{"id":24829,"date":"2019-02-17T11:26:07","date_gmt":"2019-02-17T15:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/carlmccolman\/?p=24829"},"modified":"2020-01-20T18:38:03","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T22:38:03","slug":"great-mystical-book-covers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/carlmccolman\/2019\/02\/great-mystical-book-covers\/","title":{"rendered":"Great Mystical Book Covers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The other day I wrote a post about a dream I had back in the 1980s<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

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 \u00c1vila or Julian of Norwich for just a few dollars. Ah, the glory days of exploring the literature of the Christian mystics!<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Yes, yes, I know \u2014 \u201cyou can\u2019t judge a book by its cover\u201d \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

So for today\u2019s post I thought I would share a few of my favorite \u201cmystical\u201d book covers (and what I mean by that is simply cover art for books some of the great Christian mystics). I\u2019m including several of my favorite Image Books editions of the mystics, and I\u2019m throwing some other interesting covers from other publishers as well.<\/p>\n

In all fairness, some of these designs are better than others \u2014 for an obvious example, the old Dutton paperback cover of Evelyn Underhill\u2019s\u00a0Mysticism<\/em><\/a> has not aged well at all! In fact, I think it\u2019s rather garish. But there\u2019s something about that hand-drawn rose, even surrounded by fuchsia and purple (!), that I find compelling and evocative, if not necessarily aesthetically pleasing.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m linking each book title to its page on Amazon \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

What do you think of these book covers? Do they say \u201cmysticism\u201d to you? Can you think of other books that also express the beauty and silence of Christian mysticism in terms of their design?<\/p>\n

\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\"\"\n

The Fire of Love and the Mending of Life<\/em><\/a>
\nRichard Rolle
\nImage Books, 1981<\/p><\/td>\n

\"\"\n

Revelations of Divine Love
\n<\/i><\/a>Julian of Norwich
\nImage Books, 1977<\/p><\/td>\n

\"\"\n

The Stairway of Perfection<\/a>
\n<\/i>Walter Hilton
\nImage Books, 1979<\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\"\"\n

The Way of Perfection<\/em><\/a>
\nSt. Teresa of \u00c1vila
\nImage Books, 1964<\/p><\/td>\n

\"\"\n

The Interior Castle<\/em><\/a>
\nSt. Teresa of \u00c1vila
\nImage Books, 1961<\/p><\/td>\n

\"\"\n

Ascent of Mount Carmel<\/em><\/a>
\nSt. John of the Cross
\nImage Books, 1958<\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\"\"\n

Dark Night of the Soul<\/em><\/a>
\nSt. John of the Cross
\nImage Books, 1959<\/p><\/td>\n

\"\"\n

Spiritual Canticle<\/em><\/a>
\nSt. John of the Cross
\nImage Books, 1961<\/p><\/td>\n

\"\"\n

Living Flame of Love<\/em><\/a>
\nSt. John of the Cross
\nImage Books, 1962<\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\"\"\n

The Cloud of Unknowing<\/em><\/a>
\nAnonymous
\nImage Books, 1973<\/p><\/td>\n

\"\"\n

The Cloud of Unknowing<\/em><\/a>
\nAnonymous
\nImage Books, 1996<\/p><\/td>\n

\"\"\n

Revelation of Love<\/em><\/a>
\nJulian of Norwich
\nImage Books, 1996<\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\"\"\n

Mysticism<\/em><\/a>
\nEvelyn Underhill
\nE. P. Dutton, 1961<\/p><\/td>\n

\"\"\n

Practical Mysticism<\/em><\/a>
\nEvelyn Underhill
\nE. P. Dutton, 1961<\/p><\/td>\n

\"\"\n

Centering Prayer<\/em><\/a>
\nM. Basil Pennington
\nImage Books, 1982<\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\"\"\n

The Seven Storey Mountain<\/em><\/a>
\nThomas Merton
\nS.P.C.K., 1999<\/p><\/td>\n

\"\"\n

The Book of Margery Kempe<\/em><\/a>
\nMargery Kempe
\nThe Folio Society, 2004<\/p><\/td>\n

\"\"\n

The Essential Writings of Christian Mysticism<\/em><\/a>
\nBernard McGinn, ed.
\nModern Library, 2006<\/p><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Enjoy reading this blog?
\nClick here to become a patron.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"become_a_patron_button\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n