One of the first thing that draws me as a reader to a book is the cover. As an author, I’m always curious about the design involved in a cover: the colors, the fonts, the imagery, etc. The covers I share here are not a promotion for the book itself, simply an admiration of the cover or aspects of it.
THE CARD CATALOG: BOOKS, CARDS, AND LITERARY TREASURES, compiled by The Library of Congress with a foreword by Carla Hayden
The Library of Congress brings booklovers an enriching tribute to the power of the written word and to the history of our most beloved books. Featuring more than 200 full-color images of original catalog cards, first edition book covers, and photographs from the library’s magnificent archives, this collection is a visual celebration of the rarely seen treasures in one of the world’s most famous libraries and the brilliant catalog system that has kept it organized for hundreds of years. Packed with engaging facts on literary classics—from Ulysses to The Cat in the Hat to Shakespeare’s First Folio to The Catcher in the Rye—this package is an ode to the enduring magic and importance of books.
My impression: This cover grabbed my attention because I am a librarian and archivist by trade and seeing that classical way of organizing is bittersweet. The duality of the cover, the library card catalog and the accessioning paper, is striking and evokes a feeling of tradition, scholastics pursuits, and the days when things were done by hand. The bibliography in scrawled handwriting on the card and the labeled subject headings on the drawers do the same. This is a book that I will have to pick up a copy of for myself.
***
Cover Crush is a weekly series that originated at Flashlight Commentary. These lovely book bloggers also feature eye-catching covers:
I love this! I miss the card catalog. I am probably dating myself when I say that, but there was just something special about going to the file drawers and searching for books by hand.
LikeLike