How to Cover Book Dust Jackets

Save your old books with an archival cover, a pair of scissors, and a table knife

Before: Tattered dust jackets on two Goudge volumes, Three Cities of Bells omnibus and Towers in the Mist

“I love the library better than any other room in the house. I love the smell and feel of it and the throng of happy ghosts who I like to imagine are with me here. It always surprises me that they don't step visibly from the books they wrote. When I take only one book from the shelves the whole lot of them seem to me to be tinglingly alive, not only the man who walks beside me as I carry his book to my chair. Craftsmen are deeply united, I think, and rejoice in each other's artifacts from one generation to another…”

🌿 Elizabeth Goudge, The Scent of Water

Worthy Task

Is there a household task that you ever put off, for no good reason?

Perhaps it is the laundry, dishes, or the ever unpopular dusting. For me, one thing that I tend to put off is the stack of vintage dust jackets that I need to cover.

Like other household tasks, once I finally begin taking care of my book covers, I always wonder why I put it off for so long!

In just three minutes, I have a beautifully preserved dust jacket. I have saved my book spine from loosing in its old age as well. And most importantly, it is an enjoyable task! This is a house task worth doing.

Vintage Dust Jacket Care

Archival covers can help to save the old dust jackets that sometimes come along with vintage Elizabeth Goudge books. Modern books, especially those that were published during the war years, are made of much cheaper paper and glue than older style books. Covering the dust jacket will of course protect the paper dust jacket, but it will all so reinforce the spine of these delicate books. Those who are fortunate enough to have found a few vintage Goudge books should do what we can to save these precious copies so that the next generation might get to see them as well.

Join me for a look at how to cover your vintage books…

Close up of the tattered state of my two dust jackets, which arrived this way when I bought these two hard-to-find Goudge volumes second hand.

The Tools

Here are two different types of mylar covers: one with the paper split in the middle and one without paper. I also use the rounded handle of a table knife to help crease the mylar, and a pair of scissors to cut my cover off the roll.

Mylar Jacket Covers

You will need to purchase some archival mylar jacket covers, which are available in a range of styles and sizes. You can purchase them precut, or on a roll, which is most effective if you have a lot of books to cover. I have found that the ten inch height for the jacket covers fits all of my Goudge books.

Here is the exact item I ordered from Amazon:

20 Yard Roll 10" Brodart Lo-Luster Book Jacket Covers - Center-Loading, Clear, Mylar, Adjustable

You can see that this type of cover includes archival paper to separate the dust jacket (which is abbreviated “dj” by sellers) from the cover of the book. Here are the height of the two Goudge books that I have to cover today. I can do both of these and any book dust jacket up to ten inches high with this roll, of any width of book.

First: Wrapping a Dust Jacket with a Mylar Cover

Steps 1-9 described below for how to wrap the Three Cities of Bells dust jacket in a mylar cover

Steps to cover the dust jacket with mylar cover:

1. Lay out the dust jacket to make sure that you leave 1/4 inch of cover on each end. This ensures that the dust jacket does not stick out when you roll it around your book. Then cut to the correct length. It is easy to cut it too short, so if in doubt, cut it longer to start.

2. Lay the dust jacket top into the mylar cover by raising the flap

3. Line up the top of the dj along the cover crease.

4. Fold down the top paper over the top of the dust jacket. You may flip over your cover and check to see if it is at the top if needed.

5. Pull down the lower flap.

6. Pull up the lower flap and use your fingers to get close to the right height for your dj cover.

7. Use the rounded end of your table knife to crease the mylar at the bottom of the cover.

8. Turn over the cover to see the front

9. Use your knife to make sure that all of the pieces are pushed into the top and bottom of the cover, especially if your dust jacket is a tattered as this one. Done!

Next: Cover the Book

Steps 1-6 below for covering your book with the new mylar cover and dust jacket.

Steps to cover the book:

1. Place the spine of the book, right side up, onto your mylar cover in the center. You can see the crease in the middle of my dust jacket above.

2. Begin first with the front cover. Open the front cover carefully down to the table to wrap the front of the dj back on to your book. Be sure to not over extend your binding, as some are fragile. Gently fold the cover over the book front, and use the back of the knife if needed to lightly crease the mylar.

3. Be sure to check the alignment as you go with the artwork on the front of the dust jacket.

4. Re-check the alignment

5. Now proceed to the back of the book, laying it down on the table and rolling the mylar cover over the end. Note: Make sure that you are not folding the cover too tightly over the book! Better to be a bit loose at first and then make it tighter.

6. You will know that you have done it the correct tightness when you close the book and take a look at the spine. It should not look tight, but loose around the back. You can loosen the cover from the back if needed.

The finished, protected omnibus edition

How to take Photos with a Glossy Cover

Using these mylar covers does make it a bit trickier to take a photo of your book. Tipping the book away from you and towards a darker area, such as the ceiling or the floor, is a good way to get a cleaner photo.

The first two photos are straight on, and the third one has the book tipped to the right. This helps you to better read the title in the last photo.

Towers in the Mist: a shorter book

Here are some process photos for covering the shorter dj on Towers in the Mist. You can see that I trim off some paper from the folder up cover and then use it in the bottom between the dust jacket and the plastic. This should better protect it from yellowing— though I forgot to cut it a bit longer to close the gap. (I did better with my third dust jacket of the day.)

Steps for a shorter book: Lay out and leave a 1/4 inch on each end of the dj for folding the full length. Place the top of the dj in the cover, then fold up the bottom and crease. Cut off the extra paper that overlaps (and sticks up above the top of the book) and insert it in the bottom of the cover. Fold from the front first, then the back. Check alignment and that it is not too tight.

A cut above…

I made a better cut on this cover for my son’s birthday copy of P.G. Wodehouse’s last novel, Sunset at Blandings. This book has been waiting in my stack for covers since February, so my soon will thank you all for being my motivation to get it back on his shelf! ;)

P.G. Wodehouse’s last novel, Sunset at Blandings, in his Blandings Castle series. My teenage son has been consuming this books like crackers over the past few years, both on audio and in print. They are good for a laugh for sure!

Here are two how-to videos for further info on how to work with other types of mylar jacket covers:

• Full paper cover

• Mylar only cover

After: Covered copies of Goudge’s Three Cities of Bells omnibus and Towers in the Mist

“What one wanted when exhausted by the noise and impact of physical bodies was not no people but disembodied people; all those denizens of beloved books who could be taken to one's heart and put away again, in silence, and with no hurt feelings…”

🌿 Elizabeth Goudge, The Scent of Water

Do you have any Goudge books waiting for covers? Love to hear!

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