At the End

When you open a book, it's like going to the theater. First you see the curtain, then it is pulled aside and the show begins.
~ Cornelia Funke, Inkheart

Endpapers (which appear before the title page and after the text of a book) come before the action and after it's all over, so you might think that the only function of a book's endpapers is to hold the book together. But they can be treats for the eyes, provide extra bits of information, set the scene, and give humorous asides.

Endpaper from Ring O' Roses: A Nursery Rhyme Picture Book by author unknown, illustrated by L. Leslie Brooke

Endpaper from Orejas de Mariposa
written by Luisa Aguilar Montes, illustrated by André Neves

Endpaper from Wide Awake 666
by Eleanor Davis

Endpaper from The Art and Flair of Mary Blair written by John Canemaker

Endpaper illustration for Winston Science Fiction series by Alex Schomburg

Endpaper from Robin Hood illustrated by N.C. Wyeth

Endpaper from Hiawatta Wid No Odder Poems by Milt Gross

Links:

* Nancy Stahl's endpaper collection at Drawger
* Under The Covers: The Hidden Art of Endpapers from the collection of the Salem Athenæum
* Everyman's Library Endpaper collection
* Endpaper Maps
* The Grand Map endpaper from Leviathan by Scott Westerfield, map by Keith Thompson
* Endpaper from Nancy Drew (original)
* Endpaper of The Fairy Ship by Walter Crane
* We Heart Endpapers
* Two Writing Teachers discuss noticing endpapers in the classroom.