Following on from the previous post on Penguin’s gorgeous editions, this one features White’s Books. I was tipped off to the existance of these gorgeous editions by Abe Books, which has a feature on the comapany’s founder, David Pearson, this month. Pearson used to work as a designer at Penguin, before he left to start White’s, and his love for beautifully bound books is evident in the covers and bindings that all White’s books have. They hired many talented artists to create the editions, and so they are all slightly different in style which adds to their beauty.
One of the styles that White’s have produced is the Fine Edition. Like the Penguin Hardcover Classics, they have illustrated cloth bindings, with similar endpages and ribbon bookmarks (which I always get a little too thrilled by, and then promptly forget to use). They cost £19.95, full price, which I think is well worth it for such gorgeous books.
This edition of Jane Eyre is just so gorgeous. I love that it uses flowers with thorns, to symbolise Jane’s toughness, and colours that are far from being ‘girly’. Even though I already have 3 copies of the book, this will probably be making it’s way to my bookshelves very soon.
The cover of Emma demonstrates my point about the way in which the designs represent the books. Whilst Jane’s flowers are tangled and fierce, Emma’s are pretty and feminine. This would look stunning on a shelf next to Jane Eyre. My only problem with these editions is they’re almost too pretty to read!
Just in case you were worrying that it was only ‘feminine’ books that had been made beautiful, here’s Treasure Island. This cover was designed by Stanley Donwood who, according to Abe Books, is best known for designing artwork for Radiohead and Thom Yorke. The cover of Treasure Island clearly shows his signature look, which can be seen by exploring the gorgeous website for Thom Yorke’s album The Eraser.
In addition to the Fine Editions, White’s have also produced a range of Pocket Classics. Described as a hardback book for a paperback price, these are smaller editions, with embossed designs on the covers. Retailing for £6.99, these are lovely little books which would make fantastic presents.
Pride and Prejudice is one of my favourite comfort read, and the illustration on this edition is great. I love the simplicity of the line drawing, with the only colour coming from the bright blue sky. All of the Pocket Classics are bound in white, which will be a contrast to the rest of the bookshelf (and they have the ribbon markers- hurrah!).
I have to say that I’m not the biggest Sherlock fan in the world, but the cover of this Pocket Edition might encourage me to give him another go. The book itself combines ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ with 12 other Sherlock Holmes stories, so even if you have all of the Holmes books, this would still be something different, with the added benefit of being really pretty.
All in all, I’m really impressed with the imaginative artwork and attention to detail of the White’s editions. I’ve always loved Penguin covers, from the simple green crime novels, to the lovely fine cloth hardbacks, but White’s have produced books with a little more originality. I think that they will look lovely in a big stack on my shelves, and plan to treat myself very soon!
