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Object Timeline

1947

  • Work on this object began.

1993

  • We acquired this object.

2011

2024

  • You found it!

Book Cover, A Season in Hell, 1947

This is a Book cover. It was published by New Directions Books. It is dated 1947 and we acquired it in 1993. Its medium is offset lithograph in black and red ink on off-white shiny wove paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

Functioning like a small poster, a book cover must quickly capture a viewer’s attention and provoke curiosity about the content within, contributing an enduring element to the reader’s experience. The covers designed by Alvin Lustig in the 1940s and 1950s employ abstracted iconography and simple typography and lettering to create emotionally compelling representations of a book’s themes. Lustig, who died at 40, is remembered as one of America’s greatest modern designers.

This object was donated by Tamar Cohen. It is credited Gift of Tamar Cohen and Dave Slatoff.

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Its dimensions are

H x W: 18.5 x 15.7 cm (7 5/16 x 6 3/16 in.)

It is signed

Signed in printed black ink, front cover lower left: lustig.

It is inscribed

Printed vertically in white ink, spine: A SEASON IN HELL. Printed vertically in black ink, spine RIMBAUD; printed horizontally in black ink, lower margin of spine within white square: NC 2. Printed in white ink, front cover upper center left: RIMBAUD; lower center right: in hell. Printed in black ink, center right: a season.

Cite this object as

Book Cover, A Season in Hell, 1947; Published by New Directions Books; USA; offset lithograph in black and red ink on off-white shiny wove paper; H x W: 18.5 x 15.7 cm (7 5/16 x 6 3/16 in.); Gift of Tamar Cohen and Dave Slatoff; 1993-31-165-3

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18734059/ |title=Book Cover, A Season in Hell, 1947 |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=20 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>