Tuesday 24 March 2009

Ruben Toledo

This is a short one, as I'm about to go away for work for a few days, so I may be unable to answer any comments until the weekend. However, new book design waits not for my pathetic schedule! Or something like that which makes sense...

Anyway, here are three upcoming covers for Penguin Classic Deluxe Editions (some earlier ones were shown here, here, here, here and here).





They're by Cuban-born painter/illustrator/sculptor/designer/etc Ruben Toledo. Wuthering Heights works the best, with the rickety, Gothic feel of the art matching the atmosphere of the book, while Pride and Prejudice probably works least well, since it's a nice bit of design but seems to completely miss the feel of the book. You may, of course, disagree. Here are some tiny details of the Pride and Prejudice back cover, spine and flaps, lifted from the Penguin catalogue. Sorry they're not bigger.



There are some other groovy covers coming up for these oversized Penguin Classics: I'll blather on about those when I get back.

6 comments:

That Hank said...

That Scarlet Letter cover is about 100% more interesting than the actual novel.

JRSM said...

Now there's a blurb quote.

Vintage Reading said...

I quite like the Bronte cover but the Prid & Prej is very strange. Still, makes a refreshing change from the re-marketing of Ms Austen as chicklit.

said...

The fonts are most imaginative and the ‘hairy A’ most amusingly so.

JRSM said...

They're definitely unlike any other editions of these books I've seen.

Stephen said...

It's another example of social connection gets to do sloppy work. The work is sloppy and amateur looking. I don't care about credentials and let's get back to doing good quality work. The Scarlet Letter cover is bad and let's not kid ourselves here. The Pride and Prejudice is okay. Here's an artist with a great opportunity to really do something special and ended up doing hurried thoughtless work.