bookstorey:

Evelyn Waugh
by Bentley/Farrell/Burnett

The book covers for the complete series of Evelyn Waugh’s novels, by Bentley/Farrell/Burnett from the late 1970s, are among the most distinctive designs in Penguin’s history. Each book has the same cream covered background, bearing a striking and elegant illustration that blends Art Deco with psychedelia. The main reason behind then Penguin Art Director David Pelham’s decision to use a cream coloured background was primarily based on there being a substantial amount of unused paper stock that was too expensive to waste. The initial design brief Pelham issued stated: the covers were to have Art Deco architectural features in soft pastel colours. Happily, Bentley/Farrell/Burnett ignored him and instead produced their marvelous hallucinogenic illustrations with characters to the forefront.