Leather Big Book Covers
www.leatherbigbookcovers.com
by Desert Leathercraft LLC

(This web site is NOT associated with Alcoholics Anonymous ², A.A.³  and
is NOT General Service Office (GSO) conference approved.)
covers coverscoverscoverscovers
       Click on any images on this site for a larger image

¹The Big Book is a registered trademark of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
²Alcoholics Anonymous is a registered trademark of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.
³A.A. is a registered trademark of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.

   

.: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

(Q0) How long does it take to make the cover once payment is made?

(Q1) Do you ship outside the United States?

(Q2) Do you make Bible covers?

(Q3) Can I get a discount for multiple (wholesale price) covers?

(Q4) Why are you allowed to use the Alcoholics Anonymous Circle/Triangle symbol, but not the Al-Anon, CA, OA, GA, etc. symbols?

(Q5) Why can you use text from the First or Second Edition of the Big Book, but not the Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions or other AA literature?

(Q6) Why can't you use the image I've sent you?

(Q7) Do you make covers for other than the hardcover Big Book and the hardcover Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions?

(Q8) Do you make zipper closures for the book covers like the Bible store Bible covers

(Q9) Does the lacing or sewing last longer?

(Q9a) What is lacing construction?

(Q9b) What is sewing construction?

(Q10) Why do you only use black leather lace? ...or only black or off-white thread?

(Q11) Do you have any ready made Big Book covers?

(Q12) Can you match colors of leather?

(Q13) There are some marks on the leather. Is this normal?

(Q14) Is the lettering always black on a saddle tan applique?


(Q15) Why don't you do suede leather covers any more?

(Q16) Are there less expensive Big Book Covers?




(A0) How long does it take to make the cover once payment is made?

Short ANSWER:2-4 weeks

  • 1. If it is a rush (AA B-day, etc.) and you need it in a day or two, you can print out a picture of the one of the pictures in the gallery and tell the recipient that a cover similar to the one you have printed will be on its way in 2-4 weeks.

  • 2. I try to balance the work so that gifts make it out the quickest and personal use later. I quote 2-3 weeks (3-4 weeks for laced covers or for custom carved covers). The quoted time may extend depending on the number of orders in process.

These are CUSTOM covers and nothing is pre-made nor are there any short cuts taken to speed the process.

(A1) Do you ship outside the United States?

No. There are lessons learned from experience. There is a very high cost to the customer both for the basic shipping cost and the insurance. Last time I sent a book cover to Canada it was almost $40 just for the shipping of a Basic Big Book cover. There is also an additional cost to the customer for duties imposed by their country. I've been asked to ship as a gift to avoid some countries duties, but that goes against my choice to be honest in my actions.

When covers were lost there was additional time and effort to recover the insurance money--time lost away from making covers.

There may be alternatives to get custom made leather AA literature covers. If you have a friend in the US, I would be happy to receive the payment from them, make the cover and send send to them allowing them to ship overseas. Or, there are other custom leather book cover makers that may ship overseas. Here are some samples (links may not be up to date):

(A2) Do you make Bible covers?

No, but there are many custom leather Bible cover makers on the Internet. Here are some samples (links may not be up to date):

(A3) Can I get a discount for multiple (wholesale price) covers?

No, each cover is hand crafted. They are not preassembled or made on an assembly line and each is made to the customers specifications.

(A4) Why are you allowed to use the Alcoholics Anonymous Circle/Triangle symbol, but not the Al-Anon, CA, OA, GA, etc. symbols?

The Al-Anon CA, OA, GA, etc. logo symbols are currently protected by copyright and cannot be used without permission. I did receive a “one-time” use for the CA (Cocaine Anonymous)

There is an excerpt from the US Patent and Trade office to show that Alcoholics Anonymous released the Circle/Triangle Logo trademark in August 2006.

This data is from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (Trademark Electronic Search System -- TESS)

AA Symbol

Word Mark

AA UNITY SERVICE RECOVERY

Goods and Services

(CANCELLED) IC 016. US 038. G & S: BOOKS, PAMPHLETS AND PRINTED CARDS DEALING WITH ALCOHOLISM. FIRST USE: 1955/02/01. FIRST USE IN COMMERCE: 1955/02/01

Mark Drawing Code

(3) DESIGN PLUS WORDS, LETTERS, AND/OR NUMBERS

Design Search Code

26.01.02 - Circles, plain single line; Plain single line circles
26.05.21 - Triangles that are completely or partially shaded

Serial Number

73524211

Registration Number

1371267

Owner

(REGISTRANT) ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC. CORPORATION NEW YORK 468 PARK AVENUE SOUTH NEW YORK NEW YORK 10016

Attorney of Record

CYNTHIA C. WEBER

Prior Registrations

1322117;AND OTHERS

Disclaimer

NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE "SERVICE RECOVERY" APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN

Type of Mark

TRADEMARK

Register

PRINCIPAL

Affidavit Text

SECT 15. SECT 8 (6-YR).

Live/Dead Indicator

DEAD

Cancellation Date

August 26, 2006

(A5) Why can you use text from the First or Second Edition of the Big Book, but not the Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions or other AA literature?

AAWS allowed the 1st Edition copyright of the Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book) to lapse in 1967 and the copyright on the 2nd Edition lapsed in 1983. Thus placing both editions in the public domain forever. There has not been a valid US copyright on the main text of Alcoholics Anonymous for more than 40 years.

(from http://anonpress.org/faq/239 ):

The 1986 General Service Conference Final Report explains the end of the book's US copyright this way:
The copyright on the first edition of the Big Book lapsed in 1967, and the copyright on the new material in the second edition lapsed in 1983-both because of a failure to renew them in a timely fashion. There was a mistaken belief that registering the copyright on the second edition in 1956 served to revive the copyright on the first edition; the misconception continued, with respect to the second edition, when the third edition was copyrighted in 1976. (From page 15)

The laws for copyright in place in The USA at the time the Big Book was written were different from the laws in place in most countries. In 1938 US law stipulated that, in order to receive the longest possible term of protection, a copyright had to be renewed, in writing, after 30 years.

Meanwhile, in most of the world, and under later copyright treaties, all written works received an automatic term of protection equal to the natural life of the author(s) plus 50 years from their death. No paperwork was, or is, required under this system. The US has adopted this system, but earlier law governs books authored in 1938.

AA World Service, which inherited the copyright Bill W. claimed on the book, did not renew the copyright. As a result, there is no dispute that the book has been in the public domain in the US since 1967. Nobody "owns" the Big Book in The USA. Anyone can reproduce it without seeking permission from anyone. Not so for other countries.

The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, as I understand, maintained and renewed the copyright of the publication up to the current edition. Therefore, I treat the text as copyrighted. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions has the Prayer of St. Francis as modified for AA.  The Christian prayer is in public domain.

(A6) Why can't you use the image I've sent you?

I make a cursory search of see if the image is copyrighted and make a judgment based on the search and your insurance that the image is not copyrighted. If find that it is copyrighted, then I will ask you to contact the owner of the image or logo and provide a written copy of permission to use the image for single use.

(A7) Do you make covers for other than the hardcover Big Book and the hardcover Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions?

Yes, I make covers for all the major AA literature—large print, standard hard copy, soft copy, portable and pocket. Even the As Bill See It, Pass It On, AA Comes of Age, Dr. Bob and the Good Old timers, Daily Reflections.

(A8) Do you make zipper closures for the book covers like the Bible store Bible covers?

No, I'm not very good at zipper closures.

(A9) Does the lacing or sewing last longer?

I have both types and they are still in use after 24-years.

(A9a) What is lacing construction?

The lacing or braiding is black cow leather.  It is hand braided with a triple loop cordovan style braid and is either braided completely all around the edges of the cover or just the top edge and bottom edge.  This type of assemble completely covers the cut edge of the leather.

(A9b) What is sewing construction?

The sewing is #207 bonded polyester thread that is machine stitched all around the edges of the cover.  The same stitching is used to sew the applique, medallion holder or snap/strap  pen/highlight holder.  This type of assembly leave the cut edge of the leather visable and that edge is dyed black.

(A10) Why do you only use black leather lace? ...or only black or off-white thread?

It was too hard to keep an inventory of all the different colors and try to get the color that the customer wanted in the #207 bonded polyester thread. Now I only offer black leather lace or sewn with black or white #207 bonded polyester thread.

(A11) Do you have any ready made Big Book covers?

Yes, when they are available they are found on the Specials page.

(A12) Can you match colors of leather?

The hardest part of communicating color preferences the customer and me is that pictures taken with a camera, posted in email or in the gallery are viewed with the customers monitor or phone.  Each camera, monitor or phone skew the true color.  I try to match what the customer wants from their color description, referenced picture in the gallery, or using some of the color references in the How-to-Order page (ie. color wheel or leather samples: designer, faux-croco, ostrich, motochap1, motochap2  ...or... even crayon colors:  Crayola®_crayon_standard colors  

(A13) There are some marks on the leather. Is this normal?

Leather is a natural product and may have some defects (e.g. range markings: healed scars, bug bites, brands, etc.).  Those marking are natural in real leather.

(A14) Is the lettering always black on a saddle tan appliqué?

Yes.  I've experimented with other colors of antique pigmented dyes, but the saddle tan antique dye seems to work the best.  The properties of the antique dyes allow the impressed (embossed) text and carved images to have the dark color making the text stand out and readable.  It also allows the carvings to have more definition. 

(A15) Why don't you do suede leather covers any more?

The darker colored suede leathers have what is called "rub off".  This where the dye can be transfered to light colored clothing.  Also, the lighter colored suede leathers will stain quite easily from the oils in the hands and from non-cleaned table tops.  If you absolutely have to have a suede leather cover I will make one from the remaining stock of suede.  The colors on hand are:  Forest Green, Pink, Red, Black, Rust, Purple, and several blues: Navy Blue, Royal Blue, Teal Blue, Medium Blue.  When the these suede leathers are gone--they are gone.

(A16) Are there less expensive Big Book Covers?

If handmade custom Leather Book Covers seem too costly to you there are other places to obtain book covers for your Big Book, and other AA literature. I would recommend Culver Enterprises, Inc. for the largest variety of commercially manufactured leather and vinyl book covers. They are located at:

Culver Enterprises, Inc.
743 Porter Lane
Grants Pass, OR 97527
Email: ice-bookcovers@charter.net
Phone: 541-474-7655
Fax: 541-474-0912
www.ce-bookcovers.com

Their leather Big Book Covers sell for $31.95 (price subject to change and shipping is extra) and has the Serenity Prayer, Pen Holder, Strap, Metal Corners and Medallion holder on it and comes only in black.

They also have a Leather-like vinyl Big Book Cover 
sells for $15.95 (price subject to change and shipping is extra) with Serenity Prayer & Medallion Holder that comes in several colors.

Additionally, they make covers for all sizes and some dual book covers.








 
__________________
Leather Crafter
"Book Cover" Bob
Email: stelmack@nwlink.com

Copyright © 2009-2014, Desert Leathercraft LLC, All rights reserved

.