Book Trade Labels

Label from William A. Colman, New York, New York, c.1829 (via Seven Roads)

As we process all the book entries for 50 Books/50 Covers there are hundreds of books piling up all around us. But not one of the new books we’ve received has a book trade label. For those, we have to look to the old books on our shelves. According to Greg Kindall at Seven Roads:

Anyone who handles old books will have come across these small and sometimes beautiful labels pasted discreetly (more or less) into the endpapers. Booksellers, binders, printers, publishers, importers, and distributors of books used to advertise in this way their part in bringing the book to market.

Greg’s expansive archive is widely regarded and written about, but he’s not the only one drawn to the imagery and history of the labels. You can also find them on Flickr and pinned to Pinterest, or maybe just in an old book on your shelf.

Book trade labels from Eric Cass on Pinterest.