ERIK HEYWOOD

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VARIOUS

LONDON MAGAZINE EDITIONS


Designed by Ron Costley and published by Alan Ross, the complete set of 1966 London Magazine Editions consists of at least 26 kraft-paper bound books, each featuring writers who were regular contributors to London Magazine. Ross was a brilliant and energetic editor who was able to bring everyone from the most promising unknowns to the biggest of big literary names to his magazine, and the Editions series shows off that range . There continued to be later series published through the rest of the '60s & '70s, but the earlier editions seem to be the best.  Of course, the full series could be found online, but I've enjoyed picking up them up in shops as I've come across them.

Update:

I recently had the opportunity to learn a little more about the history of the London Magazine editions from Ron Costley himself (thanks, Ron!):

“I designed the London Magazine Editions in 1966 when I was designer at the Shenval Press. I had already re-designed the London Magazine for Alan Ross when he took it over in 1961. Later he wanted a small format suitable for publishing essays, reviews, short stories & poetry. I chanced on an attractive paperback in Hachette, the French bookshop in London, that set me thinking of a possible solution.

The interior typography is mine, set in Linotype Juliana (a face I chose for its narrow set to harmonise with the slim format), the cover design is the work of my then-assistant. Nine LMes were published in 1966 and by 1968 twenty had been published. Nos. 9 & 13 did not follow the narrow format tho’ they were published under the LMe imprint. The series continued after no. 20, but the quality deteriorated. — I have a copy of no. 26, 1974: the size is the same but the cover is a poor imitation of the robust designs of the earlier editions and the cover stock is a conventional paper. The text is not set in Juliana, the typography is ill-considered and the press-work uneven. The only redeeming feature is that the book is sewn, which the earlier LMes were not…”