|
08-019. Paul Rand
The Bathtub Hoax book cover
Borzoi Books
USA, 1958
5.75 x 8.5 x 1"
Bound paper
Facsimile signature and manufacturer's mark
When it rains, it pours (part 1).
Since the weather was so beautiful today, Kate and I decided to kick off our Memorial Day weekend with a little garage sale tour of Champaign/Urbana before hitting the farmers market. Most sales were small and had little other than infant clothes, but a small "moving sale" sign on the side of the road piqued our collective interest. Moving and estate sales in this area generally tend to offer a better selection of stuff, so we pulled over and went inside.
And then I found my second First Edition Paul Rand book cover this week. Unbelievable! Even more unbelievable was the one dollar price tag ... which gave me heart palpitations. This is a classic cover design, showing Rand's penchant for cut out shapes of flat color. Bold in form and in color, the design definitely packs a visual punch which was intended in 1958 to entice buyers to choose this title from a book shop's shelves. Today it had the same effect, drawing my eye simply through the design of a one-inch strip that forms the book's spine.
I was also reminded while browsing this sale of a conversation kate and I often return to: you can tell a lot by someone by looking at their book shelves. The Bathtub Hoax was one of many H.L. Mencken titles on the shelf at this particular sale, which also featured a large selection of books about communist Russia and Japan. Mencken titles alone made up about an eighth of the sale-holder's collection, which excited me even more because I knew Paul Rand designed several covers for this author and my chances of finding another on the same shelves was definitely high. And find another I did, which is featured in the following entry.
Found on May 24, 2008 in Urbana, IL.
|
