Perhaps some buyers do judge books by their covers. A designer has been turning classic literature into beautiful objects. Coralie Bickford-Smith, a London-based book jacket designer for Penguin, convinced the publisher to begin a line of books with traditional cloth covers and stunning jacket designs, turning the book into a object of aesthetic desire as much as a practical way to read a story. The line of physical books has been a hit, even in the digital age of e-readers.
Books as Beautiful Objects
Ian MacAllen
Ian MacAllen is the author of Red Sauce: How Italian Food Became American (Rowman & Littlefield, April 2022). His writing has appeared in Chicago Review of Books, Southern Review of Books, The Offing, 45th Parallel Magazine, Little Fiction, Vol 1. Brooklyn, and elsewhere. Find him at IanMacAllen.com.