posted on 08 Aug 2022

Puffin Design Classics: beautiful and collectable

There’s no greater indulgence than spending too much money on a book just because it’s beautiful to look at and which gives you a visceral thrill to own. These are books to take down from your shelves in order to admire their aesthetic value and marvel at the skill of the book designer and illustrator. I have said elsewhere on this site that I think the advent of electronic books has motivated the publishers of physical books to up their game in terms of design and that for the past couple of decades we’ve been treated to some knock-out book production. The Puffin Design Classics that were published in 2010 are a case in point.

Produced to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Puffin imprint, six children’s classics were reprinted in hardback with dust jackets illustrated by some of the 20th century’s greatest artists and designers. The books are housed in rigid clear perspex slip-cases to keep them well protected and the total print run was limited to 1000. Details of the limitation, author and illustrator - along with acknowledgement of the anniversary date - are inscribed on the case.

And, they were not cheap - originally retailing at £100 per copy. Some of the titles have, inevitably, turned out to be more collectable than others. One or two are much sought-after and retail now for multiple hundreds, others have fallen back in value - although I’m not sure why because all of them are splendid productions.

In 2014 The Penguin Collectors Society published a book called Puffin’s Progress which contains the transcript of a panel discussion that took place during an event hosted by the University of Bristol. In the course of that conversation, the issue of the decision to produce these expensive limited edition books came up. Francesca Dow, Managing Director of Puffin books had this to say about them when asked whether this kind of ‘vanity publishing’ is commercially viable:

“Well they’ve nearly all sold out. In fact…..they have sold out and covered their costs, so it hasn’t made us any money and it got us the most amazing amount of publicity. It brought us into contact with people we wouldn’t otherwise have had relationships with, like Anthony Gormley and Peter Blake who may well be useful or exciting to work with in future.”

I personally warm to the idea that it was desirable to create these beauties because they are fabulous objects rather than because they were a short-cut to profit. But I also have to admit their retail price makes them a rather elitist confection.

Back in 2010 I raided my savings to buy four of the six books - leaving aside two that I really didn’t take to. Of course, I’m now wishing I’d gone for the full set but we can all be wise after the event. Of the four I have, my absolute favourite - which is also the one most hunted by collectors- is former Children’s Laureate, Lauren Child’s design for Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden. It would take me quite a time to describe the intricacies of this production and if you want to see it’s wonders in more detail, take a couple of minutes to view this Youtube video on the Beautiful Books website:

https://beautifulbooks.info/2018/05/the-secret-garden-lauren-childs-limited-edition-and-the-rest-of-the-puffin-designer-classics-and-a-few-more-bonuses/

I also purchased Stevenson’s Treasure Island with its jacket illustrated with a rather gentle watercolour by Canadian-American architect, Frank Gehry, Anthony Gormley’s James and the Giant Peach and Peter Blake’s Oliver Twist. I didn’t opt for Little Women by Louisa M Alcott, with a cover by Orla Kiely or Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, with a cover by David Adjaye.

One day I would hope to be able to add these two to my existing four to complete the collection because these are books to treasure and hang on to. I’m just annoyed that I can’t take these beautiful books with me when I die.

 

Terry Potter

August  2022