Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Miss Blurb?



In the publishing trade, a blurb is a testimonial to the book that is printed on the dust jacket. In more general use, it's a summary or brief description of a piece of work.

Today I found out the origins of the word.

In previous times, and around those times, the common practise was to print the picture of a damsel of some description, on the jacket of every novel. However, at a trade dinner in 1907, the American humorist Gelett Burgess distributed 500 copies of his book, featuring a drawing of a beautiful, buxom blonde on the jacket. He named her Miss Blinda Blurb.

The name stuck, even though blurbs are no longer drawings of women.

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