Penguin series design the art of penguin book covers. The covers chosen range from the early 1960s when penguin began deviating from their traditional colorcoded designs all the way through to the 2000s. A 100 postcard collection of the iconic, bizarre and mindblowing best of science fiction cover designs from 80 years of penguins history. One of penguin s strategies was to implement standardised designs for book covers. In 2010, the bbc interviewed a wiltshire man named steve hare whod been collecting penguin paperbacks so assiduously that hed amassed over 15,000 titles. All fall down by james leo herlihy 3 years ago do the math. They were the ides of march by thornton wilder, an epistolary novel about the assassination of julius caesar. Miss lonelyhearts by nathanael west, a black comedy set in a new york.
Unfortunately, most of the covers included here are rather dull in design. Twenty alan aldridge book covers 1960s, 1970s, art, book covers 165 views comments off on twenty alan aldridge book covers avid readers of voices of east anglia may remember that weve previously covered the work of psychedelic artist and designer alan aldridge in our post titled the man with kaleidoscope eyes. All orders are custom made and most ship worldwide within 24 hours. Twenty alan aldridge book covers voices of east anglia. Penguin cover design the art of penguin book covers. Glasers covers featured elegant, fine lined cross hatching with a spare use of color. Between 1960 and 1970 penguin books underwent several revolutions in cover layout, at a time when public tastes were rapidly changing.
The cover should encourage children to pick the book up and buy it for themselves and should also engage adults to want to buy it for them. In the 1960s he did several stylish covers for penguin during the short period when alan aldridge was art director. Ever since illustration was allowed onto penguin covers in the 1950s, there have been very few novels that have not used some imagery in their cover design. The nickel boys isnt just a testament to systemic racism.
Seven hundred penguins is another great book that shows an amazing collection of 700 book covers do not grab my images and repost them on your flickr page. These include his renowned penguin book covers, inspired by the dust jackets of volumes from the 1950s and 1960s, and the pelican bad weather paintings which evoke the culture and. The art of illustration flourished at penguin during the 1960s and 70s under a series of art directors whose tastes in cover design were more graphic than typographic. Penguin has produced a number of rather striking book covers over the years. Bearing the hallmark of penguins celebrated design aesthetic, there is a cover to suit everyone in this iconic collection. The only slipup came in 1967 when after art director tony godwins departure, it was felt necessary to print a penguin book in heavy 36 point at the top of covers, as if anyone would have. He illustrated for many book publishers, including penguin which commissioned a small number of covers in the 1960s. For almost thirty years, penguin cover designs were typographic, with occasional small illustrations creeping in over time. Penguin used a simple colour scheme, two solid bands of colour sandwiching a band.
By the early 1960s penguin, once a pioneer in book design, had lost its. George orwell covers through the ages penguin books uk. Louisa hares cards feature a short quote from shakespeare taken from the folio, along with a contemporary illustration. One of penguins strategies was to implement standardised designs for book covers. For the past two decades, his iconic design and singular art direction has been showcased on thousands of covers and jackets. Penguin is offering around slices of decades, in literary form, to celebrate its 75th birthday. Classic pelican book covers in pictures books the guardian. Penguin used a simple colour scheme, two solid bands of colour sandwiching a band of white, as very general way of identifying the genre of the book. Sinces the 1960s, his work has appeared as penguin modern classics in various guises. From left 1937 three bands, 1955 grid, 1969 illustrated, and 2007 a penguin celebrations throwback edition. One of the main elements i found interesting while carrying out research into penguin book covers was the evolution of the logo. Gianetta coppola was an italian illustrator who worked in london for two decades. These fourcolor full bleed covers held sway until signet books hired milton glaser in the early 1960s for their signet shakespeare series. Vintage penguin book, to kill a mockingbird 1960s, classic.
The secret of penguins enduring paperback covers is all in the rigorous geometry, a wise choice of illustrators and that wonky handdrawn bird published. But instead of just communicating verbal information as before, they now. The heart is a lonely hunter by carson mccullers, about a deaf mute in the rural us state of georgia. A book cover demands our initial engagement with a work. In 2010, the bbc interviewed a wiltshire man named steve hare whod been collecting penguin paperbacks so assiduously that.
As art director of penguin book covers in the 1960s and as a designer, he was a powerful influence on book and information design, throwing a special light on modern movement aspirations and on attitudes to illustration. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. The beauty of penguin books the secret of penguin s enduring paperback covers is all in the rigorous geometry, a wise choice of illustrators and that wonky handdrawn bird published. Oct 30, 2012 the secret of penguins enduring paperback covers is all in the rigorous geometry, a wise choice of illustrators and that wonky handdrawn bird published. Before being discontinued in 1984, pelican books published thousands of accessible, stimulating books covering a wide range of subjects from classical music to molecular biology to architecture. The majority of our favorites, however, feature the more psychedelic artwork from the late 1970s. Four pelican book covers, showing the gradual shift in the design. Penguin book covers inspire artist for york exhibition the. Find classic covers of your favourite penguin books, or explore contemporary designs created by awardwinning designer coralie bickfordsmith, each featuring a motif or image inspired by the book. Facetti invited three designers to propose a grid to give structure to the cover designs and marbers plan won with this explanatory design.
Penguin crime series, 1960s romek marber designed the crime. The penguin covers successfully adapted the visual idea of the cards onto book design. The idea of a collection of postcards featuring classic penguin book covers is, on the surface of it, a fine idea. Jun 04, 2015 a 100 postcard collection of the iconic, bizarre and mindblowing best of science fiction cover designs from 80 years of penguin s history. A brief visual history of virginia woolfs book covers. Personalised penguin classic book cover print perfect for a wedding gift, new baby, or, fun art for the family home. From the 1930s and 1940s and the world famous triband design, to the covers of the 1960s and 1970s inspired by surrealism, expressionism, psychedelia and pop art, this collection charts science fictions emergence as a literary force while embracing the. On this dostoyevsky opus, a guys face is replaced by a groovy rainbow with a figure in. Vintage penguin paperback book of the classic to kill a mockingbird by harper lee. I found a source in the book jan tschichold designer, the penguin years by richard b. The 1960s saw a resurgence of the penguin specials, with titles. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. Nov 20, 2017 for almost thirty years, penguin cover designs were typographic, with occasional small illustrations creeping in over time.
Penguin book covers inspire artist for york exhibition. The simple penguin icon changed a vast amount between 19352003. Beginning of a dialog window, including tabbed navigation to register an account or sign in to an existing account. Penguin books was founded in 1935 by allen lane with the purpose of inexpensively producing high quality, but affordable, paperbacks. While all elements of the cover front, back and spine need to work together, remember that the front cover has to be able to work on its own, and to be eyecatching within a crowded bookshop setting as. There are some real gems included, but frankly far too few. The revised covers, also published by penguin, for classic titles such as moby dick use wile, a lovely serif font with a clean, classic look. First published in 1960, this edition was published in 1964. Faced with flashy opposition, the company increasingly experimented with design.
In this series, some of the titles didnt actually include the authors name or title of the book. Penguin book cover psychology book cover by penguin packaging design with a simple system covers book cover an interesting set of penguin psychology book covers that dou. Jun 26, 2016 the result was the division of the cover into three vertical stripes, which allowed enough space for illustration while maintaining the tripartite division and the original 1930s colour coding so strongly associated with penguin. A brief history penguin book covers design context. He had a long and admired career in the graphic arts and his influence on the design culture at penguin, starting in 1961, is incalculable.
See more ideas about books, childhood and my childhood. This month my design podcast the poster boys will pore over the history of penguin book cover. Jan 17, 2020 sinces the 1960s, his work has appeared as penguin modern classics in various guises. Includes beautiful covers overseen by jan tschichold as well as the late typographer hans schmoller. They have put together a kick butt gallery of penguin book covers. Club the nickel boys is a marvellous play between the real situation and a novelistic artificeone which, in the end, proves to be inherent in the human story. These covers, designed by jessica hische, reinterpret a very traditional hardback format, and use vintagestyle typography for an authentic, ornate look. Beautiful british book jacket design of the 1950s and 1960s. In contrast if you look at many british book covers of the 1960s when they used photography more, you see a big deterioration in the quality of the covers. Pelican books is a nonfiction imprint of penguin books.
It was cofounded in 1935 by sir allen lane with his brothers richard and john, as a line of the publishers the bodley head, only becoming a separate company the following year. Paul buckley is one of the premiere creative directors working today, overseeing a diverse group of designers and art directors creating exceptional book covers and branding for fifteen imprints and countless authors within the penguin random house publishing group. See more ideas about penguin books, book cover design and vintage penguin. Turn your home, office, or studio into an art gallery, minus the snooty factor. Crazy beautiful book covers the fundamental rule of all readers is to never judge a book by its cover, but ilhether we spot a gorgeous book in someones hands or displayed in a bookstore, the cover piques our curiosity. Beautiful british book jacket design of the 1950s and 1960s presenting a permanent existential ennui gallery page of some of the most gorgeous british dustjackets ever to wrap around books in the 1950s and 1960s and beyond, in some exceptional cases, especially crime and spy thrillers and science fiction. Designing penguin modern classics part 1 penguin books uk. He wanted a bold, impactful look, with large fullcolour. Ever since penguin published its first paperback in 1935, its covers have had a. Bearing the hallmark of penguins celebrated design aesthetic, there is a. There is some wear to the cover and some minor wear to the pages. Founded in 1937, pelican books combined important topics with clear prose to create inexpensive paperbacks for a broad audience. Penguin book covers through the years in pictures books.
Over the years penguin produced many gorgeous covers and a few clunkers, and author phil baines curates a collection that includes both. Possibly in a nod to the second edition of penguin covers he enclosed the image within a black border. The result was the division of the cover into three vertical stripes, which allowed enough space for illustration while maintaining the tripartite division and the original 1930s colour coding so strongly associated with penguin. The original threepanel penguin covers and the subsequent minor variations are beautiful examples of design. Jan 25, 2018 three miscellaneous covers from the 60s.
More than 75 years on, theyre as popular as ever, with some book jackets. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its inexpensive paperbacks, sold through woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence, bringing highquality. In the 1960s, penguin art director germano facetti revised the cover design for penguin modern classics. I started searching local book stores and online for some of the old penguin and pelican books. Crazy beautiful book covers the fundamental rule of all readers is to never judge a book by its cover, but ilhether we spot a gorgeous book in someones hands or displayed in. In april 1961 four titles were published by penguin with a new look and a new name. Dec 19, 2014 the revised covers, also published by penguin, for classic titles such as moby dick use wile, a lovely serif font with a clean, classic look. The career of germano facetti is exceptional in its range.
This 21 january marks the 70th anniversary of orwells death, the perfect moment to reflect on eight decades of penguin orwell covers. Booklovers will easily identify with the fundamentals of this book. In 1962 penguin decided to try again with visual covers, to replace the dated typographic covers of the 1950s. High quality penguin books inspired canvas prints by independent artists and designers from around the world. Cover to cover celebrates penguins 70th anniversary with an expansive collection of brilliant cover designs, replete with behind the scenes tales of how the covers came to be and a peek at some covers that never made the cut. The history and cover art of science fiction published by penguin books from 1935 to the present day. Independent art hand stretched around super sturdy wood frames. Pelican books the 1960s 1960s, art, book covers, literature 14194 views comments off on pelican books the 1960s pelican books is an imprint of penguin books and first appeared in 1937 with the book the intelligent womans guide to socialism and capitalism by george bernard shaw. After the introduction of pictorial covers in the early 1960s, there were still occasions when they returned to typographic designs. Kitaj, who created a series of popart screen prints of book covers in the 1960s, hannah began making oil paintings of timeworn penguins, framed headona natural extension of his fascination with the english past.