Frank Richards 'Old Soldiers Never Die' dust jacket

[Dust Jacket Collector]

I've had a request from the BBC for an image of the 1st edition, 1933, dust jacket for the above book. I only have a jacket from the 3rd impression which from memory reverses the colours used for the text on the 1st. Apparently neither the original publisher nor the British Library have retained the jacket on their copies.

If any of the forums more well-healed members can provide the missing image, I & the Beeb would be most grateful.

[Guest]

If you go on Abe and search for the book and list them with the most expensive at the top, there is a 1933 edition with a dust jacket being sold by Jack Ryder Books. Maybe worth contacting them as they might send you an image of the dust jacket. I assume you have contacted Tom Donovan.

click here

MG

[paulgranger]

Call me cynical, but judging by some of the comments in the CF thread, the BBC will thank you for your advice and help, and then use a completely different picture, 'for artistic reasons' or because 'the colours were more visually stimulating' or, or, or...

[SiegeGunner]

If the dust jacket you have is identical to the 1st edition apart from the colour reversal, can't you photoshop it?

But this is Grumpy's territory and he may have a copy.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

If you go on Abe and search for the book and list them with the most expensive at the top, there is a 1933 edition with a dust jacket being sold by Jack Ryder Books. Maybe worth contacting them as they might send you an image of the dust jacket. I assume you have contacted Tom Donovan.

Thanks Martin but that's the Australian edition. It was that dealer that put them on to me.

I could muck about with Photoshop but I can't be absolutely certain what the original looked like. Frankly I'm surprised the BBC are bothering - they usually make do with a modern paperback.

[paulgranger]

Thanks Martin but that's the Australian edition. It was that dealer that put them on to me.

I could muck about with Photoshop but I can't be absolutely certain what the original looked like. Frankly I'm surprised the BBC are bothering - they usually make do with a modern paperback.

See my earlier post.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Looks like they might settle for my 3rd impression. Wish I'd bought it when I last saw it but that was over 30 years ago.

[auchonvillerssomme]

Well I will certainly be looking! Did I read somewhere that you have a website, any chance of a link?

[spof]

Well I will certainly be looking! Did I read somewhere that you have a website, any chance of a link?

There is a link in DJC's signature.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Well I will certainly be looking! Did I read somewhere that you have a website, any chance of a link?

The link appears beneath this message.

[auchonvillerssomme]

Ok got that, there appears to be a lot to peruse I may be lost for a while.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

I've now been sent a picture of the jacket, so many thanks. Maybe I should use the Forum to fill all the other many gaps on the website. Anyone ever seen a jacket on 'How I Filmed the War', 'The Red Horizon', 'The Human Touch' etc., etc.

[auchonvillerssomme]

I have a Herbert Jenkins first edition of Malins 'How I Filmed The War' but no dust jacket, over the years I have been looking at others but of the very few I've seen none had jackets, the 1993 IWM/Battery Press re-print wasn't produced with a DJ but has exactly the same cover as the original. So my question would be did it come with one?

[MartH]

Alan, why not put up a separate topic for "desperately seeking dust jacket"

[seaJane]

British Library is not the only copyright deposit library - might be worth contacting Bodleian Library, Cambridge University Library, National Libraries of Wales & Scotland, and Trinity College Dublin.

[David Filsell]

Whatever you do - stay away from DJC's website. You will spend years looking, become impressed, depressed and final repressed. It is a thing of great wonder and delight.Stay away. It really is not good for you.

[seaJane]

Too late David - I'm a librarian... 'nuff said...

[auchonvillerssomme]

I've been going through seeing if I have any not there, all there so far, I was sure you wouldn't have 'A Hospital Letter Writer in France' By May Bradford! so still looking.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

With regard to 'How I Filmed the War' it did have a jacket - I was once shown a B&W photocopy of it but I don't know where it came from.

Yes I have the May Bradford - a fairly recent purchase.

Of all the copyright libraries I believe the Bodleian has retained more of its jackets than the others but I'm rarely that way & like the British Library they don't mind you copying the jackets as long as you don't put them online. The British Library actually retained many of the jackets from the 20s & 30s but keep them separately from the books in a depot near Olympia! Fortunately some of my contributors have remarkable abilities to find some mega rarities - only today I was sent a picture of the jacket on Arthur Russell's 'With the Machine Gun Corps'. It took me years to find a first of the book at all, but in the jacket!?

[Black Maria]

On your site DJC ( under wants) I see you have listed Gregory's 'Never Again' as 'no jacket ' , I believe it may have had one though as in an old T.D catalogue

there was a copy of the book for sale with a renovated jacket ( front and rear panels original ). Another one of those rarities that may just show up one day.

[Guest]

In the realms of OCD this is right up there.

Respect...deep Respect. Off the charts in fact.

MG

[Black Maria]

In the realms of OCD this is right up there.

Respect...deep Respect. Off the charts in fact.

MG

I often think the same when I look on the 'Paraphernalia of War' forum , especially the medals and arms sub forums but I guess it's whatever floats your boat, don't get me

wrong, I would love to own a nice medal group( even if it didn't belong to a named casualty of July 1st 1916) or a nice MK V1 Webley revolver with all the correct

markings but they just don't do it for me like a nice first edition copy of a rare Great War memoir in it's original dust jacket (preferably).

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Congratulations on becoming a Major. I fear the higher ranks may be beyond us.

[auchonvillerssomme]

It is easy, just lower yourself to our level and write drivel.

I think the collecting of books for me is different to the collecting of artifacts, apart from the odd expensive book I already have that I see at a ridiculous low price I don't move them on, they stay on a shelf to be picked up when the mood takes. Plus I have been lucky inheriting a large library of mainly WW1 books, run of the mill but a few gems. Medals and weapons I move because once I have had them, held them, researched them, that's it they don't hold much interest.

[MartH]

It's rather interesting this, I have never felt the need to buy Great War or earlier Official Histories with Dust Jackets, nor to up grade when ones come on the market with them.

However Second World War onwards it is an absolute must, and as for buying ex public library ones, that blights the collection and I view it as not playing the game properly, my personal preferences only though. I will consider ex military library ones for those that were "For Official Use Only" and "Secret" because that is where they went. My "The Army At War" set from WW2 is like that, but the copies are not "disfigured" as per a public library.

Saying that I do have GW OH's in DJ, but never gone hunting them. I also have a significantly historical OH set that has embossed in the title pages the name of the establishment, and labels with ink on, plus labels on the spine, but they are on gum labels. It comes with a photographic version of the last volume, which is historically significant too, and is a proof copy, one of 3 or 4.

I do think a website with the dust jackets is important for books from the Great War since most are artistically interesting and one day will sort out high resolution photos some day of mine but they are "plain janes". I do hope people are not downloading the photos and producing copies that are passed off as original on a book.

Signed copies are nice, but more accident than a burning desire, though I have them signed by Jellicoe, Becke, etc

This is all personal preferences and don't go taking offence over ex public library copies, it's just another take on a bibliofiends' life.

I also enjoy the books now as much as the day when I found them, so it's not a case of once got - then forgotten,