Démodé

historical costume projects & resources

Today’s Irritation

Books that have cover images that are about 400 years off — see “The Stolen Crown.”  Look, it’s the 18th century!  No wait, it’s set during the Wars of the Roses!

*Huffs off muttering to herself*

6 thoughts on “Today’s Irritation

  1. They realized there aren’t any “pretty, lacey” portraits from the 1400’s and just said, “Oh, to hell with it!”

  2. I’m so with you on this! It irritates me too. I started reading one book thinking it was set in a completely different time than it actually was because of it! I guess I really shouldn’t take cover art so literally!

  3. Phew, sure you should take cover art literally, what else is it for than telling you what the book is like?
    Not that all cover arts succeed at that. But they should.

  4. Isn’t that called false advertising? The cover representing what should or could be inside..

  5. I thought I was the only one this bothers! I am also particularly annoyed by a book called “The Commoner,” which is about the mother of the Emperor of Japan, but has picture of a geisha on the cover.

  6. That drives me crazy! I’m taking a 19th century literature course this semester, which involves a bunch of Broadview editions of texts, all of which have photographs on their covers – completely irrelevant photographs from completely the wrong times and places, for no apparent reason. The theming for the photographs doesn’t even make sense! Observe: http://www.amazon.com/Mansfield-Park-Broadview-Literary-Texts/dp/1551110989/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1271475620&sr=8-1

    What?!

Leave a Reply to Hana Marmota