British Butterflies (King Penguin Books Series No. 41). Edmund Brisco Ford. Illustrated by Paxton Chadwick. Penguin Books, 1951. First edition.
The Art of Book Design: British Butterflies
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Art, Fun, & Nonsense.
British Butterflies (King Penguin Books Series No. 41). Edmund Brisco Ford. Illustrated by Paxton Chadwick. Penguin Books, 1951. First edition.
Daniel Dafoe. Robinson Crusoe. Embroidered front cover of a 1791 edition of Robinson Crusoe, from the Newberry Library — Source.
Daniel Dafoe. Robinson Crusoe. Embroidered back cover of a 1791 edition of Robinson Crusoe, from the Newberry Library — Source.
This book cover is one of a kind. It was fashionable for ladies of this time period to hand embroider covers for books and this gorgeous piece of needlework has survived beautifully and is kept in the Newberry Library in Chicago. The Public Domain Review featured an article about this art form (it’s at the link below) and I’ll be posting a few other examples down the road. I keep thinking that in 1791 when this book was published it was considered an item of luxury. It was so valuable that the person who designed and made this cover spent hour upon hour with needle and thread to embellish it. It’s exquisite.
Via: Public Domain Review
Frances Trego Montgomery. On a Lark to the Planets. Akron: The Saalfield Publishing Co., 1904 — Source.
Via: Public Domain Review
Spectropia or Surprising Spectral Illusions Showing Ghosts Everywhere and of Any Colour. London, Griffith and Farran, 1865
This is the follow-up book to the Spectropia (1864) that I put up last Friday. This week I thought I’d share a bit of what’s between the covers including the directions. I’m afraid it’s all just a parlour trick meant to debunk the notion that ghosts exist. You can click for full size. [Read more…]
Tom Rachman. The Italian Teacher. Canada: Penguin Random House, 2019
I’m in the mood for something modern today and the cover of this Canadian book is such a riot of rich colour and texture that it fit the bill perfectly.
Via: Goodreads
James A Henshall. Book of the Black Bass. Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Sons, 1889
I like the typography used for the title on this book, especially the way the ‘B’s’ and the ‘k’s’ change from above the fish to below the fish.
Via: archive.org
Birds in Their Homes. Father Tuck’s Nursery Tales Series. 189?, London, Raphael Tuck & Sons .
Beauty in Common Things by Chambers, A. C; Whymper, Emily Hepburn, 1833-1886, illustrator; Dickes, William, 1815-1892 (printer); Stanford, Edward, 1827-1904 engraver; Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (Great Britain). General Literature Committee. 1874. London
The gilded cover is an engraving of all the plants displayed in the book. I’ve added 2 of the interior plates below the fold for anyone interested. [Read more…]
Front cover from The greymare romance, written and illustrated by Edwin John Ellis, London, 1891.
(Source: archive.org)
Who doesn’t love a good horse romance story?
From archive.org
Cover for Kate Greenaway’s Almanack for 1893, London, [1892].
(Source: archive.org)
From archive.org, where you can view the entire book. I warn you this site can be a bit of a rabbithole.
Spectropia or Surprising Spectral Illusions Showing Ghosts Everywhere and of Every Colour. 1864, New York. James G. Gregory (Firm),publisher. Engravings by John Filmer
Boo.
From Archive.org
George Eliot. Scenes of Clerical Life. William Blackwood & Sons, 1857 — Source.
Baa.
From the Public Domain Review
Charles Lamb. A Masque of Days. London: Cassell and Co., 1901 — Source. Cover design by Walter Crane.
From the Public Domain Review