I am sure this is from the word "franjurat". In this case we would certainly used the term "frayed", rather than "fringed"

"Frayed or Fraying
Indicates that the cloth, paper, or other outer shell which covers the books boards has been worn to a point that it has exposed the boards beneath, and leaving the outer fringes aroung the exposure jagged or torn."
http://www.biblio.com/book_collecting_terminology/frayed_or_...

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Note added at 40 mins (2012-10-07 11:10:38 GMT)
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"Repairing frayed cover edges"
http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/authors/ellis/excerpt.html

"You said you read me like a book, but the pages all are torn and frayed"
http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/mychemicalromance/imnotokayipr...

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Note added at 57 mins (2012-10-07 11:27:21 GMT)
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"Old book with frayed cloth hardcover..."
http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?um=1&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=485&t...

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Note added at 6 hrs (2012-10-07 17:15:55 GMT)
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"The corners on this cover are frayed and expose the book board underneath. This will lead to further degradation."
"The corners have been repaired by consolidating the frayed cloth and book board."
http://www.lib.msu.edu/exhibits/sat/minor.jsp