MyWingsBooks - Jacket Chips and Tears Illustrated

Condition Grading Book Jackets with Chips and Tears

Images of damage to book jackets: rubbing, tears and chips.

Rubbing: The wearing away of surface material by abrasion.
Tear: A break in the paper.
Closed tear: A tear where no material has been lost. A closed tear can be nearly invisible when the sides are pressed back into place.
Chip: A missing piece of the jacket.
Crease: A line of damage to the paper, showing where it was once folded. Frequently the fibers of the paper or the top layer of varnish or ink will be broken.

Chipped jackets of very good to fine books.

1. Fine (no defect visible at all)
2. Near Fine. Jacket has been bumped at top of spine, but there is no creasing to paper, and any evidence of this light bumping will disappear if a mylar jacket protector is used.
3. Near Fine. Same comment as for previous book.
4. Near Fine. This jacket shows a tiny bit of rubbing at the top of the spine.
5. Very Good. This jacket has more wear on top, and the paper along the side of the spine shows small chips along a crease.

Chipped jackets of books in good condition.

The books in this second set would all be somewhere along the Good to Very Good continuum. The top of the spine is often the worst part of the jacket, and overall grading might be be improved if fault shown was the only thing wrong with the jacket:

6. Good. Top of spine worn. Rest of jacket well rubbed.
7. Good. Small chips at top of spine. A 3/4 inch closed tear down right side of spine.
8. Good. Numerous small chips along upper edge of jacket.
9. Good. Small chips and rubbing at top of jacket.
10. Good. Top of spine chipped and torn.

These two books show significant creasing and rubbing, as well as tears and chips.

Jackets in Fair condition, with significant creasing and rubbing.

11. Fair. Numerous creases, small chips and tears along upper edge of jacket. Rubbing evident elsewhere on cover.
12. Fair. Creases, small chips and tears, and rubbing along all edges of jacket.

A jacket in Poor condition, with large tears and chips.

13. Poor. Large tears at the top of the jacket and a large section missing at the bottom. Creases and rubbing overall.