Book Cover Design - Golden Hill

Book cover for Golden Hill. Featuring the works: View of New York, c. 1740 (hand-colored engraving);  A Rake's Progress III: The Rake at the Rose Tavern, by William Hogarth (1697-1764), and Map of New York City, 1767.

It's an attractive design that builds interest in the book.

This is a book that I checked out from the library a few weeks ago.

I find this cover very engaging. I didn't choose the book based on the cover, but I do find myself staring at it when I'm not reading the story.

It uses original artwork and maps from the time of the narrative, which begins in 1746. It makes the title and author's name very legible between torn strips of maps and painting, and captures the liveliness and closeness of the story and setting. The typography imitates letter styles of the time, although I'm not sure if it's meant to be read as handwritten script or type. The letter forms are consistent, but they are perhaps less refined than type was by the 1700s.

Retro rococo due to the choice of images and font. It's a very textural design. 

What attracted me to this design: It manages to be historically derivative and at the same time fresh and new. It gives a sense of time and place for the narrative. The people in the painting used in the middle almost feel like characters, and the map and landscape give a view of New York City when it was new.