Sing this 1890 jingle with me children,
The Van Everen Cover is the right Book Cover.
It's modern, it's useful, it's neat;
So it's no use to bother or try any other,
For Van Everen's cannot be beat.
When I received my copy of his Nineteenth-Century Dust-Jackets, I was glad to see that Mark Goldburn includes a description (on 92–93) of various American "stationers' jackets" that were being sold in the 1870s. Two years ago, I had to go to great lengths to buy the below, unused Van Everen Adjustable Book Cover, and was only able to do so thanks to the kind assistance of David Levy (Hoyle bibliographer/collector and the genius behind this blog). Mark describes these "Fitsanybook" jackets, but does not offer any images—which is a shame, but even in a heavily-illustrated book there are limits to how many illustrations you can include. Since there is not much online about them, I thought it might be worth posting something here.
Van Everen advertised their "Neat and Convenient Ready made Book Cover" from 1872–1894 in terms as follows:
P. F. Van Everen's Adjustable Book Cover, consists of a loose or supplementary cover, made of strong manilla paper, in four parts [as above], said parts being self-sealing, and adjustable in relation to each other, as they are put on the book, so as to fit many different sizes of books. The object of this invention is to supply libraries, schools, and book users generally, with a cheap, convenient and neat book cover, already cut, folded, gummed, and in part sealed—thus affording, at a trifling cost, a complete book cover, that fits any book. These covers are extensively used by schools and Sunday-school libraries. Samples sent free to any address upon receipt of six cents for postage, by P. F. Van Everen, care of N. Y. Silicate Book Slate Co., 191 Fulton street, corner Church, N. Y.
This advertising spiel ran in The Weekly Trade Circular on 29 February 1872, and was repeated with minor variations in The Publishers' Weekly and Library Notes from 1872–1893. This advertisement explains that Van Everen's Adjustable Book Cover was patented 3 May 1870 (American Bookseller, vol.1, no.6 (15 March 1876): 221) and in 1876 Van Everen explained that his "Book-Covers have been in use for six years," dating the sale of the covers to the same year as they were patented (Minutes of the Illinois Baptist Pastoral Union, Thirty-First Annual Meeting ... Chicago, October 17–20, 1876 (Aurora, IL: Knickerbocker and Hodder, 1876), [8]).
In 1873, the "Trade Price" for these "Fitsanybook" covers—with a dealer's imprint added to them (see example below presently available on eBay here)—ranged from twenty dollars for one thousand down to fifteen dollars per thousand for five thousand or more (The Publishers' Weekly, no.87 (13 September 1873): 288). A few years later the American Educational Annual, vol. 1 (New York: J. W. Schermerhorn, 1875), listed the covers at two dollars per box of one hundred.
From 1876, Van Everen was advertsing his Adjustable Book-Covers (NB: plural), in three sizes: A (as above; "School and Sunday-School books," 18mo, 16mo and 12mo; $2.00 per 100)—which seems to be the original size—plus two new sizes: B ("Elementary and Primary Geographies, Law and Medical books"; seemingly, 8vo; $3.50 per 100) and C ("large Atlas Geographies"; seemingly, folio; $5.00 per 100) (Minutes of the Illinois Baptist Pastoral Union, [8]), adding that his covers "are the only supplementary covers that can be successfully and economically applied to different sizes of books and Sunday School Library books." In 1878, an even smaller size was introduced: the "Primary," for "the smallest Sunday School Library books" ($1.50 per 100) (Steiger's Educational Directory for 1878 (New York: E. Steiger, 1878), 221).
On 14 February 1888, Van Everen patented a new and more elaborate design for the "Fitsanybook" ("The Adjustable Book Cover: Just the Thing for Schools and Libraries"), and on 15 August 1890, Van Everen sent a very long "letter and accompanying documents to The Stationer" (see below), which advertises the covers in "three colors of papers" (regular manilla, a dark colour, and a cover that is "lithographed in fancy figures") plus a "leatherette" finish. But the days of the Fitsanybook cover appear to have been numbered; the last reference that I can find to it is in the Proceedings of the Americal Library Association, 17–22 September 1894, in a list of "'Don't'; Warnings of Experience. Communicated by a number of librarians": "Don't invest in the Van Everen Fitsanybook adjustable book-covers called 'Fitsanybook.' There is more tear than wear in them."
* * * * *
Van Everen must have sold hundreds of thousands of these book covers (below they claim "about a million"), so it is not too hard to find books which have intact jackets. Above, for example, is one presently available on eBay (here), with an intact library label for the "Library of the E.C. Fraternity. This appears to be the regular manilla Fitsanybook design. The one below with a private library label, and the 1888 patent date on it, seems to be the lithographed version with "fancy figures." Images from the inside of my own set of covers (also lithographed) are further below, for comparison. There is another one with this design presently available on eBay (here).
* * * * *
Advertisement in The American Stationer, vol.1, no.6 (20 August 1890): 389:
P. F. Van Everen, Manufacturer of Adjustable Book Covers and Perforated Library Numbers, sends the following letter and "accompanying documents" to The Stationer: 60 Ann Street, New York, August 15, 1890. To the Editor of The Stationer:
We have advertised considerably in The Stationer and with such uniform good results that we would like once more to stir up the Trade by way of remembrance, but just how to do that in a fresh, new way is hard to plan and harder to work the plan.
We have been making book covers for many years; so long, in fact, that the profits on their manufacture and sale have made some persons independent of the ordinary vicissitudes of commercial life, and it is well understood that we make the best book cover that was ever placed on the market. It has had the largest sale of any stationery novelty, and we mean to keep making them as long as it pays—the manufacturer.
What we would like to have you do for us is this: Fix up an advertisement so that we can get the attention of the new firms who have recently started in to make their fortunes by dealing in books and stationery. The old-established dealers know all about us now, but we would like to have every dealer who has not used the Van Everen book covers know that they are commercially convenient, useful, ornamental and popular. We use three colors of papers for our covers—the regular manilla color, a dark color that wears well and does not show soiling so soon as the others, and a cover that is lithographed in fancy figures.
We also make some covers of leather paper (leatherette), for use in very choice localities or hi-calities. Of those we make the size A only, and they retail for 5 cents each. That may seem pretty precipitous, but people will have them. A cover of that kind is dreadfully durable and in the dark colors keeps quite clean till used up. The "leather" covers are put up fifty in a box—quite a nice box, too—and are sold to the dealers for $1.25 per box.
We meant to have asked you to put in the advertisement that we make more library numbers and letters now than we ever did before, but you cannot devote a whole column to Yours truly,
P. F. VAN EVEREN.
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It is a noticeable fact that the sales of the Van Everen book covers are increasing yearly, and that not only the schools but the libraries are using them in quantities.
* * * *
The old-fashioned cover was a good enough cover
When paper and time were so free,
But as 'tis fussy and old and cannot be sold,
It's not the Book Cover for me.
The Van Everen Cover is the right Book Cover.
It's modern, it's useful, it's neat;
So it's no use to bother or try any other,
For Van Everen's cannot be beat.
* * * *
By the way, most of the booksellers that sell school books find that it is a good plan to furnish book covers with every school book that they sell. The dealer has a neat card advertising his business printed on the outside of the front part of the cover, and gives a cover to every buyer of a book. The printing only costs about 50 cents per thousand.
* * * *
These cards are printed on at the time and place of manufacture, as a usual thing, but as many of the dealers are having constant calls for covers that are without the advertisement they buy the covers unprinted to meet that demand, and on those that are for the give-away trade they stamp what advertising matter they want with a rubber stamp.
* * * *
Little Sallie Waters, sitting in the sun,
With a beau 'n umbrella, having lots of fun.
Rise, Sallie, rise, 'tis time to be wise,
Look through the East and look through the West,
Van Everen's book covers are the best.
* * * *
They may be the best, or they may not be the best; it is the way they suit your needs. We do not wish to make such extravagant statements about the book covers that the dealers will think that the goods will sell themselves. We do not wish to force sales. All that we wish to do is to let the dealers know what the book covers are and where they may be had. Then when they want them it is easy to make a sale.
* * * *
There was a man in our town,
Who was so wondrous wise.
He made a patent book cover,
To fit books of any size,
And when he saw how well they sold,
Said he: "It is quite plain,
I'll make them by the million
And I get there just the same."
* * * *
We were asked, the other day, how many new school books were put into the hands of the rising generation every year, and we had to answer that we didn't know. But we might have made a guess at it, for about a million of them are covered with adjustable book covers, and if we estimate that only one out of every ten school books is covered at all we get a total of ten millions. Well, who would not belong to a Great Book Company if he could?
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Answers to Correspondents.
B., Keokuk, Ia., wants to know if the Van Everen adjustable book covers are sold at wholesale in Chicago.
Ans.— Certainly. A. C. McClurg [and] Co., S. A. Maxwell & Co., The Western News Company, and C. M. Barnes keep them in stock constantly.
R., St. Joseph, Mo., asks who sells the Van Everen adjustable covers in St. Louis.
Ans.—They are principally sold by The J. L. Boland Book and Stationery Company.
Librarian, Springfield, Ill., writes: "Where can we get gummed, numbered tags ready made?"
Ans.—From Van Everen, 60 Ann street, New York. Order direct.
S. A. M., Milwaukee, Wis., wants address of the manufacturer of carriage checks in duplicate; also hat checks, etc.
Ans.—P. F. Van Everen, 60 Ann street, New York. There seems to be quite a sameness about these answers, but we cannot pervert the facts even for the sake of variety.
To answer about a dozen letters in a lump, we may as well add that the Van Everen book covers, as well as his general specialties, are not only for sale as above, but also by the following wholesale dealers: J. K. Gill [and] Co., Portland, Ore.; Cunningham, Curtiss & Welch, San Francisco, Cal.; The Chain [and] Hardy Book, Stationery and Art Company, of Denver, Col.; The Burrows Bros. Company, Cleveland, Ohio; Brown, Eager & Hull, Toledo, Ohio; Vosburgh, Whiting [and] Co., Buffalo. N. Y.; J. B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, Pa., and by all the large book and stationery jobbers of New York city.
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For particulars as to the sizes and the prices to the booksellers, see the full page advertisement on the other side of this sheet. P. F. VAN EVEREN, 60 Ann Street, New York.
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