Saturday 8 June 2013

BARG OF THE WEEK: The Tiger in the Smoke

'Don't judge a book by its cover' - Edwin Rolfe and Lester Fuller

I'm all for this famous saying, but it has to be said that books with nice covers are very attractive. I was rummaging through a pile of old books at a community charity shop when I came across this one:


I love illustration, so the detailed cover immediately caught my eye. It was old and worn, just how a book should be in my opinion!


I later discovered that it was published in 1953. One of the things I love about second hand is wondering who used to own my new possessions; at such an age, I wonder how many hands this book has been passed through over the years?


A close-up of the cover art. It looks like the design is based on star signs - the Taurus cow, Capricorn ram, Pisces fish etc. I hadn't heard of the book before, but according to Wiki it's a murder mystery. I'll be interested to see if/how the illustration is relevant to the plot when I read it.


Underneath the dust jacket - gorgeous gold leaf type.


That old book smell. Need I say more?




My cheapest antique to date at a mere 50p! I look forward to reading it. 

Check back next Saturday for another Barg of the Week entry.

1 comment:

  1. I like that you took a picture of yourself smelling a book.

    ReplyDelete