The Devil's Dictionary was Ambrose Bierce's comic take on Noah Webster's Dictionary. It was originally published as the Cynic's Word Book by Doubleday, Page and Company in 1906. The title was later changed when Bierce was editing his collected works in 1911. Since it's publication the concept has spurned hundreds of imitations.The latest versions to hit the blogwaves deal with the book and publishing industry.Here are some highlights:Cover Art - the design of the book jacket, generally produced in-house by the publisher's art department, all of whom are near-sighted psychotics who never actually read the book and routinely forget to...
Book Design Meets Album Design
Here is the dust jacket design for the new book "The Scientist as Rebel" by the seminal scientist Freeman Dyson: and here is the cover design for the American release of "Is This It" the 2001 debut album by the influential New York band The Strokes: A visual marriage of two distinct disciplines, united by an image of particle collisions.How is that for a new relationship in the arts.Music to my eyes!Thanks to Joseph at The Book Design Review for the lead
Literary Van Gogh & Still Life
"I have a more or less irresistible passion for books, and the constant need to improve my mind, to study, if you like, just as I need to eat my daily bread..."letter to Brother Theo, 1880A few years ago to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Van Gogh's birth Radio Netherlands broadcast a program entitled "Vincent's Bookshelf" by David Swatling.In Vincent Van Gogh's letters there are almost 800 literary references to work by more than 150 authors.Balzac, Poe, Goethe, Bronte, Dickens are among the vast array of authors Van Gogh read.One of Van Gogh's earliest paintings is a Still Life of...
At the Library: Books on the Chopping Block
Much like independent bookstores, public libraries are struggling to come up with a strategy that will help them stay relevant in todays shifting landscape. I recently blogged about the changes taking place at the college library level but the public libraries are also undergoing a transformation.John Morrison has a post at the Guardian that talks about some of the changes happening to the libraries of Great Britian. On of the most striking tidbits is that some libraries have been remodeled then reopened without the word library in their title! His local library is now referred to as the "Kaleidoscope".Yes, there...
Ducks and the Winter Palace
We end the year with Part 3 of Book Patrol' s celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Guild of Book Workers Exhibition.From the Retrospective Exhibition:Carol J. Blin. Frieda Firzenmeyer, Carol J. Blinn, illustrator, Once Upon a Time Book Six. Warwick Press, 1992. 23 x 15.5 x .5 centimeters. Case binding covered in full Keyari paper with printed paper label on front cover. In this story, Carol’s alter ego, Frieda Fitzenmeyer, immortalizes the flying adventures of a duck named Buddy and her side-kick Percy. Blinn is the proprietor of the Warwick Press.From the Contemporary Juried Exhibit:Susan Collard. Winter Palace. Portland,...