It’s time for more trademarks!
Now that I’ve presented the logos of publishers Alfred A. Knopf (bounding borzois), Bantam Books (roosters), and, Little, Brown (a stately and silent column), here are more literary emblems inspired by the animal kingdom. Both of Pocket Books, they are Gertrude the Kangaroo, and, the anonymous cardinal of the company’s Cardinal Editions. Though the “sample” here is small, what it does reveal is the consistency in design of the Cardinal Editions emblem through the 1950s, as opposed to the charming way that Gertrude’s appearance has changed before and through that decade. Note especially how the 1946 imprint of The Sea Wolf depicts Gertrude’s joey holding a book before her, while other depictions of her reveal that her pouch has another use: a “built in” book bag!
The Boyd is the Woyd
The Return of the Native, by Thomas Hardy – June, 1952 (November, 1939) ((1878))
The Cruel Sea, by Nicholas J.T. Monsarrat – 1953
Yorktown, by Burke Davis – January, 1954 (October, 1952)
Magnificent Obsession, by Lloyd C. Douglas – November, 1962 (1929)
A Boyd on the Spine
The Cruel Sea, by Nicholas J.T. Monsarrat – 1953
Kontemplative Kangaroo
Very studious: Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift – March, 1940 (December, 1939)
“Share this book with someone in uniform”
The Sea Wolf, by Jack London – 1946 (1904)
The Night Life of The Gods, by Thorne Smith – January, 1948 (March, 1931)
Mister Roberts, by Thomas Heggen – 1958
Rambling Roo
Gertrude is “spectacular”!
Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift – March, 1940 (December, 1939) ((1726))
The Sea Wolf, by Jack London – 1946 (1904)
Red and blue books for you: Two variations on a colorful them of Gertrude.
Perry Mason Solves The Case of the Lucky Legs, by Erle Stanley Gardner – 1951 (1934)
Mister Roberts, by Thomas Heggen – 1958
Marsupials Marching en Masse (Oh my!)
Talk about branding!
The Pocket Book of O. Henry, edited by Harry Hansen – 1948
(Sort of frontispiece one…)
(…sort of frontispiece two.)
