Colecção Argonauta 225–332
Nº 241 – Tigre! Tigre! (1977). Cover by Manuel Dias.
The Colecção Argonauta is a collection of science fiction paperbacks published by Livros do Brasil in Lisbon, Portugal. It’s considered one of the pioneering collections responsible for the dissemination of science fiction in Portugal.
The cover style changes from period to period but from number 225 till 332 (1976–1985), they were set in ITC Ronda, with alternate lowercase a. The publish house’s name is set in ITC Avant Garde Gothic at the bottom. From volume 225 till 300, the type was set in a different colour on a silver background, with an illustration below and the author name in upper and lowercase. From volume 301 till 332, the background changed to blue, the illustration is larger and the author name is set uppercase.
The back of the book features the cover of the next volume with the mention “o seu próximo volume” (roughly, “your next volume”).
Strangely, the switchover from the silver to the blue background was done between Valis volume 1 and 2 by Philip K. Dick leading to a pair of books with different design (but a clean break at number 300). Volume 333, though advertised with the same cover style as number 332, actually came out in a different style.
The cover for Alfred Bester’s Tiger! Tiger! (Tigre! Tigre! in Portuguese) sports an illustration by David Pelham which was used for the UK edition of the book.
Nº 272 – Desígnio Negro 1 (1980). Cover by A. Pedro.
Back cover of Nº 272, announcing Nº 273 – Desígnio Negro 2.
Nº 300 – O Mistério de Valis 1 (1982). Cover by A. Pedro.
Back cover of Nº 300, announcing Nº 301 – O Mistério de Valis 2.
Nº 317 – Rendez-Vous com Rama (1983). Cover by A. Pedro.
