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Object Timeline

1951

  • Work on this object began.

2002

  • We acquired this object.

2011

2013

2024

  • You found it!

Book Cover, Siddhartha, 1951

This is a Book cover. It was published by New Directions Books. It is dated 1951 and we acquired it in 2002. Its medium is offset lithograph on thin glossed paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

Functioning like a small poster, a book cover must quickly capture a viewer’s attention and provoke curiosity about the content within, contributing an enduring element to the reader’s experience. The covers designed by Alvin Lustig in the 1940s and 1950s employ abstracted iconography and simple typography and lettering to create emotionally compelling representations of a book’s themes. Lustig, who died at 40, is remembered as one of America’s greatest modern designers.

This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled River Glimmered.

It is credited Gift of Susan Lustig Peck.

Its dimensions are

18.4 x 17.5 cm (7 1/4 x 6 7/8 in. )

It is signed

Signature printed, lower right: lustig.

Cite this object as

Book Cover, Siddhartha, 1951; Published by New Directions Books; USA; offset lithograph on thin glossed paper; 18.4 x 17.5 cm (7 1/4 x 6 7/8 in. ); Gift of Susan Lustig Peck; 2001-29-25

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18694799/ |title=Book Cover, Siddhartha, 1951 |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=20 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>