It was Charles Dickens who said 'There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts.' and we all know this to be true. So this week we are judging a book cover by its book cover. The internet provides a never ending supply of resources and tools with which one can archive old books, an irony which is more than welcome. We shall celebrate with three collections from different parts of the world, all extensive and graphically delightful. All bookmarked for future reference.
Russian Book Covers
With their cyrillic type & constructivist graphics this huge collection of Russian book jackets, owned by the New York Library, is a great go to for bold graphics and pattern produced between 1917-1942. See the full collection here.
Swedish Book Covers
Bokklubben Svalan was a Swedish book club and publishing house which began in 1942, translating classics and creating a beautiful series of covers. You can see a lot of them here.
Brazilian Book Covers
In 2012 Jorge Silva decided to scan an old Portuguese book cover every day for a year. He didn't quite make it but the 176 that were uploaded are a pleasing mix of illustrative, typographic and abstract. Here is his blog.
