Book Cover Art
April 23, 2012
One of the many benefits of daily trips to the pool is that I get to spend time reading while the girls are practicing their cannonballs and mermaid tail kicks. In one month, I’ve gone through 3 books and a stack of magazines which is record breaking for me. I’ve also read through Pippi in the South Seas to the girls and we’re now working on Charlotte’s Web. I’ve tried for years to read novels to them…okay, maybe it was a tad unrealistic to start at 18 months. But it was worth the wait because it’s so satisfying now that they have the patience and imagination to sit through a chapter or two or three and we can have a conversation about it afterwards. I haven’t read this much in years and up until now I’ve spent more time decorating with books than reading them.
I prefer to buy most of my books at thrift stores, as you may have guessed. I’ve saved a bundle this way, buying up best sellers for $1. rather than the cover price. I’ve also accumulated quite a nice collection of vintage books. I usually have stacks of them here and there throughout my home. I’m ashamed to admit that I almost never read through my vintage books except for my “how to be the perfect housewife” and etiquette books, those are always a hoot. I buy vintage books based solely on their looks. Whether it’s the color, the art or the typography, I just love old books. Stacks and stacks of old books.
Philip Hoare via Book Cover Archive
Jane Austen via Jane Austen in Vermont
Harriet Anstruther Studio Limited
Jan Tschichold via Typographica
Whether you need a pop of color on a side table or you are designing that one of a kind wedding invitation, books, new and old, are always a source for inspiration. And it’s also a good idea to read them now and then too.
