BETTLEY, James, ed. | The Art of the Book

London: V&A Publications, 2001. 

Folio; 208 pp, color and b&w illustrations throughout; black cloth boards stamped in gilt, Dustjacket with full color illustrations and white and orange lettering; edgewear.

Covering the past six centuries, this work explores the ways in which books represent art and literature, and how the marriage of word and image can create a work of art in its own right. In a series of thematic chapters, the authors draw on their wide-ranging expertise to look at the National Art Library at the V&A’s major holdings, and in the process illustrate the main aspects of book design and production over the centuries. With medieval books of hours sitting alongside contemporary paperback novels, the choice is wonderfully varied, from Leonardo da Vinci to Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, Joan of Arc to Judge Dredd, Aesop to Charles Dickens, and Babar the Elephant to Ian Fleming. The color plates, accompanied by a clear and informative text, demonstrate the many facets of the art of bookmaking.