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Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

1947

  • Work on this object began.

2011

2025

  • You found it!

Book Cover, Amerika, 1947

This is a Book cover. It was written by Franz Kafka and published by New Directions Books. It is dated 1947. Its medium is offset lithograph in navy and purple ink on white shiny wove paper.

Functioning like a small poster, a book cover must quickly capture a viewer’s attention and provoke curiosity about the content within, contributing an enduring element to the reader’s experience. The covers designed by Alvin Lustig in the 1940s and 1950s employ abstracted iconography and simple typography and lettering to create emotionally compelling representations of a book’s themes. Lustig, who died at 40, is remembered as one of America’s greatest modern designers.

This object was donated by Tamar Cohen. It is credited Gift of Tamar Cohen and Dave Slatoff.

Its dimensions are

H x W: 18.7 x 16.3 cm (7 3/8 x 6 7/16 in.)

It is signed

Signed in printed white ink, front cover lower left: lustig.

It is inscribed

Printed vertically in white ink, spine: AMERIKA; printed vertically in dark pink ink, spine: FRANZ KAFKA. Printed horizontally in pink, spine lower margin within white square: NC 10. Printed in teal and pink ink, front cover center right: AMERIKA. Printed in white ink, lower right: franz kafka.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/102312169/ |title=Book Cover, Amerika, 1947 |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=7 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>