Monday 27 July 2009

Great Ideas 4: All 20 Covers

I finally have high-quality scans of all 20 covers for the next round of Penguin's Great Ideas. They are the work of David Pearson (art directing and designing), Phil Baines, Catherine Dixon and Alistair Hall. And they're gorgeous. I especially like this witty cover for Robert Louis Stevenson's An Apology for Idlers...


..but they're all ace. As usual, part of the joy of these books will be found when holding them as physical objects, with all of the embossing, debossing and other such tricks making an encounter with these little books a sensous, tactile, three-dimensional experience (at least for a book tragic like myself).

Click each cover for a big high-resolution version.





















My only complaint, as before with this series, is that many of these are extracts from bigger works, which seems to go against the whole founding ethos of Penguin Books ('COMPLETE UNABRIDGED' as the first Penguin covers had it).
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15 comments:

  1. Ricky Lee Grove27 July 2009 at 22:20

    These covers are lovely. Thanks for the high-res downloads.

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  2. JRSM27 July 2009 at 22:59

    Cunningly designed to make me want to buy the ones I already have in much less attractive covers!

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  3. Ian Koviak27 July 2009 at 23:37

    all beautiful and perfect as with the previous series. Pearson and Banes are king...

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  4. John Self27 July 2009 at 23:42

    Just lovely, some of the best in the whole run of Great Ideas here (plus a few uninspired rehashes). I like the advertising slogan on the Orwell: "Does you Double Good"!

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  5. JRSM28 July 2009 at 00:53

    I was reading all of the tiny type hoping for more gags, but I think that's the only one.

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  6. umlaut28 July 2009 at 01:39

    Stunning stunning stunning.

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  7. Christopher Tobias28 July 2009 at 08:25

    Jaw dropping.

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  8. denaedae28 July 2009 at 08:33

    So impressive. I love the use of quotes on covers. I would try to pick a favorite, but I don't think I can.

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  9. Joseph28 July 2009 at 08:47

    Gorgeous. Thanks for posting these!

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  10. JRSM28 July 2009 at 15:30

    Thanks, all. As John says, this fourth set is the best of the lot.

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  11. Phoebe29 July 2009 at 13:06

    hi jrsm-- how does one email you?

    p

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  12. JRSM29 July 2009 at 15:58

    Hi, Phoebe: Try jrsmorrison AT yahoo DOT com DOT au

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  13. Welshcakes Limoncello20 September 2009 at 11:26

    I'm here via P_D Smith on twitter. These covers are lovely. Thank you for the preview.

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  14. JRSM20 September 2009 at 16:37

    Welshcakes: My pleasure--they are beautiful books, aren't they?

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  15. Anonymous27 October 2009 at 20:51

    I do like these, and the designer has admittedly been open about his inspiration.
    Including Maciej Zbikowski's 1967 design for John Huston movie on Freud
    for the design for The Gettysburg Address.
    Still, doesn't quite fit with a concept of "Great Ideas" for me though.

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