The Art of American Book Covers - Evangeline Mary Daniell
By Richard Minsky
I only know of one cover by Evangeline Mary Daniell, who also went by the signature "Eva," but it is such an exceptional Art Nouveau design that it's likely there are others to be found. Please do post a comment if you know of any. Her monogram EMD is on both the cover and dust jacket of the first printing of The Seven Seas by Rudyard Kipling, the first American edition, published by Appleton in 1896. The monogram was removed from the cover on the 1897 and subsequent editions, but remained on the jacket. Three copies were in the first exhibition of American Decorated Publishers' Bindings 1872-1929 (2005).
The design was issued in two variants in 1896, orange cloth and a smooth grey-green fine weave cloth. The orange variant was in the 2005 exhibition. An interesting aspect of this design is the darkened area within the seaweed. On the grey-green cloth it appears to be accomplished by blind stamping. On the orange cloth, which has more texture, it appears to be stamped with varnish or a similar clear gloss finish.
Evangeline Mary Daniell, The Seven Seas, by Rudyard Kipling. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1896 [EMD monogram at the bottom center, detail right]
A worn reference copy of the 1897 edition in olive green buckram was also in the exhibition, with its dust jacket quite chipped. No monogram on the cover, but it is on the dj:
And a copy of the 1899 edition in grey-green cloth:
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ILAB is proud to present a series of most interesting articles originally published on Richard Minsky’s blog The Art of American Book Covers.
Richard Minsky has been making and remaking artists’ books for over fifty years. His tremendous work is documented in The Book Art of Richard Minsky, published by George Braziller Inc. in 2011. Richard Minsky founded the Center for Book Arts in 1974. His work has been shown around the world and remains in public collections, including the National Gallery of Art and The Victoria and Albert Museum. He has received many fellowships, grants and awards of recognition, including several from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Text and images Copyright © 2014 Richard Minsky. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
