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The 10 greatest book covers of all time
Don't judge a book by its... You know the rest. But over the years, numerous extraordinary examples of art and design have graced the covers of books. Here David Pearson, a British-based book cover designer, selects the best of the best.
The one that made evil cool: A Clockwork Orange, 1972 David Pelham's cover image for A Clockwork Orange quickly became a cult classic. "Its primary colors and bold contrasts were perceived by many as revolutionary at the time, particularly given the disturbing content of the book," says Pearson. "The possible use of an image from the film on the cover of later editions was blocked by Stanley Kubrik after his movie inspired a spate of copycat violence."
Courtesy of David Pearson
The one that terrified the entire world: Psycho, 1959 Tony Palladino, the designer of this iconic cover, once remarked, "How do you do a better image of 'psycho' than the word itself?" His quietly ominous solution showed how in the right hands, limited means can create maximum impact. "Crucially, it only hints at what lies ahead, leaving the reader with open questions and an unsettling feeling," says Pearson. "Alfred Hitchcock purchased the rights to the lettering for the film's promotion, which influenced the opening credit sequence created by Saul Bass."
Courtesy of David Pearson
The one that captured an era: Tauchnitz Editions, 1930s "These were the original cheap, pocketable and thoroughly modern-looking paperbacks," says Pearson. "The squat little English language editions from Leipzig paved the way for Penguin's iconic tri-band cover design of the mid-1930s (of which traces can certainly be seen here) and ensured that good-quality literature was available to all. A quintessential icon of 1930s chic, which derived its style purely from distinctive typography."
Courtesy of David Pearson
The one that made us love scrawl: Everything Is Illuminated, 2003 Bold, hand-drawn lettering has become a staple of modern book design in recent years. "There's no better example than Jon Gray's 2003 Jonathan Safran Foer cover," says Pearson. "His work has a raw, unpolished quality which makes the letters practically burst out of the cover. Gray has many imitators, but none seem to match the energy of his work."
Courtesy of David Pearson
The one that was designed by her sister: To the Lighthouse, 1927 Virginia Woolf's older sister, Vanessa Bell, created this cover for "To the Lighthouse", which was published by Woolf's own Hogarth Press. "Woolf claimed they had decided as children that Virginia would be a writer and Vanessa an artist and sure enough, Vanessa created covers for all of her sister's novels as part of a lifelong collaboration," says Pearson. "Bell's semi-abstracted image can be interpreted in all sorts of ways, but perhaps it is a representation of Lily Briscoe's own painting, completed with 'a sudden intensity' in the book's final lines."
The one that epitomized modernist chic: The Marber grid, 1961 By the end of the 1950s, Penguin's reluctance to embrace image-led covers meant that rivals were beginning to gain the advantage and challenge their position as the nation's leading publisher. This situation was neatly flipped on its head by Romek Marber's extraordinary cover grid of 1961. "By retaining Penguin's signature color-coding and subtly echoing previous designs -- note the three horizontal bands at the top of the cover -- Marber ensured that the design was dutifully on-brand whilst appearing eye-catchingly modern," says Pearson.
Courtesy of David Pearson
The one that sent book shops crazy: Prejudices: A Selection, 1958 American designer Paul Rand was a master of reducing an idea into its most concentrated and salient form. "Taking his cues from the European Modernists such as Kandinsky, Klee and Miró, his work looked like nothing else on the shelf," says Pearson. "Booksellers were known to prominently display Rand's jackets because of their ability to draw attention. Rand went on to become the darling of American corporate design, but it is through his book covers that we see his most playful and expressive side."
Courtesy of David Pearson
The one that took kitsch to a whole new level: The Far Pavilions, 1979 The Far Pavilions, designed by Dave Holmes and Peter Goodfellow, marked a sea-change in book cover design and a move to more commercially-driven imagery. "Books were increasingly being referred to as 'products' in the late '70s, and it showed," says Pearson. "Marketing departments began to have an increasingly big say in design matters and as a result, formats were enlarged and paper bulked-up to increase 'perceived value'. This was a controversial move, and one that caused many designers to abandon the industry in disgust."
Courtesy of David Pearson
The one that made God cool: Pocket Canons, 1997 "This Bible series was a huge hit with both religious and secular readers," says Pearson. "It was published in twelve languages across sixteen different countries and helped to spark a revival in series book design. Designed by Angus Hyland as if they were modern works of fiction, each Pocket Canon -- an individual book from the King James Bible -- uses a single, stark black-and-white photograph which takes a sideways glance at the content (a nuclear explosion for Revelation; a winding, receding road for Exodus)."
Courtesy of David Pearson
The one that raised the bar of quality: Insel Bücherei (Island Library), 1912 These are not the first patterned book covers, and they certainly were far from the last. But, says Pearson, these German Insel Bücherei editions addressed the need for attractive, carefully-considered books which appealed to customers of modest financial means. "The little hardbacks are still being produced today, and are keenly collected because of the consistency of their design, the high standard of their production, and the gorgeous collective effect they produce," he says.