Sunday, July 11, 2010

Finding Things

As many long time collectors will tell you, sometimes it can be hard to keep track of everything you have picked up over the years. This past week, we had some work done in the basement of our home, which forced us to move things from one end of the room to the other. In the process, Bill discovered a stash of Edward Gorey illustrated paperbacks that I forgot I had. Some of these are duplicates of titles I already have on shelves, but it was quite a stash to have forgotten about!

It should be noted that the first several books shown only have typography by Edward Gorey and not the illustrations. When Mr. Gorey worked for the publisher creating these paperback books, he sometimes did the type, sometimes the illustration, and sometimes both.

The titles include:
*Mone-Saint-Michel & Chartres by Henry Adams, Anchor Books 1959 (A166). Edward Gorey typography.
*Selected Poems & Letters of Emily Dickenson edited by Robert N. Linscott, Anchor Books 1959 (A192). Edward Gorey typography.


*Darwin, Marx, Wagner edited by Robert N. Linscott, Revised Second Edition, Anchor Books 1958 (A127). Edward Gorey typography.
*The Book of the Covrtier
by Castiglione, Translated by Charles S. Singleton, Anchor Books 1959. Edward Gorey typography.

*The Splendid Century by W. H. Lewis, Anchor Books 1957 (A121). Edward Gorey typography.










*The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge by Rainer Maria Rilke, Translated by M. D. Herter Norton, Capricorn Books 1949. Cover illustration & design by Edward Gorey.
*Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque by Edgar Allan Poe, Dolphin Books (C50). Cover illustration by Edward Gorey.



*Shakespeare by Mark Van Doren, Anchor Books 1953 (A11). Cover illustration & design by Edward Gorey.
*The Aeneid of Virgil by C. Day Lewis, Anchor Books 1953 (A20). Cover illustration & design by Edward Gorey.


*Victory by Joseph Conrad, Anchor Books 1957 (A106). Cover illustration & design by Edward Gorey.
*The American Puritans edited by Perry Miller, Anchor Books 1956 (A80). Cover illustration & design by Edward Gorey.



*Lucky Jim by Kingsly Amis, Compas Books, 15th printing 1966 (C35). Cover illustration & design by Edward Gorey.








*From Beowulf to Virginia Woolf by Robert Manson Myers, Charter Books, Charter paperback edition 1963. Front & Rear cover illustrations & design by Edward Gorey.

9 comments:

  1. Does that mean he did not draw that lovely rendering of Mont St. Michel?

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  2. that is correct...I changed the posting to reflect this...hopefully, it is now more clear.

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  3. Hi there...First of all, I know you've heard this before, but this is a wonderful blog! Thank you so much for taking the time to write about and provide these images from your collection, and to share them with the online public. I first encountered Gorey through Bellairs' books and then "Mystery!" and have been a fan since.

    Speaking of finding things...would you happen to recall an instance where Gorey drew a someone using an old-fashioned camera with a bellows?

    The reason why I ask: on the site Ask MetaFilter, a member posted this question: "Did Edward Gorey ever illustrate a camera?" in hopes of finding such an illustration. Hoping you can help...I've also mentioned your blog on that page so they know I've commented here. Thanks!

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  4. Oops, I should also clarify that it doesn't necessarily have to be an old-fashioned bellows camera...that was just an example some folks (including me) seem to remember from some context, but if you're aware of any other camera types that Gorey drew, that would be helpful, too (no rhyme intended). Thanks!

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  5. Like you, I would say, "yes, of course"...but I will have to think a bit to find a picture of someone with a camera in it.

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  6. With regards a Gorey picture of a camera, what about the cover drawing for Virginia Wolf's "Freshwater: A Comedy"? You can see it on amazon.com.

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  7. Freshwater won! That seemed to be exactly what the person was looking for!

    I have been asked questions like this several times...Once, someone was looking for a picture of a Gorey-drawn owl - can you guess where I found that one?

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  8. jpcs, that's it! -- looks like someone at Ask MetaFilter had the same idea as well. I never would have guessed one of Woolf's books! Interesting because I've never seen that cover. I vaguely recall a boy with a handheld camera in a Bellairs book but I am probably misremembering.

    Can't imagine where the owl was from. Surely not another Virginia Woolf book?

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  9. No, not a VW...I found the Gorey owl in The Jumblies...Along with a number of other strange objects, on of the Jumblies is carrying an owl!

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