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Monday, May 04, 2009

Health and Australian Society

Published 1976
Design by Jack Newnham
Photo by Rennie Ellis

Buy Seven Hundred Penguins here

I've previously featured a small handful of covers from Seven Hundred Penguins (see them here), one of the greatest "sit on the back deck and have a beer or two as you thumb through a book" books I've ever owned. It's full of covers that would never see the light of day now, but few are better than this. No green salad and exercise regimen here; we see the problem, and not the solution. Could you get away with this in 2009?


While you're thinking that over, can you answer a quick question?

3 comments:

Tropolist said...

How is it that every time I start feeling like culture has moved forward and diversified, I encounter something that makes me realize how puritan and timid we have become?

Honestly though, having lived in Australia half my life, I doubt any Australians would take serious offense from this cover. If anybody objected, it would probably be an American getting outraged on our behalf.

Joseph said...

Tropolist: I know my first (and second, and third) reaction to this was laughter. But I can still hear some folks saying "no, no, we have to illustrate what's good, and not what's bad." I'm not saying that's a better design solution -- just that I can imagine that point being raised.

Anonymous said...

The poll's closed. :(

If you could see:

I don't want to see more vintage penguin covers myself for they look similiar. Covers of various styles would excite me. Thank you.

:)