The other day I wrote a post about a dream I had back in the 1980s. I mentioned in that post that I used to shop at an old Catholic Bookstore that used to carry the old Image Books editions of the mystics.
That was back when you could buy a mass-market paperback edition of the writings of St. John of the Cross or St. Teresa of Ávila or Julian of Norwich for just a few dollars. Ah, the glory days of exploring the literature of the Christian mystics!
I loved those old Image books, not only because they were inexpensive and easy to carry, but also because many of them had truly beautiful and distinctive cover designs.
Yes, yes, I know — “you can’t judge a book by its cover” — but whoever designed these book covers had an eye not only for interesting design, but also for finding distinctive ways to express something of the splendor and hiddenness of mysticism in a visual manner.
So for today’s post I thought I would share a few of my favorite “mystical” book covers (and what I mean by that is simply cover art for books some of the great Christian mystics). I’m including several of my favorite Image Books editions of the mystics, and I’m throwing some other interesting covers from other publishers as well.
In all fairness, some of these designs are better than others — for an obvious example, the old Dutton paperback cover of Evelyn Underhill’s Mysticism has not aged well at all! In fact, I think it’s rather garish. But there’s something about that hand-drawn rose, even surrounded by fuchsia and purple (!), that I find compelling and evocative, if not necessarily aesthetically pleasing.
I’m linking each book title to its page on Amazon — but keep in mind that most of these cover designs are 30 to 50 years old, and so if the books are still in print, they very likely have new designs.
What do you think of these book covers? Do they say “mysticism” to you? Can you think of other books that also express the beauty and silence of Christian mysticism in terms of their design?
The Fire of Love and the Mending of Life |
Revelations of Divine Love |
The Stairway of Perfection |
The Way of Perfection |
The Interior Castle |
Ascent of Mount Carmel |
Dark Night of the Soul |
Spiritual Canticle |
Living Flame of Love |
The Cloud of Unknowing |
The Cloud of Unknowing |
Revelation of Love |
Mysticism |
Practical Mysticism |
Centering Prayer |
The Seven Storey Mountain |
The Book of Margery Kempe |
The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism |
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