Paperback Covers

by Michael Weinstein

Polygonal Publishing House, Washington, NJ, 2008. Trade-sized paperback. 431 pages. B&W illustrations throughout. Small section of 8 pages of color illustrations in the center.

Very in-depth discussion of the artwork that graced paperback books from the beginning to modern times, including graphic design techniques and various aspects of illustration.

In some cases, the author uses terms I either didn't know or the concept never had a name attached to it in the first place. For example, he has a chapter on "Picture Indicators/Logos," which I have always referred to as "colophons." He discusses "fig leaves," as anything that obscures sexual content of a picture that the publisher doesn't want displayed ... which is a great term for it, though I'd never heard it before. There are dozens of other terms like that.

The book is heavy into artwork concepts and techniques, to include various types of symmetry (bilateral vs mirror image), numerous types of frames around illustrations, fake fastenings (putting the title on a sign or piece of paper in the illustration), and a hundred other concepts.

I highly recommend this book.