Book Jackets / Dust Jackets of Interest for Antiquity, Rarity, Beauty, Ugliness, or Whatever

Okay — no chronological restrictions.

Here’s what I regard as perhaps the most beautiful dust jacket I have. The picture is by Joan Hassall. There’s some pinkish color in the picture due to the Mylar protective wrapper and reflection.
033D827D-6458-4123-9ED4-959655496C40.jpeg
 
I don't have a copy, but of all the Arkham House dustjackets I have seen, my favorite is the design for The Doll and One Other (the other being a story called "The Trod") by Algernon Blackwood. Yes, I like this more than Bok's design for AH's William Hope Hodgson omnibus (the "house" in Bok's design is amazingly anemic, for one thing). And I certainly like it more than Finlay's design for that first Arkham House book. The Blackwood book's picture is excellent and the calligraphy is first-class.
1647827136475.png
1647827218008.png
1647827281811.png
 
All of those AH images were found online, btw. I don't own any Arkham House books.
 
Not the actual copy I own, but this is the cover on that:
17902709.jpg


A mystery novel that seems to me to overlap the mad-scientist trope that was popular in the 1930s. The artist, Lynd Ward, also published what could arguably be called early graphic novels like God's Man.

Extollager, much as I like the work of both Bok and Finlay, I agree that The Doll... cover is very good and better than the others.
 
A couple of pictures of dust jackets by Pauline Baynes. Tess wanted to be in the pictures too.
C68EC92E-4AED-43E5-B9C4-C5FD889EA0AB.jpeg
91F20776-6499-4B91-980D-3815F5710647.jpeg
 
The first two Lovecraft covers are very creepy.

Is that last one a Bruce Pennington cover?
 
At one time I owned all but the vol.2 of Tales ...

Wish I'd kept them.
 
The first two Lovecraft covers are very creepy.

Is that last one a Bruce Pennington cover?
I don’t know - I’d seen them on a Twitter post so I bagged them remembering this thread.

What’s odd is that I know the general consensus for writers nowadays is to avoid these kind of covers which appear ‘amateur’ according to some. But I rather like them. I much prefer them really, and I’m often daydreaming about what part of the story or antho they refer to.

IMO I wish we had more of these kind of covers.
 
I have several volumes of Russ folk tales. These editions are about 50 years old. Though I believe there are modern reprints.
Russian Folk.jpg
 
Let’s keep the focus of this thread on dust jackets rather than paperback covers, please. Astro Pen, have you seen these?
DDF0A9E6-566D-4F25-8DD0-143F521319ED.jpeg
 

Similar threads


Back
Top