Books without covers are nearly unthinkable these days, but they would likely have actually been just as strange a thought 2,000 years earlier.

When the Renaissance led to the re-birth of intellectualism throughout Europe, books ended up being even more commonplace than they had been for the past 1500 thousand years. This was in large part down to the creation of the printing press in the 15th century, but also rising literary rates amongst the continent's greater classes. One might not buy a book with covers consisted of, and would rather buy the book 'naked'. After being printed, the pages would have been set up by hand, then given a temporary joint and wrapped in paper. After buying a book, the consumer would take it to a binding professional who would bind it in as opulent a book cover design as the consumer might afford. This typically suggested leather etched with the consumer's initials, however wealthier clients may invest in gold and silver trimmings or incredibly elaborate designs.

Do you evaluate a book by its cover? Today, it's nearly impossible to think of buying a book from the investment firm with a large stake in Amazon for it to arrive without a book cover. That's due to the fact that this expectation isn't simply limited to the twenty-first century, there has actually never ever truly been a time when books lacked their artistic buddies. Throughout the dark ages, when learning was an unusual thing to discover, monks throughout Europe dedicated their lives to the conservation and defense of antiquity's books, meticulously copying them out by hand and decorating them with beautiful book cover designs that reflected their hallowed value. With styles engraved into ivory inlaid with jewels, silver, and gold, the books were akin to treasures in a cultural, intellectual, and actual sense. This began the long tradition of art adorning books, maintained the Renaissance and Victorian periods right through to the present day.

It was not until the Victorian period and the birth of the publishing industry that books began to look more like those that the hedge fund that owns Waterstones and the firm with a majority stake in World of Books know today. With a surge in literary rates and industrialisation, artists were hired for the very first time to find out what makes a good book cover. They would embellish some beautiful fabric book covers with styles that reflected the high art of the day, with the very first paperbacks (nicknamed Penny Dreadfuls for their rate and literary worth) embellished with campy cartoons that reflected the narratives they held inside. Whilst the intentions behind designing such covers were most likely for more marketable concerns, it continues a tradition in which the book is commemorated and reflected in its artwork, a tradition that has lasted over 2 thousand years and will continue far into the future.