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The reason I collected it: magazines in original bindings…
January 27, 2025 by TimHughes · Leave a Comment
In my last post I discussed the difference between disbound and never-bound newspapers – the latter being more preferred presuming other factors are equal.
The same holds true with 18th century magazines, with one added bonus: they usually contain original outer wrappers, almost never found with disbound magazines.
As was the case with newspapers, it was common for a full year’s edition of a magazine to be set aside by the publisher when printed and bound at the year’s end for sale to institutions & personal libraries in book form. I would say 95% or more of 18th century magazines we offer were once bound. They are easy to spot as they have disbound evidence at the spine, and their margins were trimmed for a more even, aesthetically pleasing appearance (some were bound but the margins were not trimmed).
Those who have read our catalogs for years will recall that I give special attention to magazines that were never bound. They were as sold on the streets or delivered to the subscriber. Such magazines typically had outer wrappers (often blue) that protected the issue within and were bound with string rather than glue, the latter the case for bound issues. These wrappers were often decorative, featuring an engraving, perhaps the table of contents, or advertisements of the publisher. When magazines were bound into annual volumes the wrappers were discarded, considered superfluous, essentially rendering some magazines incomplete if the wrapper was where the city of publication and publisher’s name were found.
Given that such never-bound magazines did not enjoy the protection of hard-cover bindings and the relative inaccessibility on library shelves, they tend to be more worn at the margins. It would not be uncommon for the wrappers to be worn at the spine and margins, more so than the pages within. but I would prefer a worn, never-bound issue to a more perfect disbound issue. I might suggest at least one never-bound issue in a collection as a representative example of a magazine’s original state, knowing that the vast majority of issues collected will be disbound without wrappers.
The Gentlemen’s Magazine shown above is what is most commonly found – trimmed, disbound, and without the original protective wrapper which was removed during the binding process (since it was no longer needed for protection). The one shown below is of the same date and is an example of a never-bound nor trimmed issue which includes the original outer wrapper. Others can be found on our website but be forewarned: they are very much in the minority (and are priced higher due to their rarity). Enjoy your collecting!
The reason I collected it: never-bound issues…
January 24, 2025 by TimHughes · 1 Comment
For the serious collector, the ideal state for a collectible newspaper is one as sold on the streets or delivered to a subscriber, meaning never having been bound nor trimmed at the margins, and almost certainly read by someone on the day of issue. They are, however, in the minority of those available on the collector market.
Most newspapers found today were, at one point, bound into a volume, either 3 months, 6 months, or a full year’s editions per volume depending on the number of pages. Binding consecutive issues was an efficient way for institutions to store newspapers on their shelves, making them easily available for researchers, looking much like a large book with the spine noting the title and time period. Most were guillotined at the edges to make the three exposed margins even and more aesthetically pleasing, albeit with the loss of a small portion of the original newspaper.
With the advent of microfilm and microfiche–and now digital storage–institutions began converting their holdings to such user-friendly formats, often discarding the hard copies to save space on their shelves. Such discarded volumes often found their way into the hands of collectors who disbound the volumes to secure those issues of significance for their collections. Disbound newspapers are usually easy to spot as they often have glue remnants at the spine and/or binding slits, holes or irregularity where strings once held the issues into the volume. Issues as sold on the streets will not have binding evidence at the spine and their margins are wider and typically uneven, evidence of the limitations of paper-making in the era.
Not surprisingly, disbound issues tend to be in better condition having been protected by the bindings for 100 years or more. They are also far more plentiful than never-bound issues. Never-bound newspapers did not enjoy such protection through the years and tend to show more wear or staining, most having been lost or destroyed in time. So when a never-bound newspaper is found in great condition, it is a rarity and a prime choice for a personal collection.
There is an emotional intrigue to never-bound issues as well which no collector should overlook.
Bound issues were more typically set aside on the day printed, stacked, and later bound into a volume without having been read by anyone on the date issued, and perhaps by no one for hundreds of years. It’s the same paper, original to the date, but more emotionally sterile.
Never-bound newspapers were once owned by a subscriber (name typically handwritten at the top) or purchased at the corner newsstand allowing today’s collector a sense of fascination in holding & reading a newspaper once read by someone many years ago. One gains a more personal appreciation of history knowing the subscriber first learned of Lincoln’s assassination from the newspaper now in your collection. Remember, no radio, television, or internet announcing the event within moments of it happening.
Enjoy the hobby, and when the option permits, think about being more discriminating in what ends up in your collection.
Bound or unbound: what’s the difference?
February 17, 2009 by TimHughes · 3 Comments
Many of our listings include a comment “never bound nor trimmed” and you may have wondered what that meant, or what the alternative might be. The alternative is what is mostly found in the market of early newspapers today: issues which have been “disbound” with trimmed margins.
For hundreds of years it was common practice for institutions, typically libraries and historical societies, to maintain a complete set of newspapers which were within their scope of interest, commonly the locally published newspaper. And to make such storage easy so patrons could easily access issues of a specific year, newspapers were gathered together and bound into what was essentially a large book, typically 3, 6 or possibly 12 months to the volume depending on the number of pages per issue. The New York Times and other dailies of the mid-20th century bound just 15 issues per volume.
When microfilming became popular in the 1950’s institutions found this alternative a dramatic improvement over the “hard copy”, as microfilm took considerably less space, was much easier to handle, and easier to access the specific date or article needed. As a result, institutions “deaccessioned”, or got rid of the heavy, dusty volumes in favor of microfilm causing huge quantities of newspapers to come on the market. I would guess 98% of the early newspapers available today came from such bound volumes, as they can be carefully disbound, returning the newspapers once again to single-issue status. But with most institutions having already gone through this deaccessioning process, volumes of newspapers are getting increasingly difficult to find.
In the binding process, much like the book binding process, the edges of the newspapers were trimmed with a guillotine cutter causing all 3 exposed edges to be neat & uniform. If a few of the newspapers were not neatly bound into their proper location some of the text might be lost when the volume was trimmed. You may have a few such issues in your collection.
This process explains why so many newspapers 100+ years old might look in near mint condition without a fold & with straight, even edges. They have been protected within the volume and likely sat on a shelf for over 100 years without being touched by human hands. Such issues are nice additions to newspaper collections.
But lucky is the person who is able to find a newspaper purchased off the street so many years ago and put away until being discovered, avoiding the binding and trimming process. The margins will be wider and most 8 page issues fold out to be one huge sheet of newspaper. Typically the downside to such issues is they are more heavily worn not having been protected within a bound volume, exposed to the elements, and typically handled much more frequently through the years.
In my opinion a never-bound, untrimmed issue would be preferable to a bound & trimmed issue as they are definitely more rare and exhibit their natural state as sold on the the date of issue. Finding such an issue in nice, clean condition is the best of both worlds, but condition is usually the trade-off: if you want your issues to be beautiful and clean, you’ll have more luck with disbound issues; if you want your issues to be “as issued” you’ll likely have to accept wear, soiling and ruffled margins.
How do you deal with the disbound or never-bound dilemma for issues going into your collection?