From Library Journal
After considering the 300 colorful illustrations in this book, readers will find it difficult to avoid taking a more discerning look at the designs on hardbacks, paperbacks, and wraparound paper covers. These paper book jackets (more commonly known to Americans as dust jackets) have often been discarded as temporary, resulting in the loss of graphic designs characteristic of their times. While the purpose of any cover design is to serve as a marketing device to catch a potential buyer's eye, British author Powers (Univ. of Greenwich Sch. of Architecture and Landscape) discusses the importance of cover design in visually conveying (or not) the book's essence. An introduction giving historical context starts with the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Powers then groups his examples into four categories: the impact of modernism (1920s and 1930s), the creation of style (1940s through 1960s), a revolution in print (1960s and 1970s), and design in the digital age (1980s and 1990s). Within each, he insightfully discusses genres, individual books, designers, and publishing houses. The lists of designers and publishers at the end, however, do not include all those he refers to in the text. Nevertheless, the book is definitely recommended for both academic and public libraries. Anne Marie Lane, Univ. of Wyoming, Laramie
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Product Description
Front Cover: Great Book Jacket and Cover Design is a comprehensive survey of the very best of cover and jacket design from the 20th century. The most important and innovative designs are explored, including the distinctive yellow dust-jackets of the Gollancz novels of the 1930s, the colour-coded series design of Penguin paperbacks in the 1960s and the award-winning paperback designs by Canongate in the 1990s. Chapters are devoted to separate themes - the development of the modern book jacket in the 1920s and 1930s, the diverse styles that evolved in the post-war era, the paperback explosion of the 1960s and 1970s, and the recent revival in jacket design in the hands of design companies such as Pentagram. Revealing double-page features appear in each chapter on such tropics as the Cold War novel, classic novels of the period, and individual authors such as Len Deighton and Ian Fleming. With 300 jackets in full-colour, including rare first editions, innovative designs by leading designers such as E. McKnight Kauffer and Paul Rand, and newly discovered gems, together with an insightful text by leading design expert Alan Powers, this fascinating book will delight anyone with a passion for books.
