A fine book about fine books, Benton’s study will delight bibliophiles with its clever mix of history, anecdote, and...
Benton (English/Pacific Lutheran Univ.) explores the clash between cultural purists and preying capitalists in the publishing
world’s mad rush to create deluxe editions of distinguished authors during the 1920s and '30s. In this boom of fine editions of literary classics, was the goal of the post-WWI publishing industry to illuminate the darkened masses, to finesse the egos of a wealthy generation of parvenus, or to preserve the art of the word for a self-determined cultural elite? Benton answers this question by interrogating the historical record of the publishing world and the lives of the men and women who directed it in the early years of the 20th century. With witty anecdotes that enliven and sharpen her narrative, the publishing giants of yesteryear come alive, complete with the personality wrinkles which line their character. Firecracker Beatrice Ward, stodgy Porter Garnett (who made his employees work under a depiction of God’s eye), and mercenary Bennett Cerf, among others, participated in an unparalleled publishing phenomenon: the marketing of exquisitely handcrafted books, selling for outrageous sums to customers wealthy enough to afford them. Reacting to the mass industrialization of the world around them, these printers worked to create an artistic form for books that mirrored their delicious content. Noble objectives notwithstanding, filthy lucre never fully disappeared from the purity of the project—this paradox reaching its height as publishers cashed in on the supposed anti-commercialism of their project to sell more and more titles. Benton’s lucid prose exposes this fault line between vision and reality with good humor and rigid research, resulting in the most readable of scholarly tomes.
A fine book about fine books, Benton’s study will delight bibliophiles with its clever mix of history, anecdote, and analysis.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-300-08213-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Yale Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2000
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
