The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien’s  (2004)

For my People’s Graphic Design Archive submission, I will be submitting the 2004 edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. 

This edition was published by Houghton Mifflin Company. The illustrations featured on the cover and inside the book are by Ted Nasmith. Nasmith’s illustrations span the majority of the surface of the book jacket. The three faces include different designs; the front White Ships From Valinor, the spine The Burning of the Ships, the back Up the Rainy Stairs. 

The design follows your standard book cover design. The gouache illustration lives in contrast with the striking type of the title. The type is a serif and lives on the front cover and spine design. The main cover illustration is a detailed scene of a mountainous landscape with bright white ships sailing to the shore. This illustration features a restrictive color palette that is also represented in the typography. The sprawling mountains and sea create a welcoming atmosphere that will intrigue readers to open the book. The main title creates a sightline that follows the tower at the top of the mountain and descends down to the boats in the foreground. Credits to the illustrator Ted Nasmith live at the bottom of the cover. The spine of the book jacket is segmented in four sections. At the top is the signature of J.R.R. Tolkien. In the top middle is the author’s name restated and a small illustration of ships burning by Ted Nasmith. The bottom middle section is the title of the book and the illustrator’s name. At the bottom is the signature of William Marrow publication. On the back cover is another illustration of a group of men ascending a rocky staircase next to a river. This illustration could act as a narrative of leaving the book and going back to where you started before reading. This can be seen in the characters ascending a staircase to unknown origins. A barcode for the book lives at the bottom of the cover. This book jacket is a balance of type and illustration. 

Before the early nineteenth century, books were exclusively hand-bound. The binding of books served as a protective barrier for hand made pages which were quite expensive at the time. In the past, books were hand-bound, often with plain leather covers, sometimes stamped with a title or emblem.

In the 1820s, a new method of mechanical book-binding came into play. Common leather covers were replaced by cloth bindings also known as publisher's bindings. Over the years, a variety of printing techniques were used, including embossing, gilding, and multi-color lithography. This innovation created a new place where illustrators and designers shined.

After World War II, the book cover became an essential part of the marketing and branding of books. With the rise of mass-market paperbacks in the 1940s and 1950s, covers became a primary means of attracting readers.

The publisher of this book, HarperCollins Publishers, was founded in 1817 by James and John Harper. Over the years, they are best known for their publications of classics from authors H.G. Wells, Agatha Christie, J.R.R. Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis. In 1998, they published the first illustrated edition of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. In October 1996, Ted Nasmith got an offer to illustrate The Silmarillion from Tolkien's publishers. Then followed months of creating personal sketches inspired by the book, which led to the first illustrated edition, published in 1998. 

This book jacket fits perfectly into the history of book cover design. This cover came about during a shift for typography and design as well as the era of internet sales. The cover balances the general appeal for book covers. The use of an illustrated cover gave the viewers information about the genre and subject of the book. It also holds a place in two-dimensional digital form, helping to identify and promote books online.

This style of graphic design remains relevant today. Illustrated covers, like this 2004 edition of The Silmarillion, continue to appeal to readers, particularly in genres like fantasy. Even in the digital age, these designs attract readers and make the book stand out in physical and online stores. Overall, the design still meets its intended goal. Ted Nasmith's illustrations and the bold typography clearly convey the fantasy genre of The Silmarillion. The cover draws the reader in with its visual storytelling.