Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy (Knopf)
First edition of Woman on the Edge of Time. The novel by Marge Piercy (b. 1936) is considered a classic of feminist and utopian science fiction, and often credited as one of the key influences for the cyberpunk movement of the 1980s.
Jacket designer R.D. Scudellari rendered the title as a massive brick structure, probably in allusion to the walls of the mental hospital in which the protagonist is unfairly incarcerated. By showing its underside, the block’s ponderosity is counteracted: it’s floating in space, adding a new perspective.
While the edges are custom drawn, the brick-lined letterforms are taken from a typeface: Norton Chimney is a design by S.E. Norton, issued by Photo-Lettering sometime in the 1940s. The author’s name is added in Matthew Carter’s Helvetica Compressed, likewise in caps and with a perspective shadow effect.
