In Sunday’s “New York Times Style Magazine” there was an interesting feature on the cover art for “The Great Gatsby.” The newest movie version will be released next month, so there is probably renewed interest in this novel. The article features more than 15 covers. I even was able to identify the edition that I read way back in college.
Fitzgerald biographer Matthew J. Bruccoli had during his lifetime collected ever cover he could–paperbacks, foreign language, etc. His collection, which is now worth several million dollars, is housed at the University of South Carolina. Looking at the various covers, I found it interesting to decide which version I would have picked up and which I would have passed over.
The original cover art for “The Great Gatsby” was designed by Francis Cordal-Cugats. It features a “disembodied face floating in a night sky.” To me that does not reflect the essence of what this novel is all about. Based on just this cover art, I probably would have passed over this classic novel.