This week, the always excellent Everyman’s Library released a gorgeous new printing of Phillip Pullman’s epic fantasy trilogy, His Dark Materials . Not only is it a beautiful edition, but it’s the first time that the three books have been published in one volume, so it is quite a neat little package. Inspired by Pullman’s wonderfully evocative new cover, we’ve collected a few other utterly gorgeous book cover redesigns for your viewing pleasure. Many of these are full backlist redesigns — after all, there’s something magical about a set of books designed to be together — but all of them are, we think, rather glorious. Click through to feast your eyes on these redesigned books, and let us know if we’re missed any of your favorites in the comments!
Designed by Kate Baylay, published by Everyman’s Library, 2011
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s hardcover backlist, designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith (yes, the same designer as the gorgeous clothbound classics series that was on everyone’s Christmas list in 2009), published by Penguin Hardback Classics, 2011.
Virginia Woolf redesigns by Angus Hyland, inspired by the textile designs of the Omega Workshop. Published by Penguin UK, 2011.
Ian Fleming’s James Bond collection, designed by Michael Gillette, published by Penguin UK, 2008.
Don DeLillo’s backlist, art directed and designed by It’s Nice That with illustrations by Noma Bar. Published by Picador, 2011.
Three new “Penguin Threads” classics, designed by Jillian Tamaki, which we first told you about this spring. Published by Penguin, 2011.
Claire Lispector’s paperback backlist, designed by Paul Sahre, published by New Directions, 2011.
Peter Mendelsund‘s Kafka backlist, which we first told you about here, published by Schocken Books, 2011.
Two Gay Talese reprints, designed by Allison Saltzman, published by Harper Perennial, 2009.
Malcolm Gladwell box set, designed by Paul Sahre, published by Little, Brown, 2011.
Cormac McCarthy’s backlist, designed by David Pearson and published by Picador, 2010.
James M. Cain classics, redesigned by Megan Wilson and Evan Gaffney. Published by Vintage, 2011.
This collection of Nabokov backlist redesigns, all designed as if in specimen boxes, is well known by now, but we just couldn’t curate a list of gorgeous book cover redesigns without them. Designers from top left: John Gall, Chip Kidd, Carol Carson, Jason Fulford and Tamara Shopsin, Megan Wilson and Duncan Hannah, Rodrigo Corral, Martin Venezky, Helen Yentus and Jason Booher, Peter Mendelsund, Sam Potts, Dave Eggers, Charles Wilkin, Paul Sahre, Stephen Doyle, Carin Goldberg, Michael Bierut, Barbara de Wilde, Marian Bantjes. Published by Vintage, 2009.
By far the best movie tie-in cover we’ve ever seen, designed by Jennifer Wang. Published by Penguin, 2011.
Charles Dickens classics, designed by Megan Wilson and illustrated by Peter de Sève, to be published by Vintage, 2012.