Is this becoming a thing now–having a picture on the page edges that's visible when the book is closed? I'm a volunteer at a library and I've noticed it on several YA books previously, but I came across one today that's adult fiction. Personally, I like it. It makes it kind of special, like those old books that had the gold edges.
by LeeAnnLongsocks
9 Comments
It loses its specialness when suddenly every book has sprayed edges.
It’s just the newest fad. Our Costco is now selling Twilight with a pretty new cover and printed edges – literally putting lipstick on a pig.
“Prestige” printing editions like this are becoming more common to trigger collector’s fomo in an attempt to increase print sales. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s definitely a profit motivated choice.
I think a lot of us folks who were low frills mass market paperback readers probably moved to ebooks a while ago.
Oh yes, sprayed edges are absolutely having a moment. I have a few box sets with sprayed edges that are absolutely gorgeous, and a few others that are just a fun solid color the way gilded edges of the past were. It’s not a particularly expensive add on to finish a book, so if adding a sprayed edge gets people to buy more physical books than digital or audio, it kinda becomes a no-brainer for a publisher to spend the money.
I recently found a copy of Twilight with gold edges, but when you open the book, a different picture is visible. It’s a pretty cool effect that I hadn’t seen before.
The gold edges are called gilded edges and there’s another thing called fore-edge painting were the painting isn’t visible unless the pages are slightly slanted. I imagine what you’re talking about is just called page edge painting.
I did a quick search and found that the paintings on the edge of the books’ pages have technically been around since the 10th century, with the more elaborate designs appearing in the 14th (and the earliest fore-edge painting around the 17th)
I think so, I’ve seen it grow in popularity in Insta/BookTok, with content creators showing off these designs.
I remember it coming and going out of fashion over the past few decades
I get that this is Reddit, but I don’t get the negativity for this? Sure it’s probably just a trend that will lose momentum in a couple years, but I like it. I think it’s a cute detail that makes for an appealing finished product. But I’m also the kind of person who will repurchase my favorite titles if I find nicer looking editions for my shelf.
I’m cynical about a lot of things, but I dunno. In an age that prioritizes mass production over quality, it’s just kind of nice to see something with at least some thought or effort put into the smaller details.
It is the latest trend.
It isn’t really surprising. Physical books want to stand out to get people to buy them. Having artwork on the edges is just another way to do that.
Pretty harmless apart from the small uptick in price it causes. I prefer the ones that have actual art on the edges rather than just a flat color.