Chapter Thirty-Five, in which is described the Joys of Brodart

To a large extent, books are not yet made out of plastic. For hundreds of years the main ingredients--paper, ink, cardboard, cloth, leather--have remained remarkably the same, and are holding up well. But what a difference a bit of plastic can make!

Warily did I take up the experiment of equipping a select few of our books with Brodart archival dust jacket covers. I needed to run a few tests as to the affordability and ease of this product. They arrived quickly. The price was right. They go on shamefully easily. What's not to like?

While collectors may sometimes purchase a book for its materials, most readers still base their purchases on content. Still, often, appearance can help sell a book. This is especially the case with gifty books, such as a coffee-table book on Coffee. The beauty of the Brodart jacket cover is that it can help mask minor flaws in a dust jacket, it preserves the most delicate part of a book, and it gives a fresh like-new appearance to older books. Put several of these Brodart-protected books on a shelf, and our store no longer looks like a mere used book store, it is now a store that deals in fine pre-owned books. And the price being negligable, Brodart covers do not force us to raise the price of our books, while at the same time increasing their value.

If you haven't tried them, I highly recommend doing so. They come in all sizes, and numerous versions, to fit most any need. I have just placed my third order, each progressively larger, and in addition to the books in our store, I will soon be enhancing some of the books in my private collection.