October 7, 2002

4:32 PM

"Dell 129 is also a 'mapback'. Dell published hundreds of paperbacks in this manner, the back of the book featuring a colorful map of the scene of the crime or events in the story. They were very popular in their day and are popular today with collectors as well." -From Gary Lovisi's essay about collecting paperbacks.
posted by interrobang (5 comments total)

Great term, thanks for the links! I am instantly reminded of one of the few music mapbacks that I know of, from XTC's Go 2 record. (Tiny version here.) More or less "Moulding's Map of Swindon," where all the important events of his life (and presumably the record) occurred.
posted by neustile at 4:51 PM on October 7, 2002

I spent an entire pre-teen summer reading my way through a box of mapbacks my Grandparents had bought at an auction ... I have very fond memories of those books ... I wish I had kept them, and not just because they're collectable, but because they were just such fun books.

For other fans of the genre, I recommend the Thrilling Detective website....
posted by anastasiav at 7:20 PM on October 7, 2002

cool links. i collect tawdry paperback covers (well, not seriously, but when i see them at garage sales for under a buck i'll pick them up). there's a store in san francisco that specializes in them called Kayo Books.

and in times of having, for some reason, zero unread books in my house save for said paperbacks, i've actually read some of them, which i don't really recommend.
posted by fishfucker at 10:07 AM on October 8, 2002

Man, I'm hearting the links today. The mapbacks, the Appalachian trail, the "Mais Non, Mais Non"....thanks!
posted by redshoes3 at 4:20 PM on October 8, 2002

(Duh....not all of those were on the same day. I'm having trouble keeping up. And why can I never think of anything to say other than "Thanks," "Great link," "Cool," before surfing madly?)
posted by redshoes3 at 4:22 PM on October 8, 2002