Endsheets, also known as endpapers, are the first thing you see when you open a hardcover book. They are adhered to the hardcover board itself, and they help keep the cover and interior pages together. Typically they are a bit heavier or thicker than the rest of the text stock (paper). Nowadays, they are often the same color as the text stock (white, or natural), but this is largely out of convenience, not necessity. In fact, well-chosen endsheets can contribute as much to the unique design and feel of your book as its cover does.
If you want a distinctive touch to your book, we suggest endsheets that will complement or contrast the color of the outside cover. One popular modern option is a colorful repeating pattern, which harkens back to some of the earliest decorative endsheets, called marbled endsheets. The practice of using marbled endsheets possibly began in Iran in the 16th century. Paper would be dipped in baths of swirling paint mixed with ox gall (sourced from the bovine liver) to create dreamy, abstract patterns. European bookbinders observed and then adopted the practice. Look in any rare book library and you will likely find some marbled endsheets, proving that specialty endsheets will last, adding a classic and beautifying touch to your own book.
A solid color endsheet is also an option, in all manner of colors, even gold and silver. One of our clients who lived in France chose a red cover and blue endsheets—along with the white text stock, the combination hints at the French flag.
Another client chose to have a dark blue leather cover with Italian endsheets in all four volumes he wrote. These papers were special ordered from Florence.
For an even more personal touch, endsheets can come printed with text or images related to the content of the book. A genealogy book could highlight a family tree, for example, and a biography or memoir could include a map, company logo, or other image on the endsheets.
Endsheets can cost a bit more, but when you open the book they really stand out. They frame the pages as you read, a lovely enhancement. And they appear at the front and at the back, providing beautiful “bookends” for your masterpiece.
If you're interested in learning more about endsheets and how to share this book-design element with young readers in your life, company president Megan St. Marie has written extensively about endsheets in two of her books. Reading Picture Books with Children: How to Shake Up Storytime and Get Kids Talking About What They See and Read It Again: 70 Whole Book Approach Plans to Help You Shake Up Storytime are available for sale in the Modern Memoirs shop, Memory Lane Books & Gifts.