Creative book designers opt for a compelling adobe Photoshop software. I’ve already stated that the best book covers DO persuade me and make a difference in whether or not I’ll purchase a title. What I didn’t relate is that dust jacket and book covers are a passion of mine. I love illustration on practically anything; from packaging perfumes, to ads, to menus, and naturally books. The best examples of spectacular book covers are from the past–the 1920s through the 1940s. I’ve written a couple of articles about standout book covers, one dealing with the 1930 publisher Mystery League and their entire output dressed in Deco covers. Doubleday Crime Clubs artists created some the best covers with an extra plus–Doubleday Crime Club adorned the front board and
vintage illustration Archive
Sometimes subjects and ideas for articles are slim, and I struggle to come up with something meaningful, challenging, and pithy. Well, this is not a pithy one. It’s more of a dreamy reminiscence. About one book that trumps all others in my life. Mother Goose rhymes, nursery rhymes, captured me as a little tyke, and never let go. Visiting the library was a sometime treat, and memorable. The architecture was 20s Tudor, the walls covered from floor to ceiling with volumes, and a balcony ran around the top, so readers could obtain lofty titles. In a slightly hidden nook was the children’s room, casement windows, carpeting, stools, chairs, and a delightful window seat. Of course there were also the stacks and piles of books. I
I have no idea! And that’s why I am writing this article, because I’ve had a long discussion on another site about vintage illustration being copied, and one argument against copying public domain images from rare books or postcards is that it hurts the rare paper ephemera business and book sellers. Does it? Do say, reprints of Arthur Rackham’s illustrated titles lower the interest of a serious buyer of a first edition? If an exact copy of a certain edition of an illustrated Huckleberry Finn remove the value of a first? I’ve no data to back up my feeling on this subject, and I’d appreciate people weighing in, even if telling me my suppositions are completely off base. I am really seriously curious as to