tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24173561567858904472024-03-13T17:28:11.738-04:00The Art of American Book CoversA blog by <a href="http://minsky.com"> <b>Richard Minsky</b></a><br> <br>Featuring <a href="http://minsky.com/art-american-book-covers.htm">Decorated Publishers' Bindings, 1870-1930</a>Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-90979489042753994392021-11-23T07:48:00.003-05:002021-11-23T10:24:52.614-05:00Pine Cones and NeedlesThomas Watson Ball?Francis DanaLeonora of the YawmishNew York: Harper & Brothers, 1897This unsigned cover was issued by Harper while Thomas Watson Ball was working there as an art editor, what today would be called an art director. Although thin trees are a common element in his designs, along with a background hill, I hesitated to give an attribution. Many designs from Harper during hisMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-16122443997822087722021-02-22T13:07:00.003-05:002021-02-23T12:43:29.877-05:001903 Covers by Thomas Watson BallIn 1903 Thomas Watson Ball was hired as the Art Director for Colgate (until 1907), and his book cover lettering style follows the Art Nouveau logo he developed for their toothpaste. He used similar lettering for Robin Brilliant and Handicapped Among the Free, also incorporating Art Nouveau elements in the designs.Handicapped Among the Freeby Emma RaynerNew York: Dodd, Mead & Company, Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-58324513336226100732018-07-10T12:09:00.001-04:002019-11-04T12:36:49.206-05:00One More River, an Art Deco cover in transparent jacket
Here's a beautiful Art Deco publisher's binding that has an unusual dust jacket and presents many questions. One More River is the final installment of the trilogy "End of the Chapter", which is the third trilogy of The Forsyte Saga. This is the American edition.
One More River
by John Galsworthy
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1933
Beige cloth stamped in black and gold
Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-23508807022312266032018-03-14T11:58:00.000-04:002018-03-14T11:58:02.399-04:00A Dealer has Some Nice BindingsI just bought a few books from Ron Lieberman of THE FAMILY ALBUM, ABAA. He has posted many in albums that you can view on the Internet. Even if you are not buying, there are a lot of interesting covers to see, many of which have been in my exhibitions. Here are the links:https://photos.app.goo.gl/vx9jR7uVHH5DHvh53
https://photos.app.goo.gl/8n4vrDL0aELgSvlx2
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-37683898649246871572017-11-30T06:25:00.000-05:002017-11-30T06:27:00.958-05:00A newly discovered cover by Thomas Watson Ball
Thanks to Prof. Ina Saltz of the City College of New York, who recognized Ball's lettering style on a copy of this book in the CCNY Library.
Thomas Watson Ball Doris Kingsley by Emma Rayner
New York: G. W. Dillingham Company n.d., copyright
1900, 1901
Some research still needs to be done on this edition. It is scarce, with only ten library copies listed in Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-49476342931787921532017-01-18T13:42:00.001-05:002017-01-18T13:42:19.693-05:00Books for Sale with Interesting Covers
Whether or not you want to acquire them, you might enjoy seeing some publishers' bindings from my collection that are available for purchase. Click the cover to download a PDF of about 4 MB.
Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-48758982651447167982016-08-31T06:49:00.000-04:002016-08-31T06:49:42.793-04:00More covers by Thomas Watson Ball
We can deduce from the lettering style, panelization, publisher and date that T. W. Ball designed the cover of Janice Meredith, which includes a paper onlay of a woman, likely not by Ball. The onlay is somewhat unusual in that it bears the notice "COPYRIGHT 1899 BY P L FORD" (see detail below). Was Ford claiming rights to the image, or the cover design as well as the text? The normal Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-83182055306417696702016-07-03T12:34:00.002-04:002016-07-03T12:54:21.379-04:00Blanche McManus MansfieldOne of the most interesting, prolific, and mysterious book cover artists of this period was Blanche McManus (B. McM.). After her marriage in 1898 she added Mansfield and started using the monogram B.M.M. You may have seen her cover for The King's Highway by Amelia Barr (Dodd, Mead, 1897) in the post here March 26th.
Blanche McManus Mansfield, 1898
As Told by the Typewriter Girl byMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-40586476639085944542016-03-29T10:00:00.001-04:002016-05-09T20:11:57.991-04:00Happy Birthday Amelia!
Amelia Edith Huddleston was born 185 years ago today, March 29, 1831, in Ulverston, Lancashire, England, the daughter of a Methodist minister. At the age of 19 she married Robert Barr, a successful Glasgow merchant in the wool trade.
He went bankrupt shortly after their marriage, and they emigrated to America when she was 23. They had
nine children, six of whom diedMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-27249683420287329422016-01-14T06:46:00.001-05:002016-01-14T07:32:56.320-05:00Lecture in Minneapolis January 23
I will be presenting a talk at the Minneapolis Institute of Art at 11:00 am on Saturday, January 23 on The Art of American Book Covers.
[click that for details]
Minneapolis Institute of Art
2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-62847524842799721252015-12-06T11:33:00.000-05:002015-12-06T11:33:49.697-05:00Eastlake Designs on Books by Amelia E. Barr
The current exhibition of American Publishers' Bindings on the books of Amelia E. Barr 1882-1919 includes covers from Eastlake style through Japonism, Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, Poster style, and Text as Art.
Charles Eastlake’s popular book Hints on Household Taste in Furniture, Upholstery, and Other Details was published in England in 1868, and in the USA in 1872. During the Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-4397995896959560122015-09-17T08:10:00.002-04:002015-09-17T08:10:29.796-04:00This Weekend in BrooklynSaturday and Sunday, September 19-20, I will be presenting an exhibition of American publishers' bindings at the Brooklyn Books, Art, Photos & Design Expo. At 2:00 pm each day I will be giving a talk. I also will be signing my book, The Art of American Book Covers 1875-1930, and will have my limited and deluxe editions on this subject, which document more than 1,200 designs.
click hereMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-69418033560822647372015-07-08T09:44:00.000-04:002015-07-08T09:54:28.294-04:00American Publishers' Bindings on the Books of Amelia E. Barr 1882-1918
Today hardly anybody knows the name Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr, yet a hundred years ago she was among the most prolific and popular women writing in America. If it were not for the decorated bindings on her books I would not have known she existed. Some of the best cover artists were assigned to her works, including Thomas Watson Ball, Alice Cordelia Morse, Evelyn W. Clark, Blanche McManus Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-18839040366983382952015-06-07T16:57:00.004-04:002015-06-07T17:00:00.861-04:00Photos of the exhibition at Brown UniversityFor those who missed the exhibition of One Hundred Great Covers from the Brown UniversityLibrary, 1875-1930 in the John Hay Library (April 15—May 14), I've posted some snapshots on facebook. Click here or on the photo below.
Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-14896083242659123872015-03-10T17:26:00.002-04:002015-03-10T17:29:45.042-04:00At Brown University April 22
I'll be presenting an exhibition and talk on April 22 at the John Hay library at Brown University titled
The Art of American Bookcovers 1875 – 1930
http://blogs.brown.edu/libnews/minsky/
Here's their announcement:
On April 22, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. in the Lownes Room of the John Hay
Library, Richard Minsky will give a talk, “The Art of American
Bookcovers 1875 – 1930: One Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-52284793282983786132015-03-03T09:09:00.001-05:002015-03-03T09:09:50.562-05:00A New Exhibition of Publishers' Bindings, 1880-1934
There will be no printed catalog of the new exhibition. Some of the books were cataloged in previous exhibitions, others here on the blog. Some are new discoveries, and I'll add those to this blog as time permits.
Some installation photos are on my
website and more are in a facebook
album that has public access. Here are few to get you going. The Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-32755347857711794892014-12-10T11:04:00.000-05:002014-12-10T11:06:37.701-05:00Evangeline Mary Daniell
I only know of one cover by Evangeline Mary Daniell, who also went by the signature "Eva," but it is such an exceptional Art Nouveau design that it's likely there are others to be found. Please do post a comment if you know of any. Her monogram EMD is on both the cover and dust jacket of the first printing of The Seven Seas by Rudyard Kipling, the first American edition, published by Appleton inMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-34640377540642344822014-11-23T05:26:00.002-05:002014-11-23T05:35:09.297-05:00A previously unknown Amy M. Sacker cover
I am pleased to let you know that the entire exhibition of American Trade Bindings with Native American Themes 1875-1933 has been acquired by the Eberly Family Special Collections Library at Pennsylvania State University. This is the same library that acquired the previous exhibition, The Book Cover Art of Thomas Watson Ball.
It's been three months since the previous post—in addition to packingMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-17222688977365105722014-08-18T09:08:00.001-04:002014-08-18T09:08:27.663-04:00Fulfillment +All pre-publication subscriptions for American Trade Bindings with Native American Themes 1875-1933 have been shipped. Below is a photo of the Deluxe edition:
While cataloging this collection many books have arrived. Here's one on the same theme, that arrived too late for the exhibition:
Iroquoisby Samuel P. MoulthropIllustrated and Arranged by Sadie Pierpont Barnard
Rochester, NY: Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-21820986743087018772014-06-23T05:35:00.001-04:002014-11-23T03:50:29.845-05:00American Trade Bindings with Native American Themes 1875-1933
The new book is finished, and you now can LOOK INSIDE! (PDF) to read a few pages. For more information about the editions and ordering copies, please visit the web page for American Trade Bindings with Native American Themes 1875-1933.
Cover artists include Margaret Armstrong, Frank
Hazenplug, the Decorative Designers, Thomas Watson Ball, Angel de
Cora, Bright Eyes, and Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-33379787418040929092014-04-01T14:04:00.000-04:002014-04-01T15:39:44.941-04:00Two Rare Balls from Dodd and a Newly Discovered One from Small, Maynard
Many covers by Thomas Watson Ball have been featured here. Type Ball into the Search box to the left and you will find them. Two designs that had eluded me for many years turned up recently. How did I know to look for them? Both are in the Ball Portfolio at the University of Rochester.
Autobiography of a Child appears exactly like the portfolio panel:
Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-54766802808090172352014-03-30T18:55:00.000-04:002014-03-30T19:42:26.364-04:00Peacocks
The first post to this blog in August 2009 was about a book with a peacock feather stamped in gold on the cover, The New Day by Richard Watson Gilder [Scribner, Armstrong, 1876]. It's worth re-reading that story, because there is a connection to Margaret Armstrong, whose peacock designs are below. Here's a photo of that book to refresh your memory. Click it to read the original post.
&Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-489268780151146602014-03-22T19:50:00.000-04:002014-06-07T07:27:13.086-04:00The Vedder Rubaiyat
A milestone among publishers' bindings is the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, translated by Edward FitzGerald and illustrated by Elihu Vedder [Houghton, Mifflin, 1884]. This book brought Pre-Raphaelite aesthetics and modern Symbolism into the American home. Vedder (1836-1923) also designed the cover, which was dramatically of its time and beyond. he included notes within the book Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-44794848220265983662014-03-20T12:06:00.000-04:002014-03-20T12:06:45.542-04:00Two more by GookinAs you saw in January, Frederick W. Gookin was fond of repetitive and symmetrical design. Here he used American eagles and revolutionary war hats to symbolize the content of A Yankee Volunteer by M. Imlay Taylor. In this design his monogram is clear and prominent.
Frederick W. Gookin
A Yankee Volunteer by M. Imlay Taylor
Chicago: A.C. McClurg and Company, 1898
The following year he Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2417356156785890447.post-36536888287524640092014-03-16T13:33:00.001-04:002014-03-18T08:04:30.325-04:00Variant Covers with Native American ThemesThe current exhibition of Native American themed bindings has 116 different designs and 25 variants. One of the great designs that was ahead of its time is Florence Lundborg's 1904 cover for Yosemite Legends by Bertha Smith. It shows the influence of Albert Pinkham Ryder, and of Whistler, at whose short-lived Paris art school she spent the winter of 1899-1900. She had previously Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17847356386230123228noreply@blogger.com0