I have to agree with the above comments on the typography and design of the Night Shade Press CAS volumes. I want to elaborate, but first we have to look at what our expectations have been set to in the current age of book production. At this time, the NSP CAS volumes are about the best we can expect in a relatively inexpensive edition of Weird fiction. Economically, it would not have been feasible for Night Shade to properly typeset the book with "goldean mean" margins and to have a line length that doesn't tax the eye and make it laborious to move from the end of the column back to the beginning. Just one volume of this series would have been quite large if done properly, which would raise the price considerably. And to try to put out five of these volumes in this day and age, would have been very difficult. But still, the purist in me wants to say that that is no excuse. They could have increased hyphenation, bumped down the point size, narrowed the column width, and perhaps used a more efficient font. In my opinion, even with the reduced point size, the volume would have felt much more spacious and inviting if done this way.
Now, as far as the jackets, there is no excuse. To my eye, there is just no way for me to justify what was done there. These covers just don't work at all. Would have been great to see some J. K. Potter work, what he did for the Arkham House Rendesvouz in Averoinge was remarkable (and that book, by the way, should take precedent as one of the most beautifully designed and wrought books of Weird literature out there). The typography of the titling on the NS cover is indifferent; compare this to the use of the arcane and period-related type used on Rendesvouz, an early twentieth century font called Artistik, which is one of my all time favories. The use of Benguiat Gothic for titling and drop caps by NS seems ok at first, but I am unsatisfied with it. Tor uses this font as well, to much better effect, in their Dune books. Its use could possibly be justified, but it just looks wrong, especially in the drop caps. Perhaps it is just the way its set. Surely someone could have been found to better carry the jacket art.
But compare these problems to some of the Hippocampus books, with cover art so atrocious (Shadow of the Unattained) I don't know how it could have escaped from the publisher. And a lot of Hippocampus is print on demand, which is not built to last, and the digitally printed type looks like it's going to fall off the page (probably will in a few years). And the Lovecraft Penguin editions, though they are generally pleasing (especially cover art), use a fine font (Sabon?), and have a decent line length, suffer from inconsistent typography (look at page 321 of Dreams in the Witch House for an example).
Night Shade appears to be the only one using high quality, pleasing paper stock, cloth bound boards, and signature sewn bindings. So despite the flaws, they are made to last, and have the feel of a real book. They are also printed with offset lithography, which sets the typeface into the paper, giving a smooth and attractive reading surface.
Overall Night Shade is the best out there for new editions of the Weird, and especially of CAS. At least they are making a real attempt to make a classic book of lasting value.
And I want to say that I don't necessarily think I could do better in terms of design. I wasn't the designer, so I don't know what specific problems had to be overcome. To critique such a great edition, textually speaking (and in this regard it is to be highly commended), on its design flaws might be considered churlish, but design is certainly important, if not crucial in some cases.
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www.viatoriumpress.blogspot.com] Dedicated to the Weird.
Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 1 Aug 10 | 08:45PM by J. F. Uccello.