The Morgaine Stories by C.J. Cherryh (DAW Books, c.1988)

The Morgaine Stories are a series of fantasy novels by C.J. Cherryh. They tell the saga of Morgaine, a time-traveling heroine, and Nhi Vanye i Chya, her loyal warrior companion. According to Wikipedia, Cherryh “used only her initials [for Carolyn Janice ], to disguise that she was female at a time when the majority of science fiction authors were male.”

The first three books were published by DAW Books in 1976 (Gate of Ivrel), 1978 (Well of Shiuan) and 1979 (Fires of Azeroth). These cover designs probably date from around 1988, when the fourth novel, Exile’s Gate, came out. They feature the cover art by Michael Whelan that already was used for the first editions.

The reason they’re shown here is because the series represents a prominent use of the relatively obscure Sphinx éclaire. This capital typeface is an inline version of Sphinx, originally issued by French foundry Deberny & Peignot in 1925. Sphinx éclaire here is used in bichromatic settings with EndcapS, and supported by ITC Benguiat.