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News Release
Office of News and Information
Johns Hopkins University
3400 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21218-2692
Phone: (410) 516-7160
Fax (410) 516-5251
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December 6, 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Carolyn Smith
410-659-8179
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When a Book Becomes a Work of Art:
An Exhibit at Peabody
Forget what they say about not judging a book by its cover.
The George Peabody Library now has on display a collection
of magnificent-looking
books in a new exhibition: "Decorated Book Covers of the 19th and
20th Century." The
exhibit, on display from now until February 1, 2000, offers
examples of how a book can be
more than literature -- it can be a work of art.
Some beautifully simple, others marvelously intricate, the
cover designs of the books
on exhibit are an array of the types of textures and palettes and
styles of cloth and
gold-stamped bindings that were used to entice readers of the
19th and 20th centuries. With
these books, the story begins not on the first page but on the
cover. These books were
treasured both inside and out for their beauty and content.
The exhibit features such works as Madame Henriette
Elizabeth de Witt's Les
Chroniqueurs de l'Histoire de France depuis les origines jusqu'au
XVIe siecle with a
diamond-shaped pattern cover design in fiery reds, rich blues and
gold trimmings; a Giovanni
Boccaccio's Life of Dante cover of bold orange and
embossed flowers and
Theodore Child's Wimples and Crisping Pins in a powdery
blue and gilded
lettering design. Thirty-five books in all are on display.
Visit this impressive collection at the George Peabody
Library, 17 East Mount Vernon
Place, Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Admission is free. For
information, contact the
library at 410-659-8179.
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http://www.jhu.edu/news_info/news/
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