It was thrilling to design with so many silhouettes in unexpected forms from the 18th to 20th centuries. The silhouettes were not just the expected Victorian paper cutouts but Etruscan vases—an enormous variety of paintings and carved moldings all revealing a rich history far beyond a 21st-century trend.

This book exhibits gorgeous typesetting, intelligent photo placement and, above all, a savvy sense of flow. All the work herein looks uniformly great—a feat considering the variety of source material.