Picture Cover

"Picture cover" is a common term among book collectors. Many early series books and later children's books have this binding, as do most modern textbooks.

It is a method of bookbinding that preserves the contents as well as a normal hardbound book, but has the visual appeal of a paperback book.

The pages are collated, stitched and trimmed as for hardbound, but a cover with a picture on it is attached instead of the normal hardbound cover with printing on the spine — and perhaps front.

A hardbound book can achieve a similar look with a dust cover, but the cover is fragile and inconvenient when reading, being most useful while the book is shelved.


This article about making art out of books, the arts related to bookbinding, or the design of mass-produced books is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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