Home » Classic Penguin: Cover to Cover (Paperback)
Classic Penguin: Cover to Cover (Paperback)
By Paul Buckley (Editor), Paul Buckley (Introduction by), Audrey Niffenegger (Foreword by), Elda Rotor (Preface by)
No matter how long you've been obsessed with Penguin covers (for me, it's been about 40 years), I think you NEED this book. Art and text are beautifully interwoven, and the images are all the gorgeous Penguins you remember and a whole bunch that you've never seen before. The main problem is that you may now have to go out and buy a bunch more books . . .
— From Classic Penguin
From Drop Caps to Deluxes, Penguin Creative Director Paul Buckley presents a visual overview of the innovative covers that have put Penguin Classics at the forefront of the book design world
Winner of the 2016 AIGA + Design Observer 50 Books | 50 Covers competition
Since the launch of Penguin Classics in 1946, innovative cover design has been one of its defining aspects. Today, Penguin Classics remains at the leading edge of the book-design world. In this curated tour featuring illuminating commentary by artists and writers, including Malika Favre, Mike Mignola, James Franco, Jessica Hische, Jillian Tamaki and many more, Penguin creative director Paul Buckley showcases more than a decade of stunning cover designs and the stories behind them. For lovers of classic literature, book design, and all things Penguin, Classic Penguin has you covered.
Paul Buckley is creative director for Penguin Classics and oversees a large staff of exceptionally talented designers and art directors working on the jackets and covers of sixteen imprints within the Penguin Random House publishing group. Over the past two decades, his iconic design and singular art direction have been showcased on thousands of covers and jackets, winning him many awards and frequent invitations to speak in the United States and abroad. In 2010, he edited and introduced Penguin 75.
Matt Vee is a designer and illustrator who attended School of Visual Arts and Pratt Institute. He has received two Gold Scholastic Art Awards and created logos for worldwide brands. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Slate, Print magazine, Paste magazine, and UnderConsideration's Brand New.
Audrey Niffenegger is a visual artist and writer. In addition to the bestselling novels The Time Traveler's Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry, she is the author of three illustrated novels and the editor of Ghostly.
Elda Rotor is vice president and publisher for Penguin Classics. She has created and edited several series, including Penguin Civic Classics, Penguin Threads, Couture Classics, Penguin Horror, and Penguin Drop Caps.
Paul Buckley is one of the premiere creative directors working today, overseeing a diverse group of designers and art directors creating exceptional book covers and branding for fifteen imprints and countless authors within the Penguin Random House publishing group. For the past two decades, his iconic design and singular art direction has been showcased on thousands of covers and jackets, winning him many awards and frequent invitations to speak in the United States and abroad. Paul lives in Brooklyn with his wife Ingsu Liu.
Audrey Niffenegger is a visual artist and a guide at Highgate Cemetery. In addition to the bestselling novels The Time Traveler's Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry, she is the author of three illustrated novels and the editor of Ghostly. She lives in Chicago.
Elda Rotor (Preface) is the associate publisher and editorial director for Penguin Classics. She has created and edited several series including Penguin Civic Classics, Penguin Threads, Couture Classics, Penguin Horror, and Penguin Drop Caps.
"Over the last dozen years or so, this pioneering publisher has exploded every notion of what a paperback should look like(…) You can read, study or just ooh and aah at these kaleidoscopic pages."
—Michael Dirda, The Washington Post
"This gorgeous collection of the most recent wave of near-instant-classic Penguin covers is the second-best thing to actually owning the books themselves."
"Cover to Cover, a new book from Penguin Classics, is the closest I can get to looking at pornography in the office."
—Dana Schwartz, The Observer
"Beautiful, strange, dark, simple, and abstract—the covers you'll find in the book run the gamut of styles and creativity…[On Sherlock Holmes: The Novels] Steering away from the usual deerstalker hat and pipe, illustrator Adam Simpson not only created a scene straight out of 1890s London, but he includes little gems tucked in on this wraparound cover that depict an iconic scene from each of the four stories contained within…[On The Penguin Drop Caps] If there is ever a series to make a book lover itch to have them all, it's this one…[On The Pelican Shakespeare series]: These are the freshest and most appealing Shakespeare covers I've personally ever seen. I might've kept my copy of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet from college if they'd looked like these."
—Seira Wilson, Omnivoracious: The Amazon Book Review
"A publishing company that certainly takes pride in its design history, this collection in particular is a delight because it's a recent history that makes it feel both current and timeless; a revamped series that has met with a great deal of well-deserved success. The book does an excellent job of laying out and explaining just how it's managed to do so in such a short amount of time."
—J.M. Suarez, PopMatters
"Edited by Penguin Creative Director Paul Buckley, Classic Penguin: Cover to Cover delivers 288 pages of literary eye candy. Both bibliophiles and design buffs will be enthralled by the book, which features hundreds of stunning covers paired with commentary by the artists. Topped off with gorgeous, inventive layouts by Matt Vee, this tome is a must-have for book lovers."
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