Customer Reviews

Edward Gorey: The New Poster Book

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I can recall the first Gorey poster book perfectly as I flip through The New Poster Book [Pomegranate, San Francisco 2009]. What a treat! Once again I find something pleasantly unexpected. While the original Gorey Posters (Abrams, 1979) sports a festive cover, once inside, it was strictly a black and white affair, and mostly reprints from Gorey's early books. The New Poster Book likewise greets in vivid technicolor-Gorey, but keeps the chroma coming - eighteen out of the thirty 'posters' in all. The antique sepia tone palette and demonstrative details in 'Frawgge Mfrg Co' beckons like an old family album, 'The Galoshes of Remorse' wonderfully moody. 'Les Insectes Cyclistes' from The Broken Spoke mischievous and otherworldly.

Interestingly, not all of these eighteen were colored by Gorey's hand. Some are posthumously 'decorated', possibly spurring future debate over such practices. But I have to admit I enjoyed the 'new rendition' of The Dong with the Luminous Nose illustration, feeling that it captured Gorey's aesthetic amazingly well. Otherwise, it's fairly easy to detect Gorey's own watercolor brush work, and the updated works did not prove distracting in the end. They co-exist.

Like its forerunner Gorey Posters, this book is designed to be disassembled, mounted, and framed. All you need is the nerve. If you take the plunge, use a 16 x 12 inch frame, or better yet a 20 x 16 with mat. Would I have the heart to take a knife to a new copy? Probably not ... unless someone asked me to deck their halls in Gorey. I recommend The New Poster Book highly, for it offers something new. As we approach the 10th anniversary of Gorey's passing, we can find new ways to enjoy Gorey's boundless and playful imagination. Engaging this large, 15-inch tall folio magnifies the joy of Gorey's compositions, and in doing so, memories of his work become more complete, enhanced with detail.

-- G. Emil, [...]

The poster book is a nice size and has good quality prints, but I was disappointed that the dragon and wizard print (a version of which is on the cover) is NOT in the book. The whole reason I wanted this book was for that image. I think having that image on the cover but not in the book is a cruel tease on the part of the publisher.

Offered it on Public TV pledge drive - plenty popular. Great posters, printed on cardstock, perfect for framing. Full of favorites, including one still frame reminiscent of the PBS Mystery! intro.

For any Gorey fans, a must have. I was disappointed that the original art that is used for the cover art is not included.