ALFRED A. KNOPF
September 12, 2007
That's happy birthday to the man himself, and not his company. Alfred A.
Knopf was born on in New York City on September 12, 1892, and as The
Writer's Almanac notes today, "He thought more people would read good
books if books were more beautiful to look at. So he used beautiful,
easy-to-read type and high-quality paper, and he was the first publisher
to cover his books with brightly colored jackets."
Knopf's eponymous publishing house, which he founded in 1915, gave
everyone more beautiful books to look at through its devotion to design
and typography. If these elements had been enhanced on their own they
would have been a big change -- but Knopf and his crew went further,
paying attention to how a book's design could reflects its content (andhis
wife Blanche A. Knopf was a very important part of the company and that
crew).
September 12, 2007
That's happy birthday to the man himself, and not his company. Alfred A.
Knopf was born on in New York City on September 12, 1892, and as The
Writer's Almanac notes today, "He thought more people would read good
books if books were more beautiful to look at. So he used beautiful,
easy-to-read type and high-quality paper, and he was the first publisher
to cover his books with brightly colored jackets."
Knopf's eponymous publishing house, which he founded in 1915, gave
everyone more beautiful books to look at through its devotion to design
and typography. If these elements had been enhanced on their own they
would have been a big change -- but Knopf and his crew went further,
paying attention to how a book's design could reflects its content (andhis
wife Blanche A. Knopf was a very important part of the company and that
crew).