Languages of Art by Nelson Goodman
Contributed by Benjamin Shaykin
on Jan 17th, 2026. Artwork published in
.
Photo: Benjamin Shaykin. License: Public Domain.
From Wikipedia:
Languages of Art: An Approach to a Theory of Symbols is a book by the American philosopher Nelson Goodman. It is a work of 20th century aesthetics in the analytic tradition. Originally published in 1968, it was revised in 1976. Goodman continued to refine and update these theories in essay form for the rest of his career.
The cover design on this 1976 paperback by Bobbs-Merill is uncredited, but does say on the back cover, only partially visible on this well-worn copy: “The cover design is based on a score for a dance and musical composition by Joyce Mekeel.” I believe it matches the original hardcover design from 1968.
Photo: Benjamin Shaykin. License: Public Domain.
Photo: Benjamin Shaykin. License: Public Domain.
3 Comments on “Languages of Art by Nelson Goodman”
Thank you, Benjamin!
What caught my eye is Westminster being used by a publisher in the United States. This early fontification of the MICR aesthetic was initially available exclusively from British company Photoscript. As far as can tell, Westminster didn’t see wider dissemination before being reproduced in the fourth volume of the Lettera sourcebooks published in 1972.
So I was curious to see if Bobbs-Merrill’s first edition from 1968 really used the same design as you surmised. Turns out it doesn’t: the book jacket uses a Garamond (possibly Goudy’s Garamont), showing the first word of the title in italic with an initial from Bernhard Schönschrift.
But the first British edition, published by the Oxford University Press in 1969, does indeed feature the same design for the jacket!
It looks like Bobbs-Merrill liked the more modern approach taken by their colleagues from across the pond, and adapted the design for their own paperback edition.
BTW, the letter s was flipped in the title (but not in the author’s name).
Compare to this use of Westminster for a book on cybernetics published by Studio Vista in 1971:
Thank you, Florian! I am, as always, humbled by your knowledge and research.