facsimile dust jackets

[kena1956]

I would like to get some feedback from the group on the controversial subject of facsimile dust jackets. With regard to whether or not they add value to a book and whether or not they should be avoided at all costs. I have a large collection of old novels, many are classic that were purchased from an estate and lack dust jackets. I see now that I am able to purchase facsimile dust jackets for several of them. I have added a few of those books to my personal collection and I would like to purchase facsimile dust jackets for them for the aesthetic value. If I were to decide to purchase them for books I am selling, I would make every effort to insure that any prospective buyers were aware that the dust jackets were facsimiles. I would like to get opinions on whether or not this would be ethical and help to sell the books or would it be a turn-off to collectors. Thanks!

[emmbook]

I don't have a problem with using a facsmile DJ of the sake of appearance and protection.

With a couple of caveats: Use the ones clearly marked as facsimiles, and make sure it's clear the buyer knows exactly what they're getting.

[taylor_memorial]

A facsimile jacket does not add the same value to an older book that the original dust jacket in the same condition would add.

To be clearer: you might get the same bump to a new quality facsimile Grapes of Wrath jacket for a very good or better quality book  as you would for a torn and tatty original jacket. Probably less in this example... 

this is the jist of a dozen or more similar questions asked here over the last 12 years or so. 

For your personal collection, certainly worth the investment.

For the resale value? it depends on what kind of margin you like to work with. If the markup on the basic book is big enough, the bump will be worth it even though the return on the cost of the jacket won't be near the return on the original book.

Keep in mind that if you are patient, and diligent, you may be able to find original jackets offered for sale. These are far more valuable as an added value item.

in either case, it should always be disclosed because the wear on the book will never mirror the wear on the jacket sourced from elsewhere. 

[shakhammer8u4s]

I'm with Emm:  I don't see a problem with them so long as they are clearly marked as such and disclosed in the description.

I recently picked up a reasonably nice copy of the 2nd printing of Gone With the Wind.  Although I did not do a statistical analysis, it seemed like the presence of a facsimile dust jacket added at least $100-$200 to sale prices for the book so I am going to pick one up.  Will be the first time I've done it. I also think it will lend itself to a faster sale, as no matter how you slice it, a book in a nice jacket looks prettier on the shelf.

[bookthink]

If there's any book that needs the help of a facsimile dust jacket, Adam, it's GWTW. IMO, one of the ugliest bindings ever designed, and they just get worse with age, especially when the gray cloth gets that coppery tone. 

If you're looking for a recommendation, I'd give Mark Terry at Facsimile Dust Jackets LLC a shot. His images are digitally remastered to a fault, and the printing itself is professional. 

[northtexasfinds]

I am surprised people will pay an extra $100 or more for a book with a  facsimile dust jacket.  

I have a First Edition of The Long Goodbye,  missing a jacket.  Very tempted to get a facsimile one

[bookthink]

A $100 to $200 uptick might happen on occasion if for no other reason than this is eBay - and the Christmas season - but a more likely outcome will be recovering about what you would spend to acquire one - i.e., $25 or so.

[shakhammer8u4s]

Thanks for the recommendation Craig, I will check it out.  Even if I break even, I still think it will move faster.  Again, no experience with this, just a hunch.

[northtexasfinds]

That makes a lot more sense. 

I would get one for my own book I would keep (The Long Goodbye).  It might be worth it for resales if it helps the speed of the sale.

I have seen books with facsimile jackets with $100 and up extra simply because of the facsimile jacket has been added.  

I wonder if anyone has framed facsimile jackets and hung them on the wall.  I think some of those old noir mysteries have great jackets and so do the original James Bond UK printings.

[northtexasfinds]

I meant list for an extra $100 and up. Don't know if they sold.

[kena1956]

Thanks for the info and the recommendation. I had just ordered 2 facsimiles from Terry this morning. I don't know how many other companies do that type of worrk but since his was the first to come up on my Google search I went with it. Guess I made the right choice!

[bugler1998]

Many years ago a friend saw an ad for a faux fur in the paper.  She quite innocently asked what kind of animal a "faux" was.  And she was old enough to know better.

My point is, make sure you define "facsimile" in your description, as someone who did not know better might be disappointed when they get your fake.

[mmadigan]

The type of animal they use to hunt from horses in England.?

[kena1956]

Good suggestion!

[lludwig]

puddingpower15 - Yes, people have framed facsimile jackets and hung them on the wall. At least I have. When my oldest son was a youth, he was an avid Tom Swift collector. For Christmas one year, we gave him a framed facsimile Tom Swift Sr. jacket of the first in the series. It hung in his bedroom for many years until I took it to NYC thinking he might like to hang it in the apt he had just bought. Nope, I was wrong. Told me to take it home, sell his collection of TS books since Swift collectors were dying off with no one to replace them, and bring him the bookshelf next trip instead.

Decorating the walls of his Manhattan apt. are framed posters of the photography of Ansel Adams and NYC scenes - all black and white. Maybe someday he will want the framed facsimile jacket again, esp. if he has a son and introduces him to Tom Swift.