"J" wrote in message
...

The French seem to have a history of paperback-only books. The "lost"
Jules Verne novel, PARIS IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, sold very well
indeed, but was not deemed worthy of a hardcover edition. (I brought
the trade paperback home with me from Paris...)

This was a distinct national tradition throughout the 19th century
until after well after 1950. The usual explanation was that most
publications were in paperback so that the purchaser could have
his preferred books locally bound to his taste (although it seems
few non-rich readers actually did this.) Technology changed
this, largely because paperback production adopted glue instead
of stitching, and glued "perfect bindings" do not permit standard
bookbinding. But hard-cover production also became cheaper,
and better French publishers still present their paperbacks in
stitched signatures.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)