New Covers, Picador

Early on, when the artist began to explore film photography, subject matter was frequently “ruin porn” as photographers call it—abandoned spaces which are filled with a sense of loss, mourning, the passage of time, etc. It is a fascinating topic for all of us and surely for an insightful designer at Picador. Images featuring a derelict mansion in downtown Wilmington, DE, and of two large candelabra placed in late afternoon sunlight streaming into the clouded windows of an abandoned apartment, were what caught their eye.

On one occasion the designer at Picador contacted us following the news that celebrated author Hilary Mantel had won the first of her two Booker Prizes, this one in 2009 for her novel Wolf Hall. They had decided to re-issue her first novel, Every Day is Mother’s Day, as well as its sequel Vacant Possession—both with new covers. We heard from Picador a year or two later on another occasion, when they were seeking an image for the cover of Mason’s Retreat, by author Christopher Tilghman.

Here is a case of an ideal match between form and content, between image and meaning, and our studio is fully prepared to delve into our vast archive of still life and interiors, all shot on film, most with a Rollei, some with the Sinar or a Pentax, with imagery referencing memory, loss, and desire.