Getting a book with specific cover art
Spiros Bousbouras
to have a specific cover. The cover I want depicts 4 Urban Monads , one
near the front and 3 further back against a background of night sky
where a moon and some stars appear. You can see an image at
< http://www.amazon.com/World-Inside-Robert-Silverberg/dp/B000NQ9VBA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261955335&sr=1-2 >
or http://tinyurl.com/ya7el7e
Note that the image appearing on the amazon page is no guarantee that
if I buy from that page I will get a copy with that cover.
So any ideas of how I do it ? Is there a 1-1 correspondence between
cover art and ISBN ? The only time I've wanted a book with specific
cover art was when I was buying "The player of games" by Banks. I sent
several emails to amazon , amazon independent sellers and abebooks
sellers asking what the cover of the copy they were selling looked
like. I received replies in less than half of my emails. The reply from
amazon (perhaps it was amazon.uk) said that they didn't have the cover
I wanted and the other replies said that the copy was sitting in
some warehouse far from the person who had read my email so they
couldn't tell me what the cover looked like. In the end I lucked out
because one independent amazon seller actually included a description
of the cover of the copy he was selling on the amazon page and it was
the cover I wanted.
According to amazon a new reprint of "The world inside" is coming out
next year which also has good cover art but I still prefer the one I
described above.
--
Never attribute to conspiracy what can adequately be explained by
shared attitudes.
htn963
> I want to buy a copy of Silverberg's "The world inside" but I want it
> to have a specific cover. The cover I want depicts 4 Urban Monads , one
> near the front and 3 further back against a background of night sky
> where a moon and some stars appear. You can see an image at
> orhttp://tinyurl.com/ya7el7e
>
> Note that the image appearing on the amazon page is no guarantee that
> if I buy from that page I will get a copy with that cover.
>
> So any ideas of how I do it ? Is there a 1-1 correspondence between
> cover art and ISBN ?
No, there usually isn't a 1-1 correspondence between cover art and
ISBN, even for early mass paperbacks. (Irritating recent examples for
collectors and dealers are G.R.R. Martin's first two Ice/Fire books:
each have more than one dust jacket cover arts while sharing the same
ISBN.)
> The only time I've wanted a book with specific
> cover art was when I was buying "The player of games" by Banks. I sent
> several emails to amazon , amazon independent sellers and abebooks
> sellers asking what the cover of the copy they were selling looked
> like. I received replies in less than half of my emails.
I think you were rather lucky to even get a 50% reply rate.
>The reply from amazon (perhaps it was amazon.uk) said that they didn't have the cover
> I wanted and the other replies said that the copy was sitting in
> some warehouse far from the person who had read my email so they
> couldn't tell me what the cover looked like. In the end I lucked out
> because one independent amazon seller actually included a description
> of the cover of the copy he was selling on the amazon page and it was
> the cover I wanted.
You've pretty much answered your own question. The only safe and
reliable way to get the book with the cover (or any other attribute)
you want is to deal with sellers who are thorough and detailed about
their descriptions, communicative, and actually care about customer
service. And their also sharing your interest in the stuff they deal
in also helps a lot.
--
Ht
W. Citoan
> I want to buy a copy of Silverberg's "The world inside" but I want it
> to have a specific cover. The cover I want depicts 4 Urban Monads ,
> one near the front and 3 further back against a background of night
> sky where a moon and some stars appear. You can see an image at <
> http://www.amazon.com/World-Inside-Robert-Silverberg/dp/B000NQ9VBA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261955335&sr=1-2
> > or http://tinyurl.com/ya7el7e
>
> Note that the image appearing on the amazon page is no guarantee that
> if I buy from that page I will get a copy with that cover.
>
> So any ideas of how I do it ? Is there a 1-1 correspondence between
> cover art and ISBN ?
Usually that's the case, but not always.
However, for this book, the ISBN is not relevant. Per the ISFDB, that
cover is from the 1972 Signet paperback edition which did not have an
ISBN printed on it. Rather, it had a Signet catalog number (there is
usually a mapping between catalog number & ISBN, but it's not direct).
As that appears to be the only Signet edition, if you find someone with
the Signet paperback version for sale, it's probably the cover you want.
ISFDB Title Record: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?801
ISFDB Publication Record: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?TWRLDI1972
> The only time I've wanted a book with specific cover art was when I
> was buying "The player of games" by Banks. I sent several emails to
> amazon , amazon independent sellers and abebooks sellers asking what
> the cover of the copy they were selling looked like. I received
> replies in less than half of my emails. The reply from amazon
> (perhaps it was amazon.uk) said that they didn't have the cover I
> wanted and the other replies said that the copy was sitting in some
> warehouse far from the person who had read my email so they couldn't
> tell me what the cover looked like. In the end I lucked out because
> one independent amazon seller actually included a description of the
> cover of the copy he was selling on the amazon page and it was the
> cover I wanted.
Reputable used books stores are usually pretty good about listing the
publisher and edition. A quick browsing of AbeBooks showed a number
selling the Signet version.
You might also want to check local used stores. They are likely to be
willing to go check their shelves while on the phone with you.
- W. Citoan
--
Practice is the best teacher.
-- Publiluis Syrus
Dorothy J Heydt
W. Citoan <wci...@NOSPAM-yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>Reputable used books stores are usually pretty good about listing the
>publisher and edition. A quick browsing of AbeBooks showed a number
>selling the Signet version.
>
>You might also want to check local used stores. They are likely to be
>willing to go check their shelves while on the phone with you.
And the dealers' rooms at conventions, where you can actually paw
through the books yourself. Of course, attending cons costs
money which many of us haven't got at present, but if you have a
friend who's going to one that you can't get to, you can supply
him/her with a printout of the image you posted.
Meanwhile, here's my sympathy for what it's worth. There's a set
of the Lensman series with covers that are obvious hommages to
the Star Wars posters, e.g.,
http://reviews.zachjones.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/smith_firstlensman2.jpg
I have some, would like to collect the rest, but I don't have con
money either.
--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at hotmail dot com
Should you wish to email me, you'd better use the hotmail edress.
Kithrup is getting too damn much spam, even with the sysop's filters.
Spiros Bousbouras
"W. Citoan" <wci...@NOSPAM-yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> As that appears to be the only Signet edition, if you find someone with
> the Signet paperback version for sale, it's probably the cover you want.
>
> ISFDB Title Record: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?801
> ISFDB Publication Record: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?TWRLDI1972
On a different note I'd sure like to know what the artist who came up
with the following cover was thinking:
http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0743487230.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
Dorothy J Heydt
Possibly "That's what the art director asked for, that's what he
gets"?
Or maybe "If I make this cover as close to porn as I can get away
with, it will sell better, which won't make *me* any extra money,
but it'll get me more assignments"?
Or even "I did this on spec for something else and it didn't get
bought; I may as well try to sell it here"?
Mark Zenier
Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
>In article <qT4_m.25550$SX6....@newsfe22.ams2>,
>Spiros Bousbouras <spi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>On Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:47:25 +0000 (UTC)
>>"W. Citoan" <wci...@NOSPAM-yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> As that appears to be the only Signet edition, if you find someone with
>>> the Signet paperback version for sale, it's probably the cover you want.
>>>
>>> ISFDB Title Record: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?801
>>> ISFDB Publication Record: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?TWRLDI1972
>>
>>On a different note I'd sure like to know what the artist who came up
>>with the following cover was thinking:
>>http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0743487230.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg
>
>Possibly "That's what the art director asked for, that's what he
>gets"?
>
>Or maybe "If I make this cover as close to porn as I can get away
>with, it will sell better, which won't make *me* any extra money,
>but it'll get me more assignments"?
>
>Or even "I did this on spec for something else and it didn't get
>bought; I may as well try to sell it here"?
Or maybe even that he'd read the book and it's a fair reflection
of it. Not one of the high points of The New Wave, IMHO.
Mark Zenier mze...@eskimo.com
Googleproofaddress(account:mzenier provider:eskimo domain:com)