japonisme: at long last armstrong

18 April 2007

at long last armstrong

so much is evoked by the book designs of margaret armstrong that it is inconceivable that there would ever be any style of design that would be unnatural to her hands.

here in this small selection, the pure, simple japonisme is obvious, including the imagery of poppies, dragonflies, and lotus.

but also obvious are the design forays into arts & crafts, an off-shoot of japonisme with its own particular character. the van dyke books take on this flavor.

in any case, the exuberance, the thrill with 'the line' and with ornament, the pleasure with the natural world, all make this woman--this designer's offerings still a gift today.

resources
binding collection

american book designer
publishers' bindings online
unseen hands
flower bindings
beauty for commerce
handsome books (plus do a search for her name)

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4 Comments:

Blogger Karla said...

Love all these book cover designs...

19 April, 2007 12:24  
Blogger lotusgreen said...

thanks karla! this is a bit of a discovery for me too. i keep finding new designers--shall i go on?

19 April, 2007 15:48  
Blogger Lisa P. said...

Beautiful and nice to see these! Margaret Armstrong was my grandfather's aunt so I have many photos of her as well.

29 April, 2008 19:12  
Blogger lotusgreen said...

how lovely lisa! i'm so glad you found it. if you have images you think might be good for me to do a post about, please let me know!

and i have one of her books!

29 April, 2008 20:50  

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hi, and thanks so much for stopping by. i spend all too much time thinking my own thoughts about this stuff, so please tell me yours. i thrive on the exchange!

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