Is it just me or are ‘booksellers’ get lazier/more incompetent relying on databases too much? For a long time I’ve realised a lot of sellers on eBay don’t really know what they are actually selling, just type in the title and the database will fill in the rest regardless of edition, date etc. On Abebooks I wouldn’t buy books with ‘stock photos’ without double checking but thought I was safe with ‘booksellers photo’ until the day I got what I wasn’t expecting. On contacting the seller he told me he hadn’t put up a scan so it must have been Abebooks automatically adding them and incorrectly in this case. On Amazon it seems to be the exception if the correct date and edition are even mentioned let alone the image being right. 

What brought on this moan? Well I recieved a book in the post from the States yesterday, excitedly opened it to find it certainly was not what I was expecting ie a very hard to find title in the Piccolo Picture Bafflers series. The label on the back was for the book I wanted as was the full description on Abebooks but I certainly do NOT want what I received – see below. To their credit the seller has given me a full refund of all costs but that is not really any consolation for not having the book. There must be something about Bafflers as I ordered two titles from another seller but they never arrived. When I asked where they were the seller said that all the books mailed that day ‘had gone missing’ and gave me a refund but again that is not consolation.

Just looking at a few booksellers online listings for PAN 335 “Casino Royale” and several include statements like “Front inner hinge professionally strengthened“,”Jacket discreetly and expertly reinforced at spine” and “Spine split fixed with tape” What they seemed to have missed is this opposite the first page.
   

There were many titles published by PAN between 1955 and 1957 with this reinforcement which could be mistaken for a repair.

The Book Machinery Co. Ltd. had many patents including ones for roughening the spine before applying the glue which included a suction device to stop the small particles clogging the machine. The final stage was applying the calico tape.

Book Machinery Co Ltd Patent Document 463826

 This is a translation from the German to explain the process.
“In England in those years of the Book Machinery Company Ltd.  London a High-performance system under the name “Flexiback Thermoplastic Binder” especially for large binderies and business books factories and was built in two models. Model for E for Verlagseinbände which were then rounded and pressed or for brochures and Phone books. The hourly capacity was two thousand and more. It was with or without semi-automatic feeder equipped. S was the model for the production of business books, copying blocks, etc. up to a length of two feet have been developed. This model when processing either loose leaves or sheets an output of six hundred copies per hour can be achieve. The machine worked continuously with cold glue in a polyvinyl execution. Was glued on and between the sheets fanned. After operation of this machine, the spine of rotating Fräsmessern cut, then fanned out and glued under pressure through nozzles. in the next step covered by the brush back that was just addressed, the excess glue off. Then the back was cut a second time. With a third nozzle glue was sprayed onto the paper, then on the back, then fabric strip. After briefly pressing the books were then in the drying station. Only after the books have been rounded and pressed”
So now you know how it all works!

The latest copy of “This England” has a four page article on Ian Fleming and James Bond illustrated with several of the PAN Bond covers from the 1960s.
   

After visiting Val Biro I came back up through Woking the next day to visit Ken Hatherley. Ken started at PAN in the 1970’s and worked his way up to be Studio Manager in the 80’s  We have communicated before but this was a chance to meet up in person and for me to see some of Ken’s bit and pieces. It turned out to be an expensive visit as I bought my Christmas present, the original artwork for a George Sharp cover, and a couple of original artworks for Piccolo titles off him. I have put together a page for Ken and added him to the Artists link at the top which now becomes Artist etc to give a wider scope for inclusion.