Inspired by Ace Jet 170’s pictures of his Pelicans (1, 2, 3), here are a few of my favourite Penguins. I too have some choice Pelicans, but can’t begin to approach the completeness of Mr Ace Jet. So this is a personal selection of Penguins, pilfered from the large orange-spined pile on my shelves (organised by colour of course), illustrating either an approach to a title, a set, an aesthetic, or just a great individual cover. Enjoy.
First up, a few editions of ‘1984’ I’ve collected over the years. Note: the above cover is close to, but not exactly the same as, the following:
While we’re with Orwell, two editions of ‘Down and Out in Paris and London’:
I really like these idiosyncratic Evelyn Waugh editions:
And this series of wartime stories by Waugh, too, featuring illustrations by Quentin Blake:
A couple of nice JG Ballard covers for ‘The Terminal Beach’ and ‘The Wind From Nowhere’:
And finally, a selection of favourite individual covers: a ‘Brave New World’, Muriel Spark’s ‘Memento Mori’, Updike’s ‘Rabbit, Run’ and from the Penguin Crime series, ‘The Hammersmith Maggot’.
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