Did students really used to put wallpaper on their school books

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  • 27306

    Hey guys i was discussing some old school stuff with my parents and they mentioned that they used to wallpaper their schoolbooks. I thought they were joking but now my dad insists it really happened. I just want to double check if this is real, if so was it like actual wallpaper you'd put on a wall and what was the point of it? why not just put a plastic dustjacket on the books? Im in my early twenties for reference and my dad is early fifties. Cheers, this sounds mental and i'm trying to understand it haha

  • 27307

    I always put plastic dustjackets on my books.I never put wallpapers on it.Because it makes books too conspicuous.

  • 27312

    Same at my school. Asked my Mum to get me some clear sticky back plastic and she brought back hot pink as its better looking and then refused to buy me any more so I ended up getting in shit for having all my books pink. Also got a telling because Mum randomly added bits to my DT project when I was out with Dad and she was bored. Love her to pieces but don't miss living under her roof

  • 27313

    JamesZimmerman said:

    Hey guys i was discussing some old school stuff with my parents and they mentioned that they used to wallpaper their schoolbooks. I thought they were joking but now my dad insists it really happened. I just want to double check if this is real, if so was it like actual wallpaper you'd put on a wall and what was the point of it? why not just put a plastic dustjacket on the books? Im in my early twenties for reference and my dad is early fifties. Cheers, this sounds mental and i'm trying to understand it haha

    It was pretty common to use wrapping paper on books, it sounds entirely plausible for me that poorer families would have used actual wallpaper, since it would've been cheaper. But it had a practical purpose. Children found the patterns more appealing, and could write their names and class on a label sticker. It is also common in some countries that you don't buy the books, you are given it for the year you need it, then you have to return it, in which case it was practical to protect the book from damage, and to have a removable label so the next person it gets passed down to can put their own label on it.

    But in middle and high schools just plain dustjackets were being used, because wrapping paper was considered too juvenile, it's something you do in grade school.

  • 27315

    When I was in elementary school, I would put plastic dust covers on textbooks.But later in high school, I found that my classmates didn't stick anything to books.(Maybe lazy.)

  • 27316

    Yes, its true and I'm not proud of it. lmfao

  • 27323

    Growing up we used brown paper grocery bags because we were poor. Wallpaper or contact paper was expensive, On the plus side, you could draw all over your books and still get money back at the end of the year.

  • 28836

    The text books and note books, therefore, come in a variety of sizes, and many have attractive covers. However, some time in the ancient past, the practice of protecting the books came into being, and for the sake of uniformity, it was decided to use brown paper to cover them.

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  • 29066

    Yup. It was like a rite of passage for every new school year: you were given your books and jotters, off you went back home and you would source material to cover them. It was supposed to help keep your books in good condition. One of my mates from school pointed out a few weeks ago that if you did higher chemistry at our school that you were often using textbooks from the 1980s (this was the mid-90s) and the plastic covers and covers of the books were so damned fragile that you would cover the book and say a prayer at the same time for the structural integrity to hold for as long as Christmas.

  • 30665

    I like to paste cartoon stickers on textbooks

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  • 31368

    I will do the same, it will make me more like and cherish this book

  • 31747

    yeah, i heard about it, my relatives had it

  • 31761

    wow, never knew about that

  • 32295

    I cringe thinking about it now, But I did absolutely print off anime wallpapers and slide them into the covers of the many 3 ring binders I used for schoolwork.

  • 32508

    Yes, yes we did.

    I remember when I was in school, around 20-25 years ago or so, my parents used to do it for me. Just any random comic like wallpaper they can find. As others mentioned above, it was nice to look at but it was also a way to make it a bit more durable as they also used to wrap it in clear plastic.

    Added 42 seconds after

    Jeez, this post is 1 year old.

    No idea why I've only stumbled upon the forums after so long!

  • 32723

    emm,when i m in middle school,my friend paste many 🔞stickers on their books,i cant understand them why they do that because teacher can see it😏

  • 32740

    I'd use band stickers are use the front to draw, as doing it inside the book would get you detention for a week.

  • 32741

    Common practice when I was in school as well, in the 90's.

  • 32787

    Well,Stick wallpaper on a book is very interesting.When I was in elementary school,I sometimes did this,because I think it can make me different from other students.But now I don't.

  • 33968

    ThunderMonkey said:

    Growing up we used brown paper grocery bags because we were poor. Wallpaper or contact paper was expensive, On the plus side, you could draw all over your books and still get money back at the end of the year.

    That matches my experience as well, it was always brown paper grocery bags that we used to cover our textbooks. It's funny to think about now, but I'm pretty sure if I needed to do it again today, that I still remember the essential steps to the process as I learned them back then. I mean, it was hardly rocket science, but there was definitely a technique to doing it well so that the book could be opened without the covers popping out of their sleeves but was snug enough when closed that it hugged the binding tightly enough that it wouldn't snag on other things as you'd shuffle the books in and out of your locker and backpack. As with so many other things at that age, your facility with the process seemed to noticeably improve every single year you went through it, and that was rewarding. I miss those days and the relative simplicity of things, everyone seemed a whole lot less aggravated then.

  • 33970

    I never saw anyone using wallpaper but the grocery bag was the preferred choice. I used to finish mine with transparent tape for more added protection. I never saw anyone with a backpack in my day (we had lockers or desks with shelf) so books that were going home for homework would be part of a stack that be carried. This was tough if your walking home. Some kids would use their PEE CHEE Folders to put their stack of books for easier carry. Teachers would assess books at the end of school year or semester for damage and you pay for any damages to your books.

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