Joshua Then and Now by Mordecai Richler
McClelland and Stewart edition, 1980. Design by William Fox / Associates.
From Wikipedia:
Joshua Then and Now is a Canadian novel written by Mordecai Richler, published in 1980 by McClelland and Stewart. A semi-autobiographical novel, the book is based his life on his neighborhood growing up in Montreal, Quebec, and tells of the life of a writer. Richler later adapted the novel into the feature film Joshua Then and Now, starring James Woods, Alan Arkin, and Gabrielle Lazure; directed by Ted Kotcheff who had previously directed Richler’s The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz.
William Fox / Associates is credited for the jacket design of the first edition by McClelland and Stewart, which uses a Didot – possibly Beaux Arts Didot? – in all caps. When Alfred A. Knopf published the first US edition, Lawrence Ratzkin followed the basic design, but mixed things up: he used Didi with glyphs in different sizes and selectively elongated and shortened parts, set on a bouncing baseline.
Alfred A. Knopf edition, 1980. Design by Lawrence Ratzkin.
Alfred A. Knopf edition, 1980
2 Comments on “Joshua Then and Now by Mordecai Richler”
I don’t think that second design is a success. It bounces around in a displeasing way and makes the title hard to read.
I’m sure everyone who does graphic design has at some point gone down a typographical rabbit hole, tweaking some type intensely in a way that looks cool when you’re doing it, then later, you look at it and say my God, that’s an illegible mess. This feels like that to me.
Totally agree, Kate. Fun to design doesn’t always mean fun to read!