The typical Everyman's Library book bound and jacketed during the "Flatback Era" from 1906 to 1928 is characterized by a plain paper dust jacket covering a rather extravagantly bound and detailed book. Binding colors and interior details vary among the thirteen sections of the library: Biography, Classical, Essays and Belles Lettres, Fiction, History, Oratory, Poetry & Drama, Reference, Romance, Science, Theology & Philosophy, Travel & Topography, and Young People.
New collectors of Everyman's Library are often confused by books that have mismatched dates, bindings, and jackets. Such mismatches are common and are due to the way Dent manufactured Everyman's titles. Books were printed in batches of about 10,000 and stored, unbound, until orders were received. Jackets were also printed and stored. Because of this, slower-selling titles often have mismatched dates, bindings, and jackets: a slow selling title printed in the Flatback Era could be bound late in the Shield Era, but not jacketed until the Ravilious Era.
In order to give a basic overview of the series in the Flatback Era, two typical Everyman's titles from this era are illustrated first in detail below, followed by examples from each of the thirteen sections to show the flatback bindings with matching first-state dust jackets. Unless otherwise noted, all images on this page are from the collection of John B. Krygier.
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Dust Jackets
The earliest Everyman's dust jackets, such as Shakespeare's Comedies, No. 153 (1906) (left, top) are printed in red ink on buff paper with the book price, title, author, series number, and section on the spine. The Temple Press sundial icon and epigram ("Shadows we are and like shadows depart") is centered on the spine, as well as an indication of the binding type (cloth in this case).
In 1911 black ink replaced red, as shown by the Dictionary of English Literature, No. 449 (1910) title (left, bottom). The blocks of text on the dust jacket front were also rearranged, and the price disappears from the spine, but the general design remains the same. Between 1906 and 1928 Dent was noted as the publisher on UK jackets, and Dutton on US jackets. Printed on the dust jackets are advertisements for Everyman's Library, other Dent series, and lists of series titles (all vary over this time period).
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Bindings
Early Everyman's bindings consist of glossy cloth material with a full gilt spine and an embossed Dent floral icon on the cover. These bindings are called "flatback", as they were bound with flat spines (rather than curved, which is more typical). It looks nice on the shelf, but is less sturdy than rounded bindings. The color of the binding indicates which of the thirteen categories the title is from, examples of which are shown below.
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Endpapers
Reginald L. Knowles designed the endpapers used on Everyman's Library books until 1935. The pale yellow endpapers illustrate the figure of Good Deeds from the medieval play Everyman, facing her sister Knowledge's pledge, which is the series motto: "Everyman, I will go with thee and be thy guide, in thy most need to go by thy side."
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Half-title Page
Preceding a blank page (or flyleaf), each Everman's book has a half-title page that indicates which section of Everyman's Library the book belongs to, as well as the title and author of the book.
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Advertisement Page
The reverse side (verso) of the half-title page contains the series number of the book, and an advertisement for the series. Twelve sections are noted prior to 1907, and a Reference section is added thereafter. Before 1915, no series number appears on this page, as shown by Shakespeare's Comedies (left). After 1915, the series number of the book is included, as shown by No. 449 for the Dictionary of English Literature (right).
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Title Pages
An ornate frontispiece and title-page reflects the style of William Morris and is one of the most distinctive elements of early Everyman's titles. Thirteen different corresponding designs and quotes were created for the thirteen sections in the series. Shakespeare's Comedies is in the Poetry and Drama section and the Dictionary of English Literature is in the Reference section.
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Copyright Page
The copyright page is on the verso of the title page. No date indicates a first printing, as with Shakespeare's Comedies (left). A single date also indicates a first printing. Most Everyman's titles were reprinted. As with the previous era of Everyman books, printings subsequent to the first are indicated, as in the Dictionary of English Literature (right). Titles with numerous reprints sometimes omit all but the date of first and last printing.
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