Alexandre Dumas paperbacks, Éditions 10/18

10/18 is a publishing house from Paris, France, founded in 1962. Its name derives from “10×18 centimeters” and emblematically stands for the concept to exclusively publish paperback books. The house gained special reputation in the 1970s and 80s with its publishing lines dedicated to social sciences and the literary “nouveau roman” genre. Further prominent fields of activity are foreign, non-French literature, detective novels and French classics.

Into this last domain fall the three titles featured in this post: novels by Alexandre Dumas (1802–1870), of which The Three Musketeers might be the most famous. Responsible for their covers is Camille Guitton, a self-employed graphic designer working between Paris and Nantes. In her design she merges historic illustrations with an expressive typeface, PVC Dynasty by Hélène Marian.

Part of a collection of three distinct designs published in Production Type’s LAB section, PVC Dynasty can be described as a narrow display roman with an extreme x-height and high stroke contrast. Its expressive spiky legs in K and R and the serifs remind of French typeface designs from around 1900.