The Illustrated Dust Jacket 1920-1970 by Martin Salisbury - review by John Sutherland

John Sutherland

Cover Stories

The Illustrated Dust Jacket 1920-1970

By

Thames & Hudson 200pp £24.95
 

My copy of Martin Salisbury’s book has already passed the acid test. A couple of people have asked to borrow it, on what will probably turn out to be a one-way journey. It’s a delightful, deeply learned anthology (containing 371 illustrations) that lovingly confirms the ways in which good art and erudition will find their way into any convenient nook or cranny.

I lament the passing of the vinyl LP. There was so much of value not merely in the sounds the disc packaged but in the packaging itself. Twelve inches gave artists room – for an omnium-gatherum if you were Peter Blake doing a Beatles cover. In the era of