{"id":82017,"date":"2025-10-16T11:05:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T11:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/82017\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T11:05:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T11:05:12","slug":"what-does-the-trend-of-sprayed-edges-and-special-editions-say-about-the-state-of-publishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/82017\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does The Trend of Sprayed Edges and Special Editions Say About the State of Publishing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nowadays, a buzzy frontlist title may have more than one edition of sprayed edges as well. Think of a Barnes & Noble special edition vs. a Target special edition. The blog From Enemies to Lovers made an infographic<\/a> of Yarros\u2019s third book in the Empyrean series, Onyx Storm, and all its special editions. Per the graphic, there were four (FOUR!) separate special editions of Onyx Storm, depending on the publisher and country of publication, and each addition had a different sprayed edge design. Book subscription boxes, like FairyLoot, OwlCrate, and Illumicrate, have also utilized the sprayed-edge special edition for years. It wouldn\u2019t be impossible to get half a dozen versions of the same book. A collector\u2019s dream? Absolutely. A little bit ridiculous and an obvious cash grab on the publisher\u2019s part? Also yes. <\/p>\n

With the prices of books being higher than ever, a higher cost of living, and a vastly growing demand for special editions and sprayed edges, I take away two things: That many readers are becoming collectors as well\u2014not a bad thing!\u2014and that capitalism has a chokehold on the publishing industry. What makes money, like a special edition or a sprayed edge, is more important than ever. While this may make for gorgeous books, which I buy as well, so I am by no means against them per se, this also makes for a really rough time for debut and midlist authors.<\/p>\n

A Brief History of Sprayed Edges and Their Predecessors: It\u2019s Older Than You Think<\/p>\n

Displaying art on the edges of book paper is older than you think, though the process hasn\u2019t always been sprayed, and the graphics have changed over time.<\/p>\n

The original sprayed edges are actually called \u201cfore-edge paintings,\u201d and rather than sprayed or stenciled, the edges were hand-painted with watercolors. According to Britannic Auctions\u2019 article \u201cThe Hidden Fore Edge Painting: Artistic Secrets in Antique Books<\/a>,\u201d fore edge paintings are described as such:<\/p>\n

Fore edge painting, a refined expression of book art, involves the meticulous application of intricate designs onto the outer edge of a book, specifically the side opposite the spine.<\/p>\n

From \u201cThe Hidden Fore Edge Painting: Artistic Secrets in Antique Books<\/a>\u201c<\/p>\n

Britannic Auctions\u2019 article, as well as other articles on fore-edge painting, refer to a primer<\/a> by Jeff Weber on The Antiquarian Booksellers of America website. Weber is an expert on fore-edge art, with Jeff Weber Rare Books compiling four catalogues solely devoted to fore-edge paintings. Weber writes in this primer that fore-edge art originated as early as medieval times, with authors writing their names on the edges of the paper. Then, in the late 1500s to 1600s, an Italian named Cesare Vecellio brought fore-edge paintings into the game. Vecellio, who was related to the painter Titian, was commissioned to paint the edges of books in the Pillone Library. Weber writes how fore-edge art evolved during the seventeenth century:<\/p>\n

During this time \u2013 never seen in England before \u2013 edges were painted with highly decorative motifs, including flowers, butterflies, royal portraits, armorial bearings, or religious images. These decorations were applied to the finest bindings for only rich commissions given to binders from cities like London, Oxford and Cambridge.<\/p>\n

From \u201cA Collector\u2019s Primer to the Wonders of Fore-Edge Painting<\/a>\u201d by Jeff Weber<\/p>\n

There were also different types of fore-edge painting, including hidden fore-edge painting, when a book\u2019s pages had to be bent\/fanned a certain way to produce the image. There were single fore-edge paintings, where there was only one image, and double fore-edge paintings, where two images appear depending on which way you fan the pages.<\/p>\n

Like today, fore-edge was valuable, though it weren\u2019t as accessible to the public. Fore-edge art was on demand mostly to fellow book binders, royalty, and the wealthy, book-collecting elite. Today, original fore-edge-painted antique books can auction for as high as $35,000, which is still best suited for wealthy buyers.<\/p>\n

Separately, Weber writes that fore-edge art was often mysterious, with many fore-edge artists being lost to time, and a book\u2019s fore-edge art was often applied at a different date than the book\u2019s publication.<\/p>\n

Affordability & Accessibility<\/p>\n

Nowadays, if you are unable to get a sprayed edge from a published edition, you can purchase one from an independent artist, many of which can be found on Etsy and other websites. For example, ATZCustomBookDesign is selling Ana Huang\u2019s Twisted Love series<\/a> with sprayed edges for $90. Certainly an investment, but much more affordable than $35,000, no? As I\u2019ve mentioned above, increased accessibility to the modern, average reader is a good thing: more readers are becoming collectors, and books are not made just to be read but also cherished and aesthetically admired. In the future, they may even become heirlooms.<\/p>\n

Commodity vs. Art<\/p>\n

However, this begs a few critical questions: Books have always been commodities to publishers, but are they being drained for their commercial potential? Has a book\u2019s visual art (the cover and edges) become more important than what is actually written within? I\u2019ve certainly picked up a few sprayed-edge editions and been deeply disappointed in the story itself. Some might reply to a poor reading experience with \u201cBut at least the book is beautiful!\u201d Indeed, some might argue the idiom \u201cdon\u2019t judge a book by its cover\u201d has been turned on its head, but to what end?<\/p>\n

To reiterate: What does this mean for debut and midlist authors who have titles that are less conducive to special editions and sprayed edges? As a fiction writer myself, I can\u2019t help but wonder. Are publishers less likely to purchase books from writers who aren\u2019t writing in the current popular sprayed-edge genres (i.e., romantasy, contemporary romance, etc.)? Should a writer consider their project\u2019s sprayed edge possibilities? I\u2019d argue no\u2014it feels yucky to think that way. Perhaps I am a traditionalist in believing a book\u2019s merit should be from what\u2019s on the page rather than painted on the edge of it.<\/p>\n

The Heart of It<\/p>\n

I know I\u2019m not the only one torn. Jordan Murray, author and guest blogger on Book Influencers, wrote in the post \u201cSprayed Edges: a specialty or a commodity?\u201d that some influencers believe the market is oversaturated with sprayed edges, while others want sprayed edges for every book. \u201cUltimately, I am going to buy, read, and collect the books that I want to \u2014 whether they be extremely limited editions or merely a first printing run of spredges \u2014 and I think that other readers should do the same,\u201d Murray writes. \u201cDo what makes you happy and have fun with your hobby.\u201d<\/p>\n

I think Murray touches on the heart of it, which is to do what you feel is best for your interests and budget. Yes, I believe sprayed edges are a commodity and a publisher profit grab, but they are also a collector\u2019s affordable opportunity. Are sprayed edges the defining factor of a book\u2019s success? Absolutely not \u2014 there are books on the New York Times Bestseller lists that do not and\/or will not ever have sprayed-edge editions. Yet it is undeniable that sprayed edges bring added value, as Pangobooks pointed out, and that\u2019s something to take into consideration, whether we like it or not.<\/p>\n

Weber writes in his antiquarian primer that there was a period of time, about thirty years after the Reformation period ended, when there were no fore-edge painted books made (at least, that we know of), and perhaps that will become the case again. Will sprayed edges remain a part of publishing forever, perhaps even spreading to every genre, or will it fade like many trends do? We\u2019ll have to see. In the meantime, with the world being on fire, continue to do what makes you happy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nowadays, a buzzy frontlist title may have more than one edition of sprayed edges as well. Think of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":82018,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[489,156,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-82017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-books","tag-books","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}