Great article by the Guardian featuring designs by the likes of Eric Fraser and Barbara Jones.
A new collection of classic illustrations highlights the timeless appeal of dust jackets
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Three Comrades by Erich Maria Remarque (Little, Brown & Co, 1937) Illustrator: Paul Wenck
Set in 1920s Germany, Remarque’s 1937 novel follows the lives of three former soldiers. Paul Wenck’s social realist-style jacket design portrays the three protagonists in heroic fashion.
Photograph: Collection of Martin Salisbury
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Time Was Away: A Notebook in Corsica by Alan Ross and John Minton (John Lehmann, 1948) Illustrator: John Minton
Arguably one of the most spectacular dust-jacket designs of the 20th century, this must have seemed particularly exotic and alluring in the postwar austerity of 1948. The publisher funded Ross and Minton’s trip to Corsica.
Photograph: Estate of John Minton, Courtesy Special Collections, Royal College of Art, London
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The Shoe Bird by Eudora Welty (Harcourt Brace, 1964) Illustrator: Beth Krush
Married couple Beth and Joe Krush worked together on many books. Occasionally, they would take on projects individually, as in the jacket design by Beth Krush for Eudora Welty’s only book written for children.
Photograph: Courtesy Bill Wickham/Wickham Books South, Naples, FL
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Metropolis by Thea von Harbou (Readers Library, 1927) Illustrator: Aubrey Hammond
A sought-after prize for collectors, Aubrey Hammond’s design juxtaposes delicate colour harmony with a nightmarish vision. Hammond’s work was more usually seen in the context of stage and costume designs.
Photograph: Collection of Mark Terry/Facsimile Dust Jackets / http://www.dustjackets.com
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Anatomy for Interior Designers by Julus Panero (Whitney Library of Design, 1954) Illustrator: Alvin Lustig
Alvin Lustig’s restless curiosity during his short life was employed across many areas of art and design. His dust jackets were minimal distillations of the spirit of a book’s contents, with hand-rendered lettering.
Photograph: Alvin Lustig Archive
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A Book of Mediterranean Food by Elizabeth David (John Lehmann, 1950) Illustrator: John Minton
Elizabeth David’s books introduced the English-speaking world to the hitherto exotic concept of Mediterranean cuisine. John Minton’s brilliant, neo-romantic designs perfectly complement the writing.
Photograph: Estate of John Minton, Courtesy Special Collections, Royal College of Art, London
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The Unsophisticated Arts by Barbara Jones (The Architectural Press, 1951) Illustrator: Barbara Jones
Throughout her career as a writer and artist, Barbara Jones was a champion of the everyday arts, from narrowboat decoration to tattooing. An early rough design for the dust jacket is titled English Vernacular Art.
Photograph: The Estate of Barbara Jones
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Mountain Meadow by John Buchan (Literary Guild of America, 1941) Illustrator: Rockwell Kent
The influence of Soviet social realism can be seen in many of the jacket designs of US artist Rockwell Kent. His support for radical left-leaning causes created difficulties for him during the years of McCarthyism.
Photograph: Collection of Martin Salisbury
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The Book of Woman’s Hour Edited by Joanna Scott-Moncrieff (Ariel Productions, 1953) Illustrator unknown
The BBC radio programme Woman’s Hour had a huge audience in 1950s Britain, and this related book was filled with top tips for housewives. The designer of the striking period-piece jacket is not credited.
Photograph: Collection of Martin Salisbury
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Roads To Glory by Richard Aldington (Chatto & Windus, 1930 ) Illustrator: Paul Nash
The painter and war artist Paul Nash produced a small amount of commercial illustration and design work, including this striking dust jacket for Aldington’s thirteen stories about the First World War.
Photograph: Paul Nash estate / Collection of Martin Salisbury
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Drugs and the Mind by Robert S. de Ropp (Scientific Book Club, 1957) Illustrator: Eric Fraser
The jacket is one of Fraser’s most strikingly original designs. Dr de Ropp’s first book introduced readers to the joys and mental tortures of ancient herbs and modern drugs.
Photograph: Courtesy the Fraser Family
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A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1928) Illustrator: Cleonike ‘Cleon’ Damianakes
After the rejection of her initial design, Damianakes came up with a less military concept, focusing on the classical figure. However, the views of the author were no less dismissive.
Photograph: Collection of Mark Terry/Facsimile Dust Jackets L.L.C. http://www.dustjackets.com
