The Perils of Paper Spines

As a book collector, I've always found paper spines to be completely impractical; especially on children's books, which were never meant to be handled with care! The fragile paper is easily rubbed and torn, and more often than not large chunks will be missing at the top and bottom of the spine; but it was a less expensive alternative to cloth for binding a book, and presumably helped to lower the cost of children's books while raising the profits.

A number of the books illustrated by W.W. Denslow were published in this fashion. His first big success with L. Frank Baum from 1899, Father Goose His Book, was published by George M. Hill in paper covered boards with a paper spine. In spite of the book's huge success, a more enduring binding was never used on any of the later editions, even when publication was taken over by Bobbs Merrill. The example shown above has its full spine, but it’s not at all unusual to find copies of the book like the photo on the left, with several inches gone from either end of the spine, or even the entire spine missing.

The follow up volume, The Songs of Father Goose, was also published in paper covered boards, but did have a sturdier cloth spine - until a new edition was printed by Bobbs Merrill, with a new cover design and paper spine. The paper spine on the copy shown in the photo below has been replaced.

Denslow's hit book from 1901, Denslow's Mother Goose, is another example of this fragile style of binding. Early copies were bound with paper spines, but the publisher McClure seems to have quickly changed this to a much sturdier cloth spine. I wasn't aware of the paper spine version until I stumbled across one recently - the bottom of the spine is missing 2 inches, which I've adjusted in the photo. The small advertising card shows the original cover design with paper spine, with the title printed in black and Denslow's seahorse logo printed in brown - the cloth spine version is simply printed in black.

In 1902, Denslow's Night Before Christmas was published by G. W Dillingham. Once again, the publisher chose to use a binding of paper boards and paper spine. In this case, Denslow’s design for the cover takes advantage of the format, with a large image of Santa in his sleigh that spreads across the spine and rear board. But copies today are rarely found with the spine intact, destroying the concept. The book quickly switched to a cloth binding with a new cover design for later printings.

The last major children's book illustrated by Denslow was also bound in paper boards, with a paper spine. Consequently The Jeweled Toad, from 1907, is another title that is difficult to find with a spine in nice condition. This was also published by Bobbs Merrill - they do seem to have liked their paper bindings!

Fortunately the most famous Baum/Denslow title, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was given the full cloth treatment it deserved in 1900. The same is true of Dot and Tot in Merryland, from 1901. When Dillingham published The Pearl and the Pumpkin in 1904, and Billy Bounce in 1906, they were given full cloth. In 1909, Century published When I Grow Up, bound in cloth. But those early paper spines do add another degree of difficulty to the collecting game!