Tar Baby

Spine is tight, but has a very subtle lean. Gilt to spine and front board remains bright. Former owner stamp to front flyleaf, but interior is else clean and unmarked. Mylar-protected jacket has some very light wear. Author photo by Thomas Victor. Another dynamic jacket design for Morrison by R. D. Scudellari, who uses an image derived from Matisse's Jazz papercuts, a series made after the artist had been diagnosed with abdominal cancer. Matisse called the figures in these images 'crystallizations of memories of circuses, folktales, and voyages', an appropriate compliment to this lyrical take by Morrison on the star-crossed romance, in which a sophisticated model falls for an impoverished interloper. The jacket also contrasts two expressive curve-set typefaces: Herb Lubalin and Tony DeSpigna's ITC Serif Gothic and Seymour Chwast's chubby-cheeked Chwast Buffalo. In addition to Morrison, Scudellari gave career-defining looks to John Cheever, Ann Rice, and others during the 1970s and '80s, as well as the distinctive calligraphic branding to Random House's Library of America series, before eventually choosing to walk away from what he called 'desktop publishing' when faced with the transition to digital. 306 pp.