Saturday, December 24, 2016

Shelf Candy Saturday No. 197: A Christmas Carol & Other Christmas Writings, by Charles Dickens



Welcome to Shelf Candy Saturday!



This is my weekly feature
showcasing beautiful covers!
It also provides information, 
if available, on their 
very talented creators!


Here's my choice for this week!



A Christmas Carol and Other 
Christmas Writings
Charles Dickens
Hardcover, Clothbound , 325 pages 
Penguin Classics
November 25,2010
Classics, Christmas Fiction, Fantasy
Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction  

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8391566-a-christmas-carol-and-other-christmas-writings




My Thoughts About This Cover

This is such a simple, yet so effective cover design! It has a very modern feel to it, while at the same time it also possesses a classic look. 

The book has no dust jacket, and the design is imprinted right on the front board. There are three stylized snowflake motifs that are repeated, apparently at random, throughout the cover, the background of which is white. The overall look is just magical! It's also a perfect example of the old dictum, "Less is more".

According to the website, The Phrase Finder, this particular phrase originated with an 1855 poem by Robert Browning, titled "Andrea del Sarto". In the 20th-century, the phrase was adopted by "...the architect and furniture designer Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe (1886 - 1969), one of the founders of modern architecture and a proponent of simplicity of style".

With a minimum of design elements, this brilliant artistic creator has crafted a cover that calls to mind everything associated with Christmas, especially, of course, snow. Her name is Coralie Bickford-Smith, and she works for Penguin Books, for whom she has designed several classics as part of Penguin's Clothbound Classics series.

A British designer, she graduated from Reading University after studying Typography and Graphic Communication. Her covers have gotten worldwide attention, having been recognized by the AIGA (NY), and the D&AD (UK). They have also been featured in several international periodicals, such as The New York Times, Vogue, and The Guardian

In August, 2015, Penguin published Bickford-Smith's book, The Fox and The Star, which she wrote and illustrated.

I will be featuring more cover creations by this highly talented designer in future "Shelf Candy Saturday" posts! She's also joining my list of favorite cover artists!


UPDATE!
I have just purchased this book on 
Amazon! YAAAY!!       
    
 

Online Links
Website
The Fox and The Star
Goodreads
Facebook
Interview: Design Sponge Blog
Twitter 



 What do you think of this week's cover?
Do you agree or disagree with 
my analysis?
Please leave a comment and 
let me know!











4 comments:

  1. I totally agree with what you said about the cover. And I love it, too. It's so elegant and simple and purely beautiful :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Amy!

      I'm glad you love this cover, too! It definitely is elegant and beautiful!!

      Thanks for the lovely comment!! <3 :)

      Delete
  2. Hi Maria.

    i agree. This is great minimalist cover. It is striking how much one can do with simplicity. It seems that most covers for aChristmas Carol and other Dickens Christmas stories stories of bright pictures of Scrooge and/or Tint Tom. I tend to like those a lot, but this is a nice change of place.


    For some reason I like hexagons so I also like the hexagonal shapes in the snowflakes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Brian!

      This is definitely a great cover that conveys so much in such a simple manner. And it's true -- most covers for "A Christmas Carol" feature bright pictures of either Scrooge and/or Tiny Tim. Other Christmas stories by Dickens also feature bright pictures. And, like you, I love those, too, but it is indeed nice to see a different interpretation for a change!

      When I was in high school, the one Math subject I really enjoyed was Geometry. So I love geometrical forms! That might be part of the reason I love this cover, too -- because of the hexagons. I'm glad you brought that up!

      Thanks for the wonderful comment!! :)

      Delete

THIS IS NOW AN AWARD-FREE, AND TAG-FREE BLOG. Thanks for the compliment, though! : )

As of today, 9/23/18, I have permanently enabled comment moderation, due to a sudden rash of SPAM comments. I appreciate your patience!

Thanks for your thoughts on my posts! I always reply here, as well as comment back on your blog. Have a WONDERFUL day!! :)