The Great Dust Jacket

Francis Cugat's illustration for the dust jacket of The Great Gatsby. Public domain image

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to visit the 56th California International Antiquarian Book Fair at San Francisco's Pier 27. This amazing three-day event features rare treasures from around the world, including manuscripts, illustrated books, ephemera, maps, photographs, autographs, and modern first editions.

Among the hundreds of literary treasures on display, I spotted a few personal favorites, including John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, George Orwell's 1984, Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, and a signed set of Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy. However, the book I was most excited to see was a first edition of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Banner at the California International Antiquarian Book Fair at San Francisco’s Pier 27 on February 11, 2024

The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books of all time not only because it’s a literary masterpiece but also because of its dust jacket design, which has become an iconic piece of art in its own right. The first edition, published in 1925, features an illustration by Spanish artist Francis Cugat. The cover depicts a pair of disembodied eyes and lips hovering over a starless, vibrant night sky, with a cityscape below, evoking the themes of longing and the elusive American Dream. Above the illustration is the title set in two distinct but complementary serif fonts that evoke the era of the Roaring Twenties.

Francis Cugat, born Francisco Coradal-Cougat in 1893 in Spain, was a multifaceted artist whose career spanned various fields including illustration, set design, and film. He moved to the United States in the early 20th century, where he became a prominent figure in the art world. Besides his famous work for The Great Gatsby, Cugat also created illustrations for various magazines and worked in the film industry as a set designer. His ability to convey deep emotion and narrative through his artwork made him a unique and influential artist of his time.

Cugat's cover design for The Great Gatsby holds a special place in literary and artistic history. What makes Cugat's design special is that it was completed before Fitzgerald had finished writing the novel. Legend has it that the image so captivated Fitzgerald that he incorporated elements of it into the story itself, making the cover an integral part of the book's identity. The celestial blue background, the enigmatic face, and the city lights shimmering below come together to create a visual representation that is as enigmatic and compelling as the story it envelopes.

Visiting the antiquarian book fair and seeing the first edition of The Great Gatsby was a reminder of the power of cover design in shaping our experience of a book. Cugat's artwork has not only endured through the decades but has also become inextricably linked with Fitzgerald's narrative, adding layers of meaning and intrigue. As a graphic designer, I find immense inspiration in how Cugat's work transcends the page, creating an iconic image that continues to resonate with readers and art lovers alike.

Francis Cugat's cover for the 1925 first edition of F. Scott's Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Public domain image

Spanish artist Francis Cugat in 1917. Public domain photo