Comments on: Now, About That Cover… http://www.thelateageofprint.org/2009/08/26/now-about-that-cover/ Beyond the Book Thu, 09 Sep 2010 02:01:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Lorcan Dempsey http://www.thelateageofprint.org/2009/08/26/now-about-that-cover/comment-page-1/#comment-1731 Lorcan Dempsey Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:15:25 +0000 http://www.thelateageofprint.org/?p=445#comment-1731 Coincidentally, just began reading it when I saw your Boston Globe tweet and began following you. Unfortunately, the copy I received from our library was without cover ;-) I was going to send a note about this entry to http://bookcoversanonymous.blogspot.com/ but can't see anywhere they solicit input. Incidentally, I was pleased to see your use of Raymond Williams, an extracurricular interest of mine. Coincidentally, just began reading it when I saw your Boston Globe tweet and began following you.

Unfortunately, the copy I received from our library was without cover ;-)

I was going to send a note about this entry to http://bookcoversanonymous.blogspot.com/ but can’t see anywhere they solicit input.

Incidentally, I was pleased to see your use of Raymond Williams, an extracurricular interest of mine.

]]> By: Something for the Weekend, August 28th, 2009 | The Casual Optimist http://www.thelateageofprint.org/2009/08/26/now-about-that-cover/comment-page-1/#comment-1400 Something for the Weekend, August 28th, 2009 | The Casual Optimist Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:38:17 +0000 http://www.thelateageofprint.org/?p=445#comment-1400 [...] Now, About That Cover — Ted Striphas, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Culture at Indiana University, discusses the cover of his new book The Late Age of Print, which uses a dramatic photograph by artist Cara Barer: The Late Age of Print is a book about the past, present, and future of book publishing, and so I knew early on that I wanted some type of cover image that would represent the themes of permanence and change.  Much later, as I looked at the books about books appearing on my bookshelf at home, I decided that I wanted a more abstract type of design, since many titles in my opinion overly-literalized their subject matter. [...] [...] Now, About That Cover — Ted Striphas, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Culture at Indiana University, discusses the cover of his new book The Late Age of Print, which uses a dramatic photograph by artist Cara Barer: The Late Age of Print is a book about the past, present, and future of book publishing, and so I knew early on that I wanted some type of cover image that would represent the themes of permanence and change.  Much later, as I looked at the books about books appearing on my bookshelf at home, I decided that I wanted a more abstract type of design, since many titles in my opinion overly-literalized their subject matter. [...]

]]> By: Twitter Trackbacks for Now, About That Cover… — The Late Age of Print [thelateageofprint.org] on Topsy.com http://www.thelateageofprint.org/2009/08/26/now-about-that-cover/comment-page-1/#comment-1398 Twitter Trackbacks for Now, About That Cover… — The Late Age of Print [thelateageofprint.org] on Topsy.com Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:46:35 +0000 http://www.thelateageofprint.org/?p=445#comment-1398 [...] link is being shared on Twitter right now. @striphas, an influential author, said Now, About That [...] [...] link is being shared on Twitter right now. @striphas, an influential author, said Now, About That [...]

]]> By: PaleFire http://www.thelateageofprint.org/2009/08/26/now-about-that-cover/comment-page-1/#comment-1371 PaleFire Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:19:11 +0000 http://www.thelateageofprint.org/?p=445#comment-1371 Great story... and confirms some of my notions about it. For me, this cover emphasizes the materiality of print, which is not just the physicality, but something that emerges as the readers interact with its physical characteristics... What is interesting is that the readers interacted with these characteristics in much different ways than merely reading and underlining them. And some of the novelists even thematized these practices... which I am absolutely enchanted with. In Tristram Shandy, for example, a chapter is missing because the author claims to have torn it out (he apparently didn't like it), one of the female characters uses its pages to curl her hair, and there are myriad of typographic transgressions that screams that the book is an artifact, a made thing, not just by the author and the publisher, but also by the reader as well. I have not read any other novel that emphasizes the "bookhood" of the novel as much as Tristram Shandy does, though I am aware of some Spanish writers. To me, it suggests the close relationship between the rise of the novel and the rise of book publishing because I believe (may be because I am partial to the genre) that the novel was the killer application of book publishing. It is what made book publishing take off. The ruffled appearance of the book your image suggests that books rarely remain tidy once purchased, read, and used... I am glad I got to read the backstory though :) Great story… and confirms some of my notions about it. For me, this cover emphasizes the materiality of print, which is not just the physicality, but something that emerges as the readers interact with its physical characteristics… What is interesting is that the readers interacted with these characteristics in much different ways than merely reading and underlining them. And some of the novelists even thematized these practices… which I am absolutely enchanted with.

In Tristram Shandy, for example, a chapter is missing because the author claims to have torn it out (he apparently didn’t like it), one of the female characters uses its pages to curl her hair, and there are myriad of typographic transgressions that screams that the book is an artifact, a made thing, not just by the author and the publisher, but also by the reader as well. I have not read any other novel that emphasizes the “bookhood” of the novel as much as Tristram Shandy does, though I am aware of some Spanish writers. To me, it suggests the close relationship between the rise of the novel and the rise of book publishing because I believe (may be because I am partial to the genre) that the novel was the killer application of book publishing. It is what made book publishing take off.

The ruffled appearance of the book your image suggests that books rarely remain tidy once purchased, read, and used… I am glad I got to read the backstory though :)

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