackets and Paperback Covers.  Wilson addresses the problem of scale with book covers; the design must do double-duty, being able to attract readers from a bit of a distance when displayed frontally, as well as enhancing a customer's interest when he or she has already been intrigued by the title and chooses to pull the book from the shelf for a closer look. 

Hans Schmoller Essay: "The Paperback Revolution"

Schmoller outlines the history of the paperback, tracing the tradition leading to the first paperback publications in 1935 as well as the innovations and changes up through the 1970s.  A discussion explicitly about book cover design does not arise until the last two pages of the essay, but Schmoller puts forth an interesting introduction to the topic.  He discusses the role of the cover designer, whose "problem is this: a cover design should reflect, or be relevant to, the contents and character of the book; it should appeal to, or intrigue, the potential buyer; it should be recognisable as a member of a family (a group of volumes by the same author, for instance, or a series of books on related subjects); it should be easily identified as coming from a publisher proud of his imprint..."(317)  The list of requirements continues extensively.  Although Schmoller does not present an exhaustive discourse on the necessities of cover design, he does introduce a number of elements to consider, providing a firm framework.

The various levels of the publishing industry are explored by Bailey in this book.  The scope of the text is very broad, providing cursory information for multiple aspects of the process of publishing a book.  He touches on the importance of having an effective cover, designed and produced within the careful confines of the budget and to meet the satisfaction of the marketing department.  Bailey likens the jacket of a book to wrapping on a gift - it is intended to excite and entice the reader, and compliment the contents. 

This comprehensive text is divided into three primary sections: The History and Structure of the Industry; The People Who Make Books; and Key Outsiders in the Book Trade.  In "The Manufacture of Appeal" (a subset of the People Who Make Books section), the authors explain the importance of book covers.  According to the authors, the importance of the book cover cannot be overstated, particularly in the paperback world.  Pages 219-221 provide an excellent explanation of the importance of book covers and their various incarnations. 

Essay: "Book Covers"

This essay provides a brief description of Edward Gorey's career, with the emphasis on his extensive book cover designs.  In 1953, he accepted a position at Anchor/Doubleday, doing pasteups and lettering.  Before he left the company in 1960, he had designed approximately fifty book covers.  Author Steve Heller describes the importance of these works.  "These illustrated covers comprise a small but significant chapter in the history of paperback cover design and in the legacy of the white-bearded, fur-coated man who made them.  All but forgotten today, these covers established a visual personality for a company that was founded to reprint many of the world's classic texts, some of which were previously published in paperback versions during the late 1930s and 1940s, when virtually all mass-market books were adorned with prurient covers designed to pander to the voyeuristic reader" (71-2)  Gorey's covers were essential to the success of Anchor's paperbacks, as they established a distinct identity for the company; the artist's style was more mature and refined that that featured on pulp fictions, and it was idiosyncratic, and therefore remained in the viewer's consciousness. 

Jason Epstein, a powerhouse in the literary industry, looks at the crisis facing the book industry and anticaptes the tremendous changes that will arise.  "Many valuable books - most, in fact - are not meant to be best-sellers, and these tend to be slighted in the triage of contemporary publishing and bookselling" (13).  In other words, with the increasing attention to blockbuster publishing, even though a wide variety of books continues to be published, only those with great selling potential receive much specialized attention from the publishing house.  There has been a critical shift from the days in which publishing a best seller was a rare event (Epstein likens it to winning the lottery) to today's market, in which major publishing houses are bestseller factories. 

Epstein recounts his role in the transformation of paperbacks, from cheaply made drugstore pulp fiction, to the higher quality editions of old favorites that we are familiar with today. A key moment in the changing nature of book covers occurred in 1944, when Kathleen Windsor's best-selling Forever Amber was promoted by adorning the book with a glamorous portrait of the author.

Technology, of course, is the impetus for change in almost any industry, and the publishing world is no different.  Epstein describes the shifts in business practices as a result of technology - specifically, the internet.  It was a big step when stores' inventories could be linked to computers; but now the computers are the only interface for many stores, such as Amazon.com.  Epstein and his peers in publishing try to anticipate the next step.    

Server conveys the seductive nature of many paperbacks in post-WWII America.  He describes this area as a "brief but gloriously subversive era in the history of American publishing.  These cheap, pocket-sized editions came wrapped in lurid cover art and screaming headlines, hyping stories about crime, lust, and violence.  Casting a neonlike glow from wire racks in drugstores and bus depots across the nation, they conveyed an alluring collective vision of a corrupt and sensual world" (9).  The covers Server presents are shocking to a modern sensibility, what we would consider highly politically incorrect.  He features titles such as 12 Chinamen and a Woman (which replaced the original title of 12 Chinks and a Woman), A Swell-Looking Babe, Love Hungry Doctor, and Indiscretions of a TV Sinner.  Common to these books and almost all of the others depicted here is the overt sexualization of women.  They are often depicted in the nude, in varioust states of undress, and in seductive poses.  The books are riddled with triumph of the heroic man - over attractive women as well as over other various threats to society, such as mobs and drugs.  These paperbacks were not critically acclaimed, but did have a wide readership - due in large part to their sensational covers.