Literary Art Deco

What style could be more à propos to grace the covers of these journals than the lavish designs of France in the 1920s and ‘30s? Bridging the gap between fine art and everyday objects, the Art Deco movement left behind the manifestos and politically charged notions of its early 20th century counterparts in favor of a purely decorative luxury.

The first of the two covers reproduces a fine French binding of Christian Pitois’ 1932 volume Contes d’Hoffmann, the story of a protagonist being wooed by that subtle and irresistible muse, poetry. The second cover features Paul Gruel’s binding of the 1927 volume Les ballades françaises in a sumptuous abstract interpretation, combining the clean lines and strong curves of the Art Deco style.

The original cover creations employed ornate materials (leather decorated in gold and mosaic patterns) to create a deluxe objet d’art. These reproductions of these bindings are the perfect tomes to contain the extravagant musings of anyone captivated by the literary and decorative arts.