Head and tail bands

I like head and tail bands on a book

They sit on top and bottom of the spine of a book.

That is, if we have a hard cover book.

A tiny bit of colour as a crown on our spine.

And a stop at the bottom of the spine.

In a hand bound book they closed the gap between the cover and the book block

This way they prevented insects to eat the glue from the spine.

A machine bound book sits more loose in its jacket.

So they don’t close the gap anymore.

But they come more colourful nowadays.

You choose the head and tail bands usually right at the end of the designing.

In fact it is very often the printer or binder who asks what colour they should be.

They are an expression of the content as much as of the design of the book

I don’t think many people consciously notice them

But a book spine without head and tail band feels quite naked