BookScans

BookScans

About BookScans

Go to the Scans (Database Index)

Reference Library

Vintage Paperback Oddities

Links

Articles

(Includes free on-line Reference books by Kenneth R. Johnson and Maurice Wadle)

Web Site Contributors

Scans Needed to Complete the Project

How to Contribute Scans

Legal Stuff

Contact Bookscans

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 go to 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 2,000 entries in the "Interpretations" folder.

TWINS

Thanks to contributors such as Tom Daniels and Bob Gaines, there are now more than 1,400 sets of "Twin" paperback and pulp magazine cover images.

Help!

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.

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 "Sleaze/GGA" and "Sexy Digests" sections are pretty tame compared to today's adult standards, some viewer discretion is advised.

UPDATE!

4,923 paperback scans added in June!

Many thanks to contributors over the past four months:

Bill Taylor, Bob Gaines, Brian Busby, Brian Maginnity, Dave Crow, Daniel G. Snethen, Gunnar Olsen, Jim Fitzpatrick, Karl Jürgen Roth, Kathy Godfrey, Kenneth R. Johnson, Martin Blank, Mick Cocksedge, Paperboybob, Peter de Vos, Rich Johnston, Ryan Richardson, Steve Ericson, Todd Manefski, Tom Daniels and William Taylor.

Look for the new Update under Update 17.

The total number of unique images is now over 46,000*.

* That figure includes more than:

40,000 vintage paperback cover images

1,100 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 am still working to refine all the new reference books and critiques submitted by Bob Gaines in The BookScans Reference Library. I will be working on that section continuously in the coming months. Please check back often.