Recovering the Classics is a crowdsourced collection of original covers for great literary works in the public domain. Sadly, many of the greatest classics in the public domain are left with poorly designed or auto-generated covers that fail to capture what makes these books exciting and inspiring to us. Through this initiative, invited illustrators, typographers, and designers of all stripes crafted new covers for 100 of the greatest works in the public domain.
This spring, Recovering the Classics announced a partnership with the New York Public Library, the White House, and the Digital Public Library of America to bring the covers to libraries and schools nationwide through special edition ebooks. All designs are available for sale as prints, apparel, and other products to support the artists.
The book covers will be exhibited in the historic Carnegie Gallery at the Rochester Public Library as well as a pop-up show in the old Carnie Medical Supply store windows. The museum will also host a one-night-only pop-up style exhibition at 56 North Main Street in the former Artstream Gallery from 5-8pm on June 4th.