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COVER TREASURE
The Life and Art of Margaret Armstrong by Lowell Thing
This independently funded book by author and collector Lowell Thing is published through Black Dome Press. Toelke Associates did the compete design and production — designing the cover and pages, choosing the typography, color scheme, etc. to produce this lavish volume, printed in full color with a printed case. Each of the nearly 700 illustrations was carefully edited for best reproduction, including some 400 of Armstrong’s book covers, presented in context of the narrative chapters and as a comprehensive reference of her work. Additional family photos and artwork along with numerous period images complete this stunning book
Margaret Neilson Armstrong (1867–1944) was a 20th-century American designer, illustrator, and author. She is best known for her book covers in the Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau styles. She also wrote and illustrated the first comprehensive guide to wildflowers of the American west, Field Book of Western Wild Flowers (1915). In later life she wrote mystery novels and biographies.
Click here to learn more about Margaret Armstrong
Click here to learn about the exhibition of Armstrong’s work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
What readers are saying about this book:
“The book is stunning…Thank you so much for sending me a copy which has just arrived. Thrilling to see it!” Holly Phillips, Collections Manager, Acquisitions, Thomas J. Watson Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
“Cover Treasure provides a thorough overview of Armstrong and her milieu, richly illustrated by excellent images of Armstrong’s book covers and numerous historic photographs,” Mindell Dubansky, author of The Proper Decoration of Book Covers: The Life and Work of Alice C. Morse
“Absolutely captivating! Cover Treasure makes a major and significant contribution to the study of Margaret Armstrong, publishers’ bindings, advertising, and the marketing and manufacturing of ‘commercial books,’” Stewart Plein, Curator, Rare Books and Printed Resources, West Virginia University Libraries
“A remarkable book for a whole new generation of collectors and dealers,” John Lehner, collector
“[The] book arrived yesterday. I am overwhelmed! It is so beautiful and so thorough…I look forward to swimming in it frequently,” Beatrice Phear, great grand-niece of Armstrong
“The book is totally amazing! Looks gorgeous from cover to last page. The Armstrong family is so lucky we had [Lowell] as Margaret Armstrong’s biographer. Well done indeed!,” Cynthia Mackay, great grand-niece of Armstrong
From the Author:
Putting your book in someone else's hands is a scary business but, having had success with Toelke Associates on a previous book, I felt comfortable taking a chance with them again. Along with dozens of files and over 700 images, I passed on to them my own strong ideas about how the book should look.
While always listening, Ron Toelke showed me a new way. I was initially concerned that Ron's inventive artfulness would overpower or compete with the already artful subject matter—would be "gilding the lily." But he proved to me that it was possible to have ideas, artful on their own, that would be complementary and even salutary, a tribute to the color and content of the subject matter. And it all worked beautifully! To be more specific, Toelke Associates provided a highly flexible layout format that enabled text and image placement to constantly vary throughout the book, continually providing the reader with visual surprise as one progresses through the pages.
The choice of typefaces was a collaboration led by the designer; Ron's ideas turned out to be the better than the author’s. The color scheme for headings and additional features fit well with the palette most characteristic of our subject artist. Images were set off with backgrounds that gave them more power. This author thought that it would be very challenging to design a cover for a book whose subject was beautiful book covers. You would be competing with your subject, a nearly impossible task! Toelke Associates found the perfect solution, much to this author's satisfaction. I think it is fair to say that Toelke Associates adopt a book as their own while giving the author the final say. Working with them, you are likely to find that your book is even greater than you thought it was!
Lowell Thing, 2022