Spaceling by Doris Piserchia (Nelson Doubleday)
Algonquin Ornamented in use for the title of Spaceling, a science fiction novel by Doris Piserchia (1928–2021). The shown hardback edition was published by Nelson Doubleday in 1978. From the back of DAW’s paperback:
The ability to see other-dimensional rings that float in Earth’s atmosphere was a late mutation of a few space-age humans. Daryl was under the care of the institution for muters, and she had discovered that if you jumped through the right ring at the right time it would land you in another dimensional world and another shape.
Spaceling is the story of Daryl’s desperate efforts to unravel the mystery of why she was being held captive and of what was really going on in a certain alien dimension. Because she was sure it was all bad and that someday everyone would thank her for the revelation.
But instead everyone was engaged in a wild effort to hold her down, to keep her on this Earth, and to keep the world simply intact!
Algonquin is used in spaced caps, with the interior ornamentation printed in a separate color. The book jacket was designed by John Lisco, with wraparound art by Richard Corben.
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Detail from the inner flap
1 Comment on “Spaceling by Doris Piserchia (Nelson Doubleday)”
For Algonquin, John F. Cumming apparently drew inspiration from lettering styles that were popular in lithography and engraving, and used for letterheads, certificates etc. at the time. One such example for “Relief Plate Engraving” can be seen in an advert by Geo. N. Benedict & Co. in Chicago:
Algonquin is similar to Othello (1884), but with tendrils and leaf-like ornamentation. It’s a precursor to designs like Davison Fandango. Its name is taken from the Algonquin, an Indigenous people living in what today is Quebec, Ontario, Upper Michigan and Wisconsin.