Hardcover Re-bounds (1 Viewer)

HenryChinaski

Founding member
be on the lookout.
I've got two of these black sparrows.
is there any way that I can be totally sure?

I got a copy Plup, and I could tell it was rebound because of the spine.
Also I can tell because they arent cloth. The material is really slick, not like the cloth that Black Sparrow uses.

Then today, this first ed. of Septuagenarian Stew was dropped in my box and this one is the same way. I can tell because I can still feel the fucking glue they used to paste the title on the spine. Also, the same slick "cloth" is present. Now, the book itself is in almost perfect condition. They almost got me. It almost looks legit. But, these goddamn crooks forget who they're dealing with. They probably thought somebody who didnt know any better would be getting the book.

Now, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe some of the Black Sparrows were printed this way? I can't be sure.

Any thoughts?

p.s. I'll post pics soon.
 
sep.jpg


sep-1.jpg


sep-2.jpg
 
see how it says this edition is printed in paper wrappers?

EDIT, nevermind about that. i checked a legit hc first i have and it says the same thing.
so, the only thing thats really different is the cloth and spine.

SEE HOW ITS PASTED IN THE MIDDLE? Does anybody have one thats at the top of the spine? I gotta get to the bottom of this.
 
I'm not home right now, but I don't think they were very consistent with the placement of the title on those spines from release to release. they migrate up and down a bit.

I have a couple hardbound copies of that title, I'll take a look at them when I get home. But I'm pretty sure the cloth backstrip is not slick.

Did you get those both from the same seller? Seems weird to rebind a book that is in good shape like that appears to be. Usually only pretty messed up copies are rebound, just to hold them together, in libraries or whatnot.
 
i have an HC trade (later printing) of ham on rye that i bought new, and it has that "slick" backstrip. i got it from a reputable bookshop with TONS of black sparrow stuff, and the printing year was within a year or so of the year i bought it, so i'd be really surprised if it was re-bound.

anyone else have an HC first of sep.stew? if there were only 1000, you'd think they wouldn't run out of black cloth and switch midway through the job. Then again, re-binding a first paper edition into a first hardcover edition seems like it could get you some money, but the covers are different (not in design, but in size and shape). the paper cover would have to wrap around the boards, and most BSP paperbacks are smaller than the HC's. not to mention the fact that the spine labels often look different. plus, detaching the paper label by cutting it off the spine of a paperback would make it look way shittier than it does in the picture... i have a couple black sparrow books with spine labels peeling off, so i wouldn't worry too much about the glue around it. finally, i've seen at least three different kinds of black cloth used on the various trade editions i have. other weird variants- i've seen two types of red cloth used on the #'d ed. of beerspit night and cursing, and i've seen the first trade of the morrow and cooney bibliography bound in green as well as the normal black. so, there's definitely a precedent for switching cloth types in the middle of a run, even with the lower-level copies.

hope this helps.
 
Hi,
Is the title page is color? I would be worried about somone printing fake colophons and inserting them in later edition books. If they did, I doubt that they would take the time to reprint the title page in color.

BIll
 
I had a first like yours of Sept Stew before I bought the lettered.
Same slick back cloth.
And I know it was legit.
This is how the black spined Sept Stew were made.
It's the only one that I ever saw like this though.
I think it looks good!

No probs.
 
Well, I have an 8th printing with the shiny cloth and a later printing with dull black. So I guess the earlier were all slick.
 
And...

"Now, the book itself is in almost perfect condition. They almost got me. It almost looks legit. But, these goddamn crooks forget who they're dealing with. They probably thought somebody who didnt know any better would be getting the book."

WTF!!??
 
Then again, re-binding a first paper edition into a first hardcover edition seems like it could get you some money, but the covers are different (not in design, but in size and shape). the paper cover would have to wrap around the boards, and most BSP paperbacks are smaller than the HC's.
There are flat, uncut Black Sparrow covers on eBay all the time. Usually advertised as "proofs," these are just overrun - unused extras or stock that was awaiting use. It never occurred to me before, but they could be used to rebind a book with a trashed cover (or to create a fake "rarity" - a book with the wrong cover).

But you would still have to start with a hardcover. You couldn't bind a paperback in boards, it is put together completely differently. I guess all you'd have to fake would be the color title page, but we're still talking about a shit load of work. But I suppose if you could knock off a few copies of a more scarce title, it could be worth it. You know, if you were that type of thieving scumbag.
 
It would be easier to just manufacture (counterfeit) books from scratch.
Maybe one day we'll see this happening with Bukowski...

There's nothing you can make that can't be made.

Anything made can be remade.
 
And...

"Now, the book itself is in almost perfect condition. They almost got me. It almost looks legit. But, these goddamn crooks forget who they're dealing with. They probably thought somebody who didnt know any better would be getting the book."

WTF!!??


LOL, okay, so I'm an idiot sometimes. BUT on the corner of the title on the spine theres something sticky and I guess I automatically jumped to conclusions.

also, I have another question.

Do any of the hardcover black sparrow publications have "black sparrow press" on the spine?

because, the 1st ed of Pulp I had did.

ALSO, yes Bill, the title page is in color. thats the first thing I noticed.
 
LOL, okay, so I'm an idiot sometimes.
As we all are...

And, like Bill, of all the firsts I have, only War All The Time has 'Black Sparrow Press' on the spine. And only the first edition soft cover of Pulp has it. It's not on my first edition hard cover or lettered editions.
 

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