4.23.2010

judging by covers

I totally judge books by their covers. The cover is the shell of objecthood for the book. When you crack open a hard-bound work, reading becomes not only an intellectual endeavor, but a palpable physical experience as well. I appreciate publishers that give/allow special consideration to the physical/visual aspect of their books. To hold a beautiful thing in your hands is one of the little joys in life.

My love for beautiful books was awakened from its nap when I found this little gem last week:


 It's from an anthology series published in the 70s--the textured gold paper cover is right on for the era.

Here's another book from my humble collection.  This one is a bit older, printed in 1911.  The cover features a letterpress design on traditional book cloth.


Here's another old guy.  I'm not sure when it was printed, but the novel was copyrighted in 1899.  The cover is laminated with wood!  Is it weird to cat-call at a book?  I just did.


Anyone else have some fancy covers lying around?

1 comment:

Kate said...

I love the third book! So cool.