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Design Category
Book design, 1996
Design firm
St. Martin’s Press (New York, New York)
Collection
(1997) 50 Books/50 Covers of 1996
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American Aurora is a scholarly work about and incredible period in our country’s early history. The book traces the development of the Philadelphia newspaper American Aurora, which challenged and revised popular perceptions of such figures as George Washington and John Adams.
Althought there were no budget restrictions, I felt compelled to design a simple, stately cover reminiscent of an eighteenth-century broadside, using one typeface throughout and debossing it to emulate the deep imprint of hot metal printing. The paper stock was chosen for its similarity to old parchment paper. The wine-colored stain that spreads from the lower right corner suggests not only the blood of revolution, but also reflects an aurora, the redness of the sky just before sunrise.