There is something magical about picking up a new book. Especially if this new book also happens to be pretty. I've recently gone on a bit of a classics craze and when I saw this Barnes & Noble leatherbound classics edition of seven Jane Austen novels I had to have it. While the words are the same as they've always been, the experience is somehow heightened when I sit and turn the gold leaf pages while reading one of my favorite's from this collection...
I was literally giddy when I first opened this book and saw the vintage floral print on the inside cover... and yes, I know, I'm a nerd. But despite this fact, I'm a strong believer that design not only improves the value of something, but also improves the experience of it. Good design is something you feel. It goes beyond logic or reason and touches on the intangible qualities of life.
The more I thought about the design of my pretty little Jane Austen collection and how great it made me feel, the more I considered the concept of creating beautiful books. In today's world, book design isn't one of the first forms of art the typical person would consider. With advances in technology such as internet and the latest craze, the Kindle, the tradition of sitting down with a book is becoming less common. And even for those who do enjoy turning pages while reading rather than clicking the "next" button, books themselves are less permanent than they once were. Most books are paperbacks now and end up with bent corners, spills, or even wrinkled pages from dips in the tub.
images via Barnes & Noble
While the wave of the future isn't necessarily a bad thing as it signifies the increased access we have as a society to reading material, books were not always as discardable as they are today. Many early works of art were in the form Biblical manuscripts that were passed down through the centuries. These books took years to create and were illuminated with beautiful colors and rich designs. The image below shows an example of one such manuscript. You can see from this example that the image was as important as the text and helped communicate the content of the manuscript.
The Book of Hours
Valencia, c 1460
Collection of the Koninklijke Bibliotheek
image via Colophon Page
Continuing on this train of thought, I went on a mission to discover inspirational and beautiful books of today. During my search, I stumbled across The Book Design Review, a blog focused on my very task. I would recommend checking out the blog as it offers a completely new perspective on art and design via books.
Here are a few of my favorites from this blog... there were so many interesting covers that I tried to pick a few that offered a range of styles. The first, and quite possibly my favorite, is Ruben Toledo's design of Wuthering Heights for the Penguin Classics Deluxe Editions.
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