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A Selection of Book Jacket & Binding Designs, 1949-1960

"A jacket assignment was always a special little thrill. It was another chance to strut your stuff and to have your work reach a national circulation. Every new jacket presented its own set of problems, but, within the limits of the publisher’s and author’s style or idiom, it was also an opportunity to do something fresh. Good reference sources of allegorical and historical images or better still, one’s own mental library of metaphorical and allusive motifs, were essential if one were to offer more than mere calligraphic renderings of title, etc. The greater one’s grasp of literary style and the better one’s knowledge of contemporary authors and subject matter, the more likely were commissions of interesting and significant books. But almost everybody did a share of pot-boilers, too."

--Charles Skaggs

Elephant and Castle - cover
Elephant and Castle--1949
The Child Buyer - cover
The Child Buyer--1960
Taw Jameson - cover
Taw Jameson--1953
This Reckless Breed of Men - cover
This Reckless Breed of Men--1950
Imitation of Christ - cover
The Imitation of Christ--1953
Great Operas - cover
Great Operas--1949
Time of Fallen Blossoms - cover
Time of Fallen Blossoms--1951

A History of Russia - cover
A History of Russia--1953

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