Paper design for an unknown book

Joseph William Gleeson White

Undated; mid to late 90s.

Pen, pencil and watercolour on paper.

This showy design epitomizes White’s development of Art Nouveau motifs. It might have been a developmental design for a title which has been identified, though it is not clear what this might be. The sinuous, repeating pattern formed by the stems and the rhythmic arrangement of the flowers closely reflects the influence of Laurence Housman’s book-cover designs.

[Click on image to enlarge it.]

Photograph and text by Simon Cooke

Reproduced by the Houghton Library, Harvard University [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the photographer and (2) link to this URL in a web document or cite it in a print one.]