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Dear John: The pages of my book are un-evenly bound and look pretty ragged. Why? Thanks, Abe (Texas) John responds: The type of binding your are referring to is intentional, and called "deckled" edges. They are common and even desirable, to make the books look old and more valuable. Until the 19th Century all books were printed this way on hand-made paper. See John's response to a similar question here. John Here's an example of "deckle edge" paper: Ask John at: [email protected] Read articles about book collecting Read John's answers to book collecting questions Receive our Book Collecting PDFs and newsletters Follow us on Twitter Follow us on Facebook Watch our Videos