extravagant bindings

TalkTattered but still lovely

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extravagant bindings

12wonderY
Edited: Mar 5, 2012, 5:50 pm

These are the books that thrill you just because of their visual beauties.


This is one I am amazed found its way into my possession. Each page's words are contained within a decorative border. It's a good and exciting adventure yarn.

And then, this old gem:


which contains a book length melodramatic poem that I've never been tempted to read.

22wonderY
Mar 13, 2012, 4:16 pm

Here's another favorite:



Does anyone want a lesson in how to post a cover in threads?

3fuzzi
Mar 13, 2012, 4:58 pm

Don't you just copy the image location and paste it in the post as a regular picture?

The formatting won't show...grrr...

4countrylife
Edited: Mar 15, 2012, 9:34 am



eta: fuzzi, I am SO computer illiterate, that I have to keep a digital cheat sheet to copy/paste from. You copy the image location of the picture you want and replace the red part in that equation with your paste.

5countrylife
Mar 15, 2012, 9:32 am

One of my Pansy books:


One of my Pansy books for young adults:


One of my Pansy books for children:


(Looks like some of my early scanning efforts need to be redone!)

62wonderY
Mar 15, 2012, 10:07 am

ooh! I want Christie's Christmas!!

7keristars
Edited: Mar 15, 2012, 12:04 pm

Have you guys seen the blog A Pretty Book? (http://www.aprettybook.com) - the writer often posts photos of tons and tons of beautiful older books and the bindings, as well as bookshops and newer pretty books. This thread reminded me of a recent post showcasing some gorgeous older books he found that are in need of a bit of repair.

ETA: The specific post I'm referring to, which opens with a colored illustration from Alice in Wonderland: http://aprettybook.com/2012/03/12/looking-for-the-beauty-in-old-books/

82wonderY
Edited: Mar 15, 2012, 12:42 pm

That's the kind of haul that thrills the soul. Sigh!

Another source which someone on LT pointed me to is the book The Art of American Book Covers. It gives short biographies of the known artists and tells how to look for their marks. Here's its cover:



It's a bit pricey, but I thought it was worth it.

92wonderY
Mar 15, 2012, 12:25 pm

And I'll point out a website devoted to the second book from the top here, Lucile.

http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/lucile/index.html

The contents are hopelessly outdated (except for a few people I've met around here), but in its day, it was wildly popular, reprinted in an amazing array of splendid bindings.

I'm particularly in love with it, as Lucile is my younger daughter's middle name, spelled that way, as it was taken from her great grandmother's name.

10fuzzi
Mar 15, 2012, 12:40 pm

I am enjoying all these lovely tomes!

112wonderY
Mar 26, 2012, 7:38 am

Just a nice cover from a 1910 catalog -


I was very happy to come across this. I knew that Abercrombie & Fitch started out as travel outfitters, but my daughters only knew them for their high priced clothing. Sometimes, in novels of the time, the characters would have a need to get outfitted, and this is where they would have shopped.

Someone took pretty good care of this copy, though it was once used as a coaster for a mug. It's one of my ultb's (unique LibraryThing book.)

122wonderY
Apr 4, 2012, 6:26 am

The same binding design was used for a variety of titles here:
fiction


and non-fiction (with a very long sub-title, Liz)

13fuzzi
Edited: Apr 4, 2012, 7:33 am

Here's one from my own collection:



My father had the whole series, and the "My Bookhouse" books, but I only have two of his, plus the one above. The ones I own have graygreen cloth covers, sort of like the one below (which I do not own):



142wonderY
Apr 10, 2012, 8:54 am

I really like the graphics on the covers, fuzzi. It was easy to google the series title to find the rest of them too.

I was adding details to a book I'm reading, and when I put in the illustrator, Will Grefé, I added some information on his new LT author page. When I googled his name I found he was a quite prolific artist. He started as a magazine artist, and went on to advertisements and lots and lots of books. He seems to have helped to define the visual style of the time period. I thought you'd all enjoy browsing a tribute page -
http://www.americanartarchives.com/grefe.htm

My title, The Sapphire Bracelet has line borders on each page, with cherubs romping. One is driving an automobile, so I'd hoped it would prove to be a motoring romance, but it's not.

15countrylife
Apr 10, 2012, 10:44 am

I didn't know the artist, but I've always loved his art. Thanks for the link!

162wonderY
Edited: Apr 10, 2012, 10:54 am

I also started a page for one of his contemporaries, C. M. Relyea, and have added a few links there as well. He doesn't have the web documentation that Grefé has, but they are similar styles. It was the cupids that sent me looking, as one appears on the cover of Red Pepper Burns.

172wonderY
Edited: Apr 18, 2012, 2:48 pm

I keep occassional tabs on an interesting library here - a member who collects books mostly for their beautiful bindings. I noticed today that she has a wonderful collection of "20 shilling series" books, so I had to google the term.
Here's a feast for the booklover's eyes:
http://www.wadardbooks.co.uk/acatalog/20_-_series.html#a2419

I can't decide on a favorite; can you?

182wonderY
Apr 25, 2012, 4:28 pm

In a different vein, I had to buy this book, just because the dustjacket was in pristine condition and the drawing so provocative.

192wonderY
May 29, 2012, 2:34 pm

Do you get AbeBooks emails? Someone there does a fab job of presenting collections of this 'n' that. This week features classics illustrated by N. C. Wyeth.

I count myself very lucky to have a half dozen of these. The one I've had from childhood is

202wonderY
Jun 12, 2012, 9:57 am

Henry van Dyke wrote essays and shorter fiction (his best known title is The Story of the Other Wise Man.) Someone in the publishing world really valued his works, enough to put them in dazzlingly beautiful bindings. I began picking them up when I came across them, just for the satisfaction of the covers.

Here's my favorite:

212wonderY
Jun 18, 2012, 2:50 pm

I found three more van Dykes in the garage. There may be more. It was getting dark when I was out there.
Here are all that I've cataloged thus far:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?author=dykehenryvan&offset=0&pre...

222wonderY
Jun 26, 2012, 4:52 pm

Here's a new way to play with pretty bindings. All tagged plantlife:
http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?tag=plantlife&offset=0&view=2won...

232wonderY
Jun 27, 2012, 1:14 pm

And I've been playing with the covers of my old books, tagging them for common themes. I've got, girls, guys, couples, things, scenery, transport, and aminals (to confuse the tag combiners), and more covers added to the plantlife page above.

Does anybody else play this way?

24countrylife
Jun 28, 2012, 10:06 am

Cool! Are you able to tag covers? Or do you tag the books and then just pull up the cover view for a particular tag?

252wonderY
Jun 28, 2012, 10:53 am

Well, I've got over 200 books tagged 'cover' so that I can feast the eye on all of the lovelies, but narrowing it down to a particular subject, I can now pick a tag and do a cover view, like in #22 above. The bottom of the page gives a permanent link so that clicking on it will show the current collection.

262wonderY
Edited: Jul 10, 2012, 11:19 am

Here's a favorite cover:



I don't have a particular attraction to Poe, but this book belonged to my husband's family and is inscribed by a great-aunt. I'm waiting to pass it on to my girls.

John R. Neill was, apparantly, a primary illustrator for the Oz books.

272wonderY
Jul 19, 2012, 7:06 am

I just noticed that someone's added more covers to the group picture, and I switched the main photo. Does anyone besides the admin have that capability?
Thanks whoever you are. Who's reading D. E. Stevenson? Tell us about ...

28countrylife
Jul 20, 2012, 1:20 pm

The way you initially set up this group is that any group member can add a picture, and if I remember correctly, if you can add, you can switch.

292wonderY
Edited: Apr 2, 2013, 2:30 pm

Another flea market closing it's doors, and I couldn't pass up this cover:


Barriers Burned Away

I've read some E. P. Roe and enjoyed them, but this is his first novel and looks thick and painful. But the cover is lovely.

ps: the novel concerns the great chicago fire, and was published just a year or so after the event.

302wonderY
Edited: May 30, 2013, 8:20 am

I came across this amusing cover on Pinterest:

31SylviaC
May 30, 2013, 8:24 am

That reminds me of a self-defence course I took once where they taught us to use a rolled up magazine as a weapon.

322wonderY
May 30, 2013, 9:09 am

Did you practice that move in or out of the class?

332wonderY
Edited: May 30, 2013, 9:25 am

My daughter found three pretty books for me for my birthday. She was wise and checked my LT shelves first to see whether I already had them.
Coincidentally, she bought two books from different vendors and by different authors, but the bindings were designed by the same person, Margaret Armstrong.



and



I've been collecting the stunning Henry van Dyke set for many years now.

Here's what I've got so far (oops, the Page book is there too):

http://www.librarything.com/catalog.php?tag=MA+binding&offset=0&view=2wo...

The third book came as a free bonus, with The Blue Flower, and while the cover isn't quite as attractive, I'm glad to acquire it.
It's a play called The Blue Bird, originally written in french, and apparently quite popular in its day.

34Sakerfalcon
May 30, 2013, 9:28 am

>33 2wonderY:: If you've read Ballet shoes by Noel Streatfeild (which definitely fits into this group's remit) the sisters act in a production of The blue bird. I vaguely remember seeing a film version of it on TV when I was a child.

35BonnieJune54
May 30, 2013, 12:29 pm

They are beautiful.

36HarryMacDonald
May 31, 2013, 9:02 am

I don't know how to do all the grafting of images (trees, yes; online stuff, no), but I am a pushover for an attractive book, and the older the better. Just a couple of thoughts. First, I believe that many of us are also on the older side. Did any of you, as I used to do, think that such cover-art and decoration was hopelessly square? Second, I believe that rich, even self-indulgent visual values speak to assumptions about reading which have largely vanished, to wit, that reading is not merely word-absorbtion, but an entire experience, and indeed, at its best almost sacramental. You wouldn't go to High Mass or minyan in a G-string and flip-flops, would ya? Thus the fancy covers. Sadly, these days people DO go to High Mass or minyan in a state of gross disarray, and similarly, covers have throw-away graphics and bindings for a throwaway experience. Not to be TOOOOOOOOOO utterly self-serving, find the image of my own Harmony Junction. Those are covers with which you're meant to live and grow. Love to all, -- Goddard

37HarryMacDonald
May 31, 2013, 9:09 am

Quick addenda. Make of this what you will, but a high percentage of the titles cited here, as with my own collection, are a genre which has sometimes been called "servant girl fiction". As to Henry Van Dyke, I have never seen a Van Dyke volume which wasn't visually enticing. That being conceded, I would urge those who might not otherwise have done so, actually to read his work. It is very conservative, stylistically, even by the standards of its own day. Yet it is wonderful, and at its best (e.g. the early poem, "The Coming and the parting guest") absolutely delightful. -- G

382wonderY
Edited: May 31, 2013, 2:13 pm

>36 HarryMacDonald:
Hopelessly square? Never!! Almost always rectangular. Poor boy must have needed glasses.

I couldn't pass this one by today:



the pond is gilt, as it appears to be.

39HarryMacDonald
May 31, 2013, 2:21 pm

Come on, 2wonderwhy, you can do better than that! Though I have in fact lost two pair of specs this A.M. and am staggering along with a broken pair. Incidentally, my partner points out (with her customary wisdom), that the phenomenon of attractive books is tied to the earlier-time phenomenon of giving books to friends and dear ones. It's hard to imagine anyone getting too excited today about getting, say, the latest James Patterson, Bill Bryson, or Maya Angelou -- but, o those lovely old books. As an informal test, I grabbed eight such volumes from our shelves utterly at random, and sure enough five of them had inscriptions and birthday wishes, anniversary greetings, and the like. Those WERE good old days.

40HarryMacDonald
May 31, 2013, 5:14 pm

Was just thinking about the heading of this thread, "extravagant bindings". What's interesting is that the technology used to produce the old beauties we're savouring wasn't much, if any, drain on the printers and publishers -- but they did it anyway. Nowadays technology opens many more options, both in the physical techniques and the cost-economics of production -- yet they don't do it. Very sad, and very unnecessary.

412wonderY
Jun 1, 2013, 9:40 am

Oh , so sad! Particularly the print on demand atrocities.

42BonnieJune54
Jun 1, 2013, 1:24 pm

I don't remember the details but I heard the tail end of a report on NPR that claimed the physically beautiful book market was a relatively bright spot in the print book industry.

43HarryMacDonald
Jun 1, 2013, 3:03 pm

In re #41. Reminds me of an all-time great New Yorker cartoon (Arnie Levin? Al Ross? Can't recall). Driver on expressway looks up at overhead sign which reads WELCOME TO THE TRI-CITY AREA -- MENDACITY DUPLICITY ATROCITY.

44LibraryPerilous
Edited: Jun 11, 2013, 8:06 pm

>18 2wonderY: Oh that's a gorgeous pulp cover!

This is one of my favorites, but I feel like a jerk because I don't know the artist's information. I wish I knew more about editions of books!

45LibraryPerilous
Edited: Jun 11, 2013, 8:16 pm

Here's a link to a post with gorgeous versions of The Hobbit.

A sampling, this one by Sangorski and Sutcliffe:

462wonderY
Jun 12, 2013, 6:58 am

47Sakerfalcon
Jun 12, 2013, 7:44 am

>44 LibraryPerilous:: That is one of the few covers for the Earthsea books that is not whitewashed. I like that it appears to be abstract at first and then the figure emerges.

48LibraryPerilous
Edited: Jun 12, 2013, 12:53 pm

>47 Sakerfalcon: Ah, I see it now. I actually thought the cover showed a nereid with flowing locks. But it's a wizard surrounded by curls of smoke or similar.

Darn! Does this mean there are no sea nymphs in A Wizard of Earthsea? It's on my TBR list, but it's not near the top.

(Unless there are sea nymphs ...)

49anglemark
Jun 12, 2013, 2:35 pm

You're going to read it if there are sea nymphs in it? Er... yes! Sea nymphs. Lots and lots. Definitely.

502wonderY
Jun 17, 2013, 11:39 am

I bought this one over the weekend because of the binding and the first page:



and read it. It was a very fast read, complete fluff.

The most interesting aspect is that Edward Salisbury Field, himself, identifies with the opening lines.

512wonderY
Jun 19, 2013, 4:31 pm

Another pretty face:

522wonderY
Jul 16, 2013, 4:22 pm

I found this large sized beauty at a library sale. It had apparently been donated and placed out after the first rush of enthusiasts. All hardbacks were $1.00 that day.

532wonderY
Edited: Jul 18, 2013, 11:45 am

Elizabeth Gordon's childrens books always have very nicely illustrated covers;



and they aren't all the same artist.
These books were of the same order as Mary Cecily Barker's Flower Fairies

54Helcura
Jul 19, 2013, 6:46 am

>38 2wonderY: That is a particularly lovely cover - something about the water being gilt and the detail in the trees just sends it over the top for me.

55HRHTish
Aug 7, 2013, 5:21 pm

http://www.abebooks.com/books/antiquarian-rare-design/beautiful-19th-century-cov...

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!

(I wish my daughter were through with college so I could indulge in some book buying, LOL!)

562wonderY
Aug 8, 2013, 6:38 am

I miss getting those interesting emails from abebooks! Is that a recent one? How can I get back on the list?

Which one would you be most excited to find? I think I'd pick Seas and Lands. But I wouldn't mind A Lucky Sovereign and The Banks of the Nile either.

57HRHTish
Aug 8, 2013, 8:42 am

>56 2wonderY: I only just found Abe books! I discovered that list by doing a search on rare books, and followed the bouncing ball from there. Not sure what would get me on their email list. Probably buying something from them ;-)

I would be happy to find any/all of them in a used book store, so long as the prices were right and there were no musty smells to them. I find antique books marketed to women and children so charming (even though I'm a feminist). I wonder what that's about! Possibly because I'm attracted to the domestic sphere and the simple life?

58BonnieJune54
Aug 8, 2013, 7:26 pm

> 56 Naples Past and Present is pretty too.

60marell
Aug 20, 2013, 10:41 am

#59 - Thank you for a providing a beautiful start to my morning.

612wonderY
Aug 21, 2013, 8:32 am

A few favorites







I'm feeling the need to go directly to a Half-Price book store and shop their collectibles shelves. Unfortunately, there is not one closer than three hours away.

622wonderY
Aug 21, 2013, 8:41 am

Ah!

63SylviaC
Aug 21, 2013, 9:40 am

>62 2wonderY: Beautiful!

64MissWatson
Aug 22, 2013, 7:09 am

De Paris Ă  la mer looks particularly gorgeous, what is it about? A history of the Seine or travels along it? I can't quite make out the subtitle. Voyages d'un Parisien?

652wonderY
Edited: Aug 22, 2013, 9:13 am

I think it's a travel book.
Googling the title, I come up with

"Au fil de la Seine, de Paris à la mer. Avec cent héliogravures et une carte Unknown Binding
René. Dumesnil (Author)" from Amazon,

Which looks like the most likely match.
The author has a page on LT and seems to have concentrated on the arts, but no biographical info is added. (I'm correcting that.)

I pulled the covers from those Pinterest boards. I admit to having added several to my Wishlist, just because of their beauty.

ps: The word you couldn't quite read is "petit"

662wonderY
Aug 22, 2013, 9:25 am

When I added the subtitle, I found the book. Author is Constant de Tours, a pseudonym for Constant Chmielenski, born 1850. An AbeBooks entry estimates it's publication date as 1890.

It can be has for as little as 30 pounds plus shipping from France.

And,although I don't find her on LT, she has other travel titles on Abe.

672wonderY
Sep 12, 2013, 1:26 pm

Well, I found a Half-Price Books shop in Lexington, but there was nothing like the selection of old books that Cleveland has. In fact, the shop was pretty shabby itself, and not in a picturesque way.

Here's a cover I came across today, and I've added the book to my Wishlist:


I've enjoyed several other Anne Warner works.

682wonderY
Jan 22, 2014, 2:56 pm

A pretty one

692wonderY
Edited: Mar 3, 2014, 9:00 pm

spotted on Pinterest

70MrsLee
Mar 10, 2014, 8:42 pm

>69 2wonderY: Oh my. I've been to some of those camps, back in the 70s.

>18 2wonderY: I love that picture and title!

712wonderY
Mar 25, 2014, 7:14 pm

Another awfully pretty collection of tattered old covers:

http://www.pinterest.com/catsleeping/book-covers/

722wonderY
Apr 14, 2014, 9:55 am

732wonderY
Apr 14, 2014, 12:15 pm

I've shown you two other covers of Henry van Dyke books, with cover designs by Margaret Armstrong. Fisherman's Luck cover by Armstrong is



Normally, I'd love to have it. It's lovely too. But I'm glad to have an alternative cover which I think is superior:

74MissWatson
Apr 15, 2014, 2:57 am

Those are gorgeous.

752wonderY
Apr 24, 2014, 4:19 pm

another Pinterest board:

http://www.pinterest.com/kimberlysondra/antique-books/

Are we tired of looking yet?

76MissWatson
Apr 25, 2014, 3:08 am

Never.

77MrsLee
Apr 27, 2014, 7:52 pm

>75 2wonderY: I think I just broke several Commandments looking at those. Not being familiar with Pinterest, at first I thought they all belonged to one collector.

782wonderY
May 20, 2014, 2:13 pm

792wonderY
May 20, 2014, 2:33 pm

A couple of you have this book in your lists. You might want to snag the cover:

802wonderY
May 28, 2014, 8:14 am

A few more pinterest beauties





812wonderY
Jun 12, 2014, 3:15 pm

Does anyone else google search for good cover images for their books?

I think that's how I found this one:



I believe my copy is a plain hardcover, lacking the dustcover. But that's no fun.

82SylviaC
Jun 12, 2014, 4:59 pm

>81 2wonderY: Does anyone else google search for good cover images for their books?

I waste dedicate a lot of time to that very pursuit. I even have a second account to hold nice covers that don't match my editions.

83MissWatson
Jun 13, 2014, 3:53 am

That never even occurred to me. Nice tip!

84CDVicarage
Jun 13, 2014, 4:28 am

For print books that I own I always use the real cover but for ebooks, especially out of copyright ones, I choose the cover I like best from what available on LT. I hadn't thought of looking on Pinterest or elsewhere.

85MrsLee
Jun 14, 2014, 11:00 am

I just want my covers in my catalog. Plain blue, brown or what have you, I want them to match my books as much as possible. "One of these days" I will go through book by book and make that happen. :/ I use my scanner to upload images of my own when they are interesting. Of course, I do clean the images up a bit before I load them. :)

862wonderY
Jun 18, 2014, 2:10 pm

I came across a webservice a few years ago that would sell you dustcover re-prints. But their stock of titles was limited.

87countrylife
Jun 30, 2014, 6:12 pm

I've perused that website, too, 2wondyY. They had several I needed and hadn't yet found. But I'm afraid I'm just too stingy; I'll keep looking. And yes, I do google for the right images, very frequently. Looking at my tags, it looks like my covers are roughly in thirds - 721 scanned, 712 member, and 682 uploaded from the web.

882wonderY
Jul 28, 2014, 4:31 pm

Hahahaha

89SylviaC
Edited: Jul 28, 2014, 5:12 pm

>88 2wonderY: Which one do you suppose is Eve?

902wonderY
Jul 28, 2014, 5:14 pm

Hmmm. That tart with the decolletage? Is that a fig leaf she's wearing?

912wonderY
Aug 6, 2014, 12:14 pm

Did I share this one yet?

92MerryMary
Aug 12, 2014, 10:17 pm

Want.

93MrsLee
Sep 12, 2014, 11:36 am

>88 2wonderY: Nice to know only Barbie dolls will be in Hades. I sure won't qualify!

942wonderY
Sep 30, 2014, 7:59 am

With more than 3,000 posts, i'll never get to the bottom of the page, but these are some beauties:

http://www.pinterest.com/chaneyhicks/book-lover/?utm_campaign=activity&e_t=8...

952wonderY
Sep 30, 2014, 9:39 am

The University of Rochester Libraries had an exhibit in 2002 called Beauty for Commerce, which shows book bindings by era, from pre-1830 through 1910. Here it is online.

96countrylife
Edited: Oct 1, 2014, 5:55 am

I couldn't get the U link to load for me. But I had a great time looking at that pinterest board. I found 4 books that I know I have in my library and 6 that I think I have. When I searched my library, though, I hadn't even got 'em entered, yet! Looks like a little catalog housekeeping is in order! What am I doing messing around with threads?

eta: Loved the pictures of the OLD books: the girdle books, the 1 BC, the cave books.

972wonderY
Oct 1, 2014, 7:45 am

Hmmm. The link works for me, but here it is raw:

http://www.lib.rochester.edu/index.cfm?page=3349

98JerryMmm
Oct 1, 2014, 10:16 am

Starting to dislike pinterest strongly for requring a login. This didn't used to be so.

From what I could quickly see it was nice

992wonderY
Oct 1, 2014, 11:01 am

Oh that is too bad. I'm almost always logged in, so I guess that hadn't registered yet. I think they may be positioning themselves for subscription services or advertising, which only makes sense. It would be nice if online sites could be free, but it's not the real world.

1002wonderY
Oct 2, 2014, 5:03 pm

Put this one on my wishlist just because it's so fine -

1012wonderY
Jan 23, 2015, 10:46 am

The University of Rochester has an online exhibit of bindings documenting the stunning bindings made in the decades from before 1830 through 1910.

It's definitely worth a look-see:

http://www.lib.rochester.edu/index.cfm?page=3349

They have a magnigfication feature that's coolio.

1022wonderY
Jan 23, 2015, 6:26 pm



how wonderful

1032wonderY
May 4, 2015, 12:54 pm

1042wonderY
Edited: Sep 17, 2015, 2:12 pm

Stumbled across the old publishing company of Adam & Charles Black, Ltd.

They are most famous for the Who's Who annuals, but back in the day, they published travel books and nature books with lots of beautiful color art illustrations and bound in wonderfully beautiful covers.

The 20 Shilling Series was the high end of the spectrum.

105BonnieJune54
Sep 17, 2015, 10:40 pm

1062wonderY
Jan 25, 2016, 2:20 pm

@harrybutler just finished reading a Meredith Nicholson title, which led me to clean up the author page and re-visit the titles I own. Doing a little Googling I found a very nice cover to The Siege of the Seven Suitors, by the Fade-Away Girl artist Coles Phillips

1072wonderY
Jan 29, 2016, 2:41 pm

Pinterest sent me this collection of old covers today:

https://www.pinterest.com/abject_reptile/cover-me/?utm_campaign=bprecs&e_t=e...

It's a very large collection, but not the standard pretty ones everyone pins. It seems to have lots of titles any of us would revel in. For example, I just had to research Men with the Bark On and found an online edition and started reading it. It's short story fiction during the Spanish-American War.

There is another book titled 'Around the World in 90 Days' which obviously didn't get the acclaim of a similarly titled book.

108aviddiva
Jan 30, 2016, 1:59 am

>107 2wonderY: That is quite a varied collection of covers! I actually own a few of those books, but am intrigued the most by titles like Unusual Uses of Ivory Soap and The Hand Book of Swindling.

1092wonderY
Jan 30, 2016, 11:26 am

>108 aviddiva: Right! Those supposedly out of date non-fictions that give us a glimpse into everyday history.

1102wonderY
Apr 8, 2016, 9:05 am

Came across a present day book cover designer to love.

Coralie Bickford-Smith designs covers for clothbound series at Penguin Books. Here is her homepage:
http://cb-smith.com/

She's just published a children's picture book, The Fox and the Star.

Just a sample of her work

111MrsLee
Apr 8, 2016, 9:24 am

So pretty! I love the one with the moths, that would be great for A Girl of the Limberlost.

1122wonderY
Sep 6, 2016, 4:13 pm

1132wonderY
Sep 13, 2017, 8:47 am

A new member uploaded a collection of bad book girl covers:

1142wonderY
Feb 21, 2018, 10:02 am

Got over to daughter's house for the first time in two months.

She had found the perfect wall calendar for me. It features an old book cover for each month. Here's the back of the calendar:



I plan to look up each title and attempt to read the books in the proper months. I've found the first two online, so I'd better get busy.

Did you notice two titles that will qualify as 'motoring romances'?

115BonnieJune54
Feb 21, 2018, 3:12 pm

You definitely need The Motor Pirate.

1162wonderY
Feb 21, 2018, 3:33 pm

I know, right? I'll probably have to settle for the online copy. But! I was able to purchase an original copy of another Paternoster - The Lady of the Blue Motor. Happy dance

117Sakerfalcon
Feb 22, 2018, 8:03 am

>114 2wonderY: What a wonderful gift! So many beautiful books to gaze at!

118MrsLee
Feb 24, 2018, 11:45 am

What a great calendar idea! My daughter bought a calendar for me with illustrations by Arthur Rackham, one of my favorites.

1192wonderY
Edited: Jun 6, 2018, 6:03 pm

Daughter knows where to shop for me, and knows to refer to my LT account.

For Mother's Day, she found a book titles Rosamond, which is other daughter's name. Since I can no longer scan covers, I went googling for the cover. I didn't find my version, but did pick up a small collection:









120JerryMmm
Jun 7, 2018, 4:14 am

that's a nice present.

is the book any good as well?

1212wonderY
Jun 7, 2018, 10:21 am

>120 JerryMmm: I don't know. I have four by that author and haven't read any of them yet.

1222wonderY
Sep 19, 2019, 10:05 am

BTW, someone pointed me to a very small group that is devoted to just the discussion of beautiful cover art. Those of you interested, please come and join in:

http://www.librarything.com/groups/coverlove

123lowellthing
Feb 12, 2020, 1:18 pm

For many covers designed by Margaret Armstrong and much discussion, see the Facebook group called The Book Art of Margaret Armstrong at....

https://www.facebook.com/groups/167882237853047/

Thank you....Lowell Thing

1242wonderY
Feb 12, 2020, 1:41 pm

I've been meaning to schedule a visit to University of Cincinnati.

They have a collection (11 linear feet!) of books with Margaret Armstrong bindings. I've exchanged emails with one of their conservators and gotten an invitation.

They've got scans online to drool over:
http://libapps.libraries.uc.edu/exhibits/margaretarmstrong/

Click on the various tabs to see them.

1252wonderY
Edited: Apr 7, 2020, 2:40 pm

Another collection at Rochester Institute of Technology. Scroll down and be patient while they load.

I found it while researching cover designer, Amy Richards. She worked for Charles Scribner Brothers the first part of the 20th century.

I've got her design on Margaret Ogilvy. This is what her mark looks like:



Hmmm. Not a lot working just now.

1262wonderY
Apr 7, 2020, 7:20 pm

collection from University of Rochester

https://rbscp.lib.rochester.edu/3349

Which decade is your favorite?

127MrsLee
Apr 17, 2020, 9:43 am

>126 2wonderY: "Which decade is your favorite?

Um, all of them? :)

1282wonderY
May 13, 2020, 6:28 am

Hey, I discovered another Margaret Armstrong binding in my piles. It's possibly one of her early ones, being more subdued than her best.

129aviddiva
May 20, 2020, 12:47 am

Nice!

130oldtimers
Aug 22, 2021, 5:29 pm

131asurbanipal
Edited: Sep 27, 2021, 8:32 am

I've heard the term 'bestlookers,' but can't find it on the Internet. This referred to the 60s in England.

1322wonderY
Mar 10, 2022, 4:58 pm

See >12 2wonderY:. I found another

133Sakerfalcon
Mar 11, 2022, 5:54 am

>132 2wonderY: I don't think she's dressed appropriately for the title of that book!

134pgmcc
Edited: Mar 11, 2022, 7:42 am

>133 Sakerfalcon: She is just being super cool!

Frozen, in fact.

1352wonderY
Mar 11, 2022, 8:22 am

I saw that binding because I was looking for an image of the one I just bought (for $2) -

136pgmcc
Mar 11, 2022, 8:28 am

>135 2wonderY: Very nice.

137rocketjk
Apr 3, 2022, 2:33 pm

Hi! I've been in this group since forever but haven't gotten into the habit of posting cover art here. Thought I'd offer one cool example from my shelves:

Russian Fairy Tales from the Skazki of Polevoi by R. Nisbet Bain


I'll be back with a few more in a day or so. cheers!

1382wonderY
Apr 3, 2022, 2:35 pm

>137 rocketjk: Beautiful!

139AbigailAdams26
Apr 3, 2022, 10:59 pm

>137 rocketjk: That is gorgeous! Who is the illustrator of this edition? Is it C.M. Gere? I have an edition of Russian Fairy Tales: From the Skazki of Polevoi as well! This is my cover:

140rocketjk
Edited: Apr 4, 2022, 11:21 am

>139 AbigailAdams26: I'll have a look to see if the illustrator is credited in my edition.

ETA: OK, the title page tells us "Illustrations by Noel L. Nisbet." I don't see anything indicating that the cover artist is anyone else, so I'll have to assume it's the same person. Also the style seems quite similar between the cover art and the inner illustrations.

A quick online search brings these, which for me confirm the identification:
https://www.invaluable.com/artist/nisbet-noel-laura-wblusooi1c/sold-at-auction-p...
https://www.artrenewal.org/artists/noel-laura-nisbet/6624

141AbigailAdams26
Apr 6, 2022, 12:40 am

>140 rocketjk: That is very interesting—thank you! My edition is illustrated by C.M. Gere, and published by A.L. Burt, in New York.

142rocketjk
Edited: Apr 6, 2022, 4:11 pm

Here's a book with a beautiful cover, With Wolseley to Kumasi: a Tale of the First Ashanti War by Frederick Sadleir Brereton. It's a YA adventure tale, this edition published in 1908 by Blackie and Son Limited, London. I tried to read it but, sadly, could not. I was expecting some early 20-century racism, given the era it was written in, but when, on about Page 5, a character's "Negroid features" were presented as clear and indisputable evidence of his inherent villainous nature, I knew I was now beyond "standards of its day" territory and had to set the book down. At any rate, whoever designed the cover did a fine job.



I am the only LT member with this book listed in his/her/their LT library.

1432wonderY
Jan 10, 2023, 6:48 pm

Not old covers, but nifty newish covers on old titles.

Penguin Threads:
https://www.readings.com.au/collections/penguin-threads

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ygf52DXKZg

And Puffin in Bloom:

144MrsLee
Jan 13, 2023, 6:16 pm