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Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

1947

  • Work on this object began.

2011

2024

  • You found it!

Book Cover, Flowers of Evil, 1947

This is a Book cover. It was published by New Directions Books. It is dated 1947. Its medium is offset lithograph in tan and purple ink on off-white wove paper.

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.

Its dimensions are

H x W: 17.9 x 16.3 cm (7 1/16 x 6 7/16 in.)

It is signed

Signed in printed black ink, upper right: lustig.

It is inscribed

Printed vertically in white ink, spine: FLOWERS OF EVIL; printed vertically in purple ink, spine : BAUDELAIRE. Printed horizontally in purple ink, spine lower margin within white square: NC 17. Printed in purple ink, front cover upper center left: flowers; lower center: baudelaire. Printed in white ink, front cover center right: of evil.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/102312165/ |title=Book Cover, Flowers of Evil, 1947 |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=25 November 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>