 |
BookScans |
|
|
Go to the Scans (Database Index)
Scans Needed to Complete the Project
|
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 see 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. There are more than 4,000 entries in the "Interpretations" folder.
TWINS Thanks to contributors such as Tom Daniels and Bob Gaines, there are now more than 1,500 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 check out "Scans Needed to Complete the Project" 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 6,300 scans of adult books published in the 1950's and 60's.
UPDATE! There have been 2,860 paperback cover scans added to the database in the four months leading up to October! Many thanks to contributors over the past four months:
Alan Moore, Anonymous, Bill Taylor, Bob Gaines, Brian Anderson, Brian Maginnity, Bruce Brenner, Dave Biemann, Frank Motler, Grant Thiessen, Gunnar Olsen, Jean-Michel Tag, Kathy Godfrey, Kenneth R. Johnson, Lawrence Person, Lynn Maguire, Mick Cocksedge, Paul Eng, Robert Wiener, Ron Keesling, Steve Ericson, Tom Daniels, Tony Severin, Vernon Baumgartner and Victor Berch. Look for the new Update under Update 21. The total number of unique images is now over 65,000*.
* That figure includes more than: 59,000 vintage paperback cover images 1,500 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 will be completely reworking The BookScans Reference Library in the coming months. Please check back often.
Ladies in Peril! Damsels in Distress! Covers depicting a woman in imminent danger of losing her life, her freedom or her virtue. Check out: LiPs & DiDs
THE Gothic Cover (You won't BELIEVE how many there were.) Click HERE
MAD Click HERE
Lesbiana Click HERE
Plus, NEW COVERS for books in that section for Erle Stanley Gardner, Ellery Queen, Harry Whittington, Ed McBain and others.
Free On-Line Reference Books:
BookScans is proud to host Kenneth R. Johnson's book Defunct Paperbacks, which joins his masterpiece The Digest Index as another definitive work on vintage paperback books. Click HERE. Ken has added new sections in Defunct Paperbacks to include: Book Company of America, Pageant Books, Saint Books and Sports Magazine Library. Check it out! You'll be impressed, I promise.
Strange! Odd! Weird! Three more entries in:
AND, I've updated other pages in that section: Tom Daniels found the missing Dell MAVERICK back cover: click HERE. Frank Motler discovered yet another "censored" cover for The Basement Gang, by David Williams: click HERE. Dave Biemann spotted another Ballantine number duplication: HERE.
Plus, more LINKS!
Something New and Exciting! Graham Holroyd and Jon Warren have completed a new Interactive Vintage Paperback Database and Price Guide Click HERE to visit their website.
Please report any broken links.
This page was updated in October, 2011
|
