Jazz West Coast (1955) - Great find - now restore carefully or leave as is?

[Big Beat Steve]

Early last week I chanced upon a copy of the legendary "Jazz West Coast" folio by William Claxton from 1955 that I found impossible to resist.
Though I do realize quite a few of the photographs have been "reissued" in more recent Claxton books such as "Jazz Seen" this has been on my Wants list for years. I had seen listings for this through the years every now and then, but at prohibitive prices. Now I found a copy in fairly decent condition in an online bookseller's listing over here in Germany at 80 EUR + shipping. Not a giveaway price for sure, but a far cry from the usual asking prices from $250 on up that grace the listings on eBay, Abebooks, etc. And for once a copy right here - so no exorbitant transatlantic shipping and customs fees to add ...
(Lest anyone says this still was expensive - maybe, but remember this is on the other side of the Pond and the chances of finding a copy "for a song" at an early-morning tour of some local garage or estate sale or in some thrift shop run by a clueless shopkeeper - as no doubt has happened in the US and maybe still does - is exactly ZERO here ).

So ... the copy has arrived and I am quite pleased. The cover has a bit of age-typical wear but the pages are quite clean. And overall from what I have seen in other and previous listings over time the wear is not worse on average than on many much more expensive items for sale.

 

Yet I am wondering (or worrying) how to proceed next to preserve the book in its present condition and as a long-time "browsable" and "leafable" copy ...

The spine (inevitably) does have some wear (see below) and is getting a bit bare in places. Stapling of the pages is tight and OK but the cover has loosened at the staples and I am afraid it won't be very long before it comes detached - particularly at the top staple. See second pic below. Unstapling, reinforcing the spine and restapling the cover to the folio is out of the question as I think it would be impossible to restaple it correctly without added deterioration.

My idea now is to use clear acid-free bookbinder's tape to reinforce the spine of the cover from the outside and additionally run a strip of this tape down the inside of the cover (inside the front and back cover) to tape the cover to the adjacent page and keep everything together as durably as possible. Working very carefully to avoid any creases or bulges, of course (probably with a second pair of hands).

I've done this before with quite presentable results on older magazines and stapled books, including the 1945 Esquire Jazz Book, my copy of which was relatively tatty round the edges and spine - and also on true "pulp  quality" paper softcover books from the 40s and 50s that have become browned and brittle with age.

If I proceed I intend to use professional bookbinder's archival mending tape:

https://www.preservationequipment.com/Catalogue/Conservation-Materials/Labels-Tapes/Filmoplast

I might in fact use the wider (4 instead of 2 cm wide) version for the spine.

BUT - and this is the main reason of this post:
The repairs I have done on collectible papers in the past were on items that are nowhere near the price level that this Jazz West Coast folio is. So I do wonder if any repairs of this type - however carefully done using profesional materials - might affect the value of such a collectible period item to any serious degree. Common sense should dictate that anything done correctly and carefully and to fairly professional standards to improve the actual usability of the item (no sense seeing the cover come loose for good 🤨 just because you enjoy browsing the book every now and then) should be if not an asset then at least something acceptable. BUT - the collector's fraternity can be a fickle bunch and there do seem to be those out there who will only have what clearly never has been "tampered with" by anoyone else. 😄 (Not that this folio is likely to leave my house again before my heirs will have to wade through my accumulated odds'n sods 😁, but still ...)

So - I'd be pleased to hear from anyone who can offer any serious and well-founded advice on this aspect of handling this kind of collectables - be it pros or cons.

In the meantime, this folio at long last completes the series of closely related period releases (see below 😉) and will occupy a special place on my bookshelf (inside a clear plastic sleeve, of course).

 

[medjuck]

All good questions to which I have no answers but congratulations on the find.  I have 5 Claxton books plus his 1993 calendar but I've never even seen a copy of Jazz West Coast.  (BTW I would consult with a rare book store about how to repair/store the book.) 

[Big Beat Steve]

Thanks for the hint about consulting a rare book store. This should indeed be a good starting point. There is only one shop here in town that would fit the bill AFAIK but I might give it a try ... BTW, as for having "never even seen a copy", I suppose you mean "for real" and "in the wild"? For as long as I have been aware of that book I've regularly seen it listed on eBay but even many years ago the starting or Buy It Now prices were in the 3-digit $ range, and not always with a "1" as the first digit.

[Niko]

I guess it's kind of obvious but when I was in a similar situation recently, I googled Buchbinder Buchrestaurator and the name of the city (boekbinder boekrestaurator, actually) and identified a person who seemed to be up for the task... Not a cheap solution but it also diminshes the risk of further damages when reading etc

[Tom in RI]

I don’t have any pertinent information but if you google bibliophile forum several will come up. That’s where I would begin to look for the info you seek. And congratulations, looks like a great find.

Edited June 14, 2023 by Tom in RI
More blather

[Peter Friedman]

I purchased a copy Jazz West Coast brand new when it was first issued. At that time was a young relatively new jazz fan, and took the book apart to hang some of the pages on my wall.

Many years later, by coincidence I happened to be visiting my son in Chicago when I saw in the newspaper that there was an exhibit of William Claxton photos at a gallery. My wife and I attended the ehibit, and while there purchased the large book seen below. 

[Big Beat Steve]

Thanks for your input, everyone. I will try to contact the one shop specializing in collectible books that I think might be able to provide some advice.

But my main question remains: What would those say who have some experience with dealings with collectible books of this type (and with their buyers or sellers)? Are repairs (however tidy they have been made) something that will grate with the typical book nerds or is this accepted state of the art (as part of necessacary improvements)? Similar in a way to the question of what is more aceptable: "neatly taped record covers" or "untouched but glaringly open spines that stand the risk of opening up more at each handling" ... 

Or to put it another way: Are there really ZERO people around here who are intimately familiar not only with collectible records but also with collectible books and other paper documents relating directly to that very music and can shed some expert's light on the points to take into account?

Edited June 15, 2023 by Big Beat Steve

[Stompin at the Savoy]

I don't have much experience with rare books but I suspect you will preserve the resale value best by putting it into a plastic envelope and keeping it in a cool, dark place.  Amateur attempts at restoration or prevention from further deterioration will likely decrease resale value.  My suggestion: photograph the book.  You are in effect reading it once and then putting it away.

[Big Beat Steve]

Thanks, Stompin'. I still am undecided about if and how to reinforce/repair the spine for safer use (but if I repair it it will have to be really tidy, of course). I will try to get in touch with the local #1 antiquarian shop for some pro advice. And of course this JWC folio already resides in a plastic envelope - like all my similar period items, including magazines, do on the bookshelf. But I am definitely not of the kind to read an item once and then put it away (referring only to some digitized version thereafter). That's not at all how I perceive and appreciate period items.
(BTW, this would by all accounts amount to each and every collector of original vinyls placing all of them in storage forever and listening to CDs or digital files only thereafter as a matter of principle - and not as a "second best" solution if originals - or relatively early repressings - are inaccessible or unaffordable. Which would make actual history about as lifeless as it can be)

Edited June 17, 2023 by Big Beat Steve

[jazzcorner]

On 6/13/2023 at 8:08 PM, Big Beat Steve said:

..........................................

In the meantime, this folio at long last completes the series of closely related period releases (see below 😉) and will occupy a special place on my bookshelf (inside a clear plastic sleeve, of course).

Great find! Have never seen this Item.

My own Claxton fotobook looks like  this (fron & rear cover knitted together

However I have in the course of time completed the vinyl  "Jazz West Coast" series with its 15 volumes

[Big Beat Steve]

"Claxography" is a 90s edition of a collection of his photo works published by Nieswand - a publishing company that never had cheap prices. I bought the books on jazz photography of Bob Willoughby and Ed van der Elsken new in a local specialist bookstore in the 90s and may have seen "Claxography" then but probably skipped it if its price was as high as the two I bought . And then there was "Jazz Seen" and others with jazz photography by Claxton published not long after.

As for the record series, what exactly are these 15 volumes of the "series" you refer to? To the best of my knowledge, the original "Jazz West Coast"  LP SERIES (or its EP excerpts) on Pacific Jazz only included FIVE volumes - i.e. this "Jazz West Coast" LP series, not the label by that name (that seems to have been a variant of World Pacific pressings).

The "Jazz West Coast" book from 1955 I recently bought (published at about the time the first "Jazz West Coast" compilation LP was released, I think) does not seem to be that extremely rare but seems to have been highly collectible long enough for it to command steep prices. From what I have seen on eBay for the past 20 years or so the starting prices at auctions have been above the $100 limit for a long time and Buy-It-Now prices usually are quite a bit higher than that (see current eBay listings, for example).

 

[jazzcorner]

22 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said:

...................

As for the record series, what exactly are these 15 volumes of the "series" you refer to? To the best of my knowledge, the original "Jazz West Coast"  LP SERIES (or its EP excerpts) on Pacific Jazz only included FIVE volumes - i.e. this "Jazz West Coast" LP series, not the label by that name (that seems to have been a variant of World Pacific pressings).

.................

 

 

FYI Here is a listing of my vinyls. The first originals were issued  on "Pacific Jazz" and later (also reissues)  on the renamed label "World Pacific Records". Some appeared also on the label "Jazz West Coast" (Japan)

Jazz West Coast (Anthology) JWC 500    1957    World Pacific Rec.    500
Jazz Coast Jazz , Vol. 2 JWC-501    1955/56    Jazz West Coast(jap)    501
The Blues JWC-502    1957    World Pacific Rec.    502
Jazz West Coast Vol. 3    1956    Jazz West Coast    503
Rogers and Hart Gems (Baker/Kitty White) JWC-504    1956    Jazz West Coast(jap)    504
Solo Flight - Jazz West Coast 505    1957    Pacific Jazz    505
Jazz Pianists Galore JWC-506    1957    Jazz West Coast(jap)    506
Jazz West Coast Jazz Vol. III JWC-507    1956/57    Jazz West Coast(jap)    507
The Hard Swing JWC-508    1955-57    World Pacific Rec.    508
Have Blues, Will Travel The Blues Vol 2 JWC-509    1956-58    World Pacific Rec.    509
Jazz West Coast Vol 4 JWC-510    1958    World Pacific Rec.    510
West Coast Jazz Vol. 5 JWC-511    1959    World Pacific Rec.    511
Blowin`The Blues JWC-512    1959    World Pacific Rec.    512
The Blues in Stereo JWC-513    1957-59    World Pacific Rec.    513
The sound of Bigband Jazz in Hi-Fi JWC-514    1955-57    World Pacific Rec.    514

 

Your book " Jazz West Coast" is at the moment a high priced Item in the auctions. I am uncertain to spend that much just for fotographs.

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by jazzcorner

[Niko]

interesting... so this is the 15 volume series "Jazz West Coast" that contains the five volumes called "Jazz West Coast Vol. X"

[jazzcorner]

11 minutes ago, Niko said:

interesting... so this is the 15 volume series "Jazz West Coast" that contains the five volumes called "Jazz West Coast Vol. X"

Yes it is and is a great series with some single tracks not on other West Coast leader vinyls as Pepper,Shank a,o

Highly recommended. - All here in "mint / mint-" condition.

See also my thread in https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/all-things-west-coast-jazz-and-the-surrounding-scene.830865/

 

Edited June 28, 2023 by jazzcorner

[Big Beat Steve]

Yes Niko - there are five volumes only in the actual "Jazz West Coast" anthology series on Pacific Jazz. Those of the others (out of the total of 15) are on the Pacific Jazz or World Pacific labels (depending on pressings), and the JWC /Jazz West Coast connection is in the JWC catalog numbers only, but on some releases these seem to have been added on later reissues only (e.g. WP-1257 that became JWC-514). Hence the uncertainty about which belongs to which series.

And as for the original five "Jazz West Coast" compilation volumes, one might even go one step further and count in the variations released back then (even disregarding the license pressings of the JWC LPs on French Swing or others). For example, a variant of JWC Vol. 2 (JWC-502) was on Jazztone J1243 ("A West Coast Jazz Anthology") which has the same contents except that one Chet Baker track was exchanged for a different one.

The list of the 15 LPs that Jazzcorner shows more or less corresponds to the list that you get when you enter "Jazz West Coast" and Pacific Jazz on Discogs and click on the result that refers to the LABEL.

As for the single tracks not on other vinyl releases from back then - yes, this is so. And certainly part of the nightmare of Pacific Jazz discographers (I wonder what James Harrod would have say to this? )
And IMO it also explains why some of these Jazz West Coast series anthologies (as well as other V.A. compilations on Pacific Jazz) received rather lukewarm reviews by Down Beat (and probably other mags too) because the reviewers felt these were a rehash of other releases with not enough really new tracks added to make the package fully worthwhile. 
Preferences and criteria for appreciation clearly change over time ... 😁

Edited June 28, 2023 by Big Beat Steve

[bakeostrin]

Just saw this one; would vote for not taping it up.

I had a bookbinder make a clear mylar cover to put this book in, folded so it fit over the book.

Using that protects the book; also allows you to look at it by holding the spine in one hand as you turn the pages in the other

A great find; my favorite jazz photo book.

[romualdo]

On 6/14/2023 at 4:08 AM, Big Beat Steve said:

Early last week I chanced upon a copy of the legendary "Jazz West Coast" folio by William Claxton from 1955 that I found impossible to resist.
Though I do realize quite a few of the photographs have been "reissued" in more recent Claxton books such as "Jazz Seen" this has been on my Wants list for years. I had seen listings for this through the years every now and then, but at prohibitive prices. Now I found a copy in fairly decent condition in an online bookseller's listing over here in Germany at 80 EUR + shipping. Not a giveaway price for sure, but a far cry from the usual asking prices from $250 on up that grace the listings on eBay, Abebooks, etc. And for once a copy right here - so no exorbitant transatlantic shipping and customs fees to add ...
(Lest anyone says this still was expensive - maybe, but remember this is on the other side of the Pond and the chances of finding a copy "for a song" at an early-morning tour of some local garage or estate sale or in some thrift shop run by a clueless shopkeeper - as no doubt has happened in the US and maybe still does - is exactly ZERO here ).

So ... the copy has arrived and I am quite pleased. The cover has a bit of age-typical wear but the pages are quite clean. And overall from what I have seen in other and previous listings over time the wear is not worse on average than on many much more expensive items for sale.

 

Yet I am wondering (or worrying) how to proceed next to preserve the book in its present condition and as a long-time "browsable" and "leafable" copy ...

The spine (inevitably) does have some wear (see below) and is getting a bit bare in places. Stapling of the pages is tight and OK but the cover has loosened at the staples and I am afraid it won't be very long before it comes detached - particularly at the top staple. See second pic below. Unstapling, reinforcing the spine and restapling the cover to the folio is out of the question as I think it would be impossible to restaple it correctly without added deterioration.

My idea now is to use clear acid-free bookbinder's tape to reinforce the spine of the cover from the outside and additionally run a strip of this tape down the inside of the cover (inside the front and back cover) to tape the cover to the adjacent page and keep everything together as durably as possible. Working very carefully to avoid any creases or bulges, of course (probably with a second pair of hands).

I've done this before with quite presentable results on older magazines and stapled books, including the 1945 Esquire Jazz Book, my copy of which was relatively tatty round the edges and spine - and also on true "pulp  quality" paper softcover books from the 40s and 50s that have become browned and brittle with age.

If I proceed I intend to use professional bookbinder's archival mending tape:

https://www.preservationequipment.com/Catalogue/Conservation-Materials/Labels-Tapes/Filmoplast

I might in fact use the wider (4 instead of 2 cm wide) version for the spine.

BUT - and this is the main reason of this post:
The repairs I have done on collectible papers in the past were on items that are nowhere near the price level that this Jazz West Coast folio is. So I do wonder if any repairs of this type - however carefully done using profesional materials - might affect the value of such a collectible period item to any serious degree. Common sense should dictate that anything done correctly and carefully and to fairly professional standards to improve the actual usability of the item (no sense seeing the cover come loose for good 🤨 just because you enjoy browsing the book every now and then) should be if not an asset then at least something acceptable. BUT - the collector's fraternity can be a fickle bunch and there do seem to be those out there who will only have what clearly never has been "tampered with" by anoyone else. 😄 (Not that this folio is likely to leave my house again before my heirs will have to wade through my accumulated odds'n sods 😁, but still ...)

So - I'd be pleased to hear from anyone who can offer any serious and well-founded advice on this aspect of handling this kind of collectables - be it pros or cons.

In the meantime, this folio at long last completes the series of closely related period releases (see below 😉) and will occupy a special place on my bookshelf (inside a clear plastic sleeve, of course).

 

Just saw this thread & maybe it's a bit late but may I offer some advice

I undertook a bookbinders course/workshop (over a period of months) in the late 70s with the State Library of Queensland. Since then I've been repairing books & LP covers - I primarily use bookbinding glue (you can obtain it from any bookbinder - I buy a jar of the glue from a local binder which lasts for years). Looking at the images, the booklet would repair well with the glue - it sets soft & is pliable plus it dries clear so it's not visible). I've repaired a number of this style of booklet. I avoid tape as over the years it yellows & dries/cracks.

Here's a list/breakdown of the 15 JWC series LPs plus an EP box of the first LP - over time I actually recreated/constructed these 15 LPs as CDr's with the help of Dan Stewart (another organissimo member) sourcing vinyl/CDs

AFAIK only JWC Vols 1-5 have made it to CD - Japanese 5CD box set back in the 90s?

https://www.jazzdisco.org/pacific-jazz-records/catalog-jazz-west-coast-series/album-index/

Edited March 7, 2024 by romualdo

[Big Beat Steve]

Thanks Romualdo and Bakeostrin for your opinions and advice.

I am still on the fence about how to proceed but see little alternatives to stabilizing the stapled sections (a few inches to and fro, or the entire length) of the spine on the front and back insides with repair strips - of the specific type and brand used by book restorers. These strips are fairly thin (but strong) and matt and do not yellow nor leave discolorations. They have been recomended to me by someone from the trade (not for this project but for earlier ones - remember these acid-laden "pulp paper" US paperbacks from the 40s and early 50s?). But alas it would be not quite inconspicuous at the front (with the inside of the front cover being black).
The top staple is about 95% loose from the book/folio itself and the bottom one is not that far behind. So each time the book is handled (however carefully) the stapling of the softcover will get weaker and before long will separate completely.
I am not sure how to glue this up inconspicuously (with whatever glue) but will inquire with pros from the trade.
A clear mylar cover (jacket) to fit the book into is tempting for protection of the spine (already somewhat worn in my case but not disintegrating). But with the cover almost loose from the pages I cannot see how this would solve THIS problem of really keeping the cover and the iside pages (which are totally tight at the staples) together. Particularly since I imagine such an additional cover would increase the strain on the stapling on a SOFTcover (as in this case).

Over time I've tidied up and "stabilized" a lot of old collectible magazines and books (from the 20s to early 60s) from my hobby areas, have tried various solutions with glue, restapling and/or clear tape of various types (depending on the kind of age wear) and have almost always found tidy solutions that look neat. But of course these never were in the price bracket of this Claxton JWC folio.  A dilemma ...
 

 

 

[romualdo]

8 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said:

The top staple is about 95% loose from the book/folio itself and the bottom one is not that far behind. So each time the book is handled (however carefully) the stapling of the softcover will get weaker and before long will separate completely.
I am not sure how to glue this up inconspicuously (with whatever glue) but will inquire with pros from the trade

 

What you are describing would be perfect for a "glue" job (bookbinders glue as I described earlier) along the spine (internally)

Another option would be to have it restapled in different locations along the spine

[Big Beat Steve]

Thanks again - I've thought about restapling too but this would be far from inconspicuous too. And I guess this might reduce any further "resale value" (for my heirs ) with picky purists just as much as a neat bookbinder's tape strip.

I have done these staple repairs numerous times with 50s magazines where either the staples had rusted and almost disintegrated or the paper had come loose (cover and/or center double page). In some cases I've restapled in different places along the spine (taking great care to actually staple exactly on the folding "peak" of the spine and pages). In others I've removed the staples and then strengthened the insides of the cover and the center double page around the stapling areas with a length of repair strip (so these strips are fairly inconspicuous once the mag is opened and leafed through) in order to stabilize the paper. And then I've restapled in the original positions. This does look neat and stapling through these reinforcing strips greatly reduces the risk of the paper coming loose again). But like I said, this was with magazines and booklets of a collector value well below that of this JWC folio. So I really am wary about having anything like this done with the JWC folio because, given the thickness, you would need rather hefty staples. And then there is the problem that additional strengthening of the spine would still be needed because it does have some rubbing wear (where the white "core" of the paper has come through).

Oh well, time will tell ...