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"As compact as a time capsule, a book jacket holds forever the memory of the brief cultural period when it was in print." -- Véronique Vienne, Chip Kidd, 2003
"Like a time capsule, a monument holds forever the memory of the meaning which its creators chose to preserve for posterity." -- Edward W. Lollis, 2013
Peace Monuments on Book & Magazine Covers
Shown below are 189 book covers depicting 125 different peace monuments in 27 different countries.
Peace monuments (including iconic art works) are defined - and hundreds are depicted - elsewhere on these web pages. What distinguishes the monuments shown here is a double selection: (1) Each monument is deamed to represent one of the many meaning of "peace." And (2) an image of an existing peace monument is selected to represent the theme of a book.
I did not think to look for peace monuments on book covers until September 2, 2013, when I made a PowerPoint presentation to an audience at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. My slides included a shot of the reclining lady labled "Pax" in Ambrogio Lorenzetti's famous 1338 mural of good government in the Sala della Pace (Peace Hall) of Sienna, Italy, and I couldn't resist adding an inset of John Getting's recent book showing "Pax" and entitled "The Glorious Art of Peace."
My presence in The Hague also served to launch "Monumental Beauty," my own book on peace monuments. I had long agonized over the cover my book. At first I wanted to use a photo of the 1992 "Hands Across the Divide" monument in Derry, Ireland. Then I designed another cover showing the 1910 New York state peace monument on Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee. But my friend Peter van den Dungen didn't like either of these ideas; he prefered a standard shot of the 100-year old Peace Palace in The Hague. Finally, I decided to show on the cover what I show in the book - standard sized photos of multiple peace monuments - in fact five different peace monuments.
A few of the books shown below (30 to be exact) are about individual peace monuments, but most are not. The author, editor, and cover designer of each book choose the image of a monument to symbolize - and to help sell - the broader theme or themes of their work.
I guess that the first thing I've learned from this unusual exercise is that monuments and book covers have a lot in common. Monuments are made to preserve the memory of a person, event, or idea. Book covers are designed to stimulate interest in the book's contents. But both depend on their audience's intuitive sense of meaning and symbolism. When I realized this, I no longer found it surprizing that some book designers choose monuments to represent the contents of their books.
In fact, there is a relationship (surprizing to me) between monuments and book covers. In some respects, they are two sides of the same coin. Each is created to appeal to the public and to symbolize a deeper subject. By searching for book covers, I discovered a new way of finding peace monuments. Some of the peace monuments shown below were unknown to me until I find them on book covers.
About the second thing I realized is that these 189 book covers make a pretty good sample of the entire universe of peace monuments. Every period is represented, as are many of the world's most famous peace monuments, and I find this display more interesting than any other I've made over the years. I think that the book titles and cover layouts make the monuments come alive in way that mere photos and dull descriptions often fail to do.
I also discovered that choices made by book designers are a rough measure of monument popularity. Only the most familiar remonuments are chosen for book covers, and some of them are chosen multiple times. Inversely, the publication of a monument's image increases its exposure and thereby reinforces the monument's own purpose (to preserve the memory of a person, event, or idea).
For their covers, seven of these books seven use "Guernica" (the famous canvas which Pablo Picasso painted for the Paris International Expositon in 1937), six use UN Headquarters in New York City, and five use the 1913 Peace Palace in The Hague. The Peace Palace is used only for books related to the Peace Palace, whereas "Guernica" and UN Headquarters are so well known to the public that their images are chosen for books on subjects which transcend the United Nations or the Spanish Civil War.
No peace monument makes a more popular book cover than the 1886 Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. Its universally recognized image graces books on books which have nothing do with New York or Franco-American friendship. Fifteen examples are shown below, but others could have been added (easily running this sample up to 200 or more book covers).
Many of the books whose authors, publishers, and designers have chosen monuments to illustrate their covers (about 35 of the 189 books shown below) are about the monuments themselves. Otherwise, the variety of books is vast. About ten of the books shown below are about art, peace history, or war history. Fewer than ten each are guide book or books about museums. Five or less are biographies, novels, memoirs, or books about geographic areas, civil rights, culture, or tourism. A few movels and comic books are included.
The book covers shown below depict relatively few of the vast number of peace monuments in today's world. But they show many of the most popular peace monuments. And I believe that they pretty well represent the total universe of peace monuments. Thus, the selection shown below includes both fine and popular art - even graffti - murals, statues, abstract sculpture, musuems, office buildings, bells, and stained glass windows. Most (indicated with green captions) celebrate "positive peace" (peace achievements and peace heroes) and some (indicated with red captions) "negative" peace (events not to be repeated if peace is to be preserved). Some became monuments unintentionally when unexpected events made a preexisting structure iconic and worth preservation.
As with the enitre universe of peace monuments (http://peace.maripo.com), those on book covers are rarely older than the 19th century - only eleven (5.8%) of the 189 book covers shown below pre-date 1800. And there is a surge in the number of new peace monuments in recent times. On the other hand, the first three decades of the 20th century are over-represented below: Perhaps because of lasting peace architecture (Peace Palace, Peace Arch, Lincoln Memorial, Peace Bridge, Peace Tower, Bok Tower, IJzertoren, and Palais des Nations) constructed at that time. Perhaps because older 20th century monuments have stood the "test of time" and are more often deamed by cover designers to be recognized by book consumers.
Few books about Matahma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., and other famous peacemakers feature monuments on their covers. I imagine that this is because individuals are most often memorized by statues, popular individuals are memorialized by multiple statues, it's relatively difficult for any given statue to become universally recognized, and photographs therefore more often than images of monuments serve the purpose of book designers. But there are exceptions: Included below are five book covers showing monuments of famous peacemakers -- four statues (of Pankhurst, Tubman, and Lincoln twice) and one painting (of Erasmus).
PS: I would guess that this web page omits many books and magazine covers which feature peace monuments. Anybody who knows of such a book or magazine cover is encouraged to inform me at geovisual @ comcast.net. Thank you.
Edward W. Lollis, November 2013
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Before 1660  |
Peace Panel on Standard of Ur British Museum, London c2500 BCE |
 Greek God of Peace Glyptothek, Munich c370 BCE |
Pax in Sala della Pace Sienna, Italy 1338 (book 2012) |
 CompassionBuddha Matho, Kashmir 14th C? (mag 2013) |
 Erasmus by Hans Holbein London 1523 |
 ??? France? Date? (book 2012) |
 Peace at Temple of Janus The Hague, Netherlands c1651 (book 1999) |
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1660-1824 |
 Dove of Holy Spirit Vatican City c1660 |
 Dove of Holy Spirit Vatican City c1660 (Nook 2010) |
 Gorsam Chorten Zemithang, India c1700 (book 2008) |
 Goddess of Peace Brandenburg Gate, Berlin 1793 (book 2008) |
 Third of May 1808 By Francisco Goya 1814 |
 Third of May 1808 By Francisco Goya 1814 |
 Massacres at Chios ByEugeneDelacroix 1824 (book 20xx) |
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1833-1886 |
 Peaceable Kingdom By Edward Hicks c1833 |
 William Wilberforce Hull (England) 1835 |
 WmPenn & Indians Philadelphia, PA c1844 (book 2009) |
 The Peacemakers White House, DC 1868 (book 2014) |
 Gladstone's Cabinet PortraitGal,London 1868 (book 2011) |
 Concordia domi foris pax, Lübeck 1871 |
Emancipation Mem. Washington, DC 1876 |
Statue of Liberty New York City 1886(Harpers 1903) |
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1886 |
 Statue of Liberty New York City 1886(Harpers 1909) |
 Statue of Liberty New York City 1886 (book 1940) |
 Statue of Liberty by Norman Rockwell 1886 (mag. 1946) |
 Statue of Liberty New York City 1886 (Baber 1948) |
 Statue of Liberty New York City 1886 lll (book 1985) |
 Statue of Liberty New York City 1886 (comic) |
 Statue of Liberty New York City 1886 (book 1995) |
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1886 |
 Statue of Liberty New York City 1886 (book 2007) |
 Statue of Liberty New York City 1886 (book 2008) |
 Statue of Liberty New York City 1886 (book 2008) |
 Statue of Liberty New York City 1886 (book 2010) |
 Statue of Liberty New York City 1886 (book 2010) |
 Statue of Liberty New York City 1886 (novel) |
 Statue of Liberty New York City 1886 ttt (book 2013) |
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1889-1907 |
 Bourgeois de Calais By August Rodin 1889 |
 Mundaneum Mons, Belgium Late 19th Century |
 Angel of Peace Munich, Germany 1899 |
 Christ the Redeemer Argentina/Chile 1904 (book 1922) |
 Christ the Redeemer Argentina/Chile 1904 (Time 1928) |
 Modern Madonna By Bessie Vonnoh 1904 (book 2008) |
 Hague Peace Conf. in Ridderzaal, Neth. 1907 unintended |
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1908-1913 |
 The Blind by L.Taft Univ. of Illinois 1908 |
NY Peace Mon. Chattanooga, Tenn. 1910 |
 Schweitzer Hospital Lambaréné, Gabon 1913 unintended |
 Peace Palace The Hague, Neth. 1913 (book 1913) |
Peace Palace The Hague, Neth. 1913 (book 1988) |
 Peace Palace The Hague, Neth. 1913 (book 2004) |
 Peace Palace The Hague, Neth. 1913 (book 2004) |
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1913-1919 |
.JPG) Peace Palace The Hague, Neth. 1913 (book 2007) |
Peace Palace The Hague, Neth. 1913 (book 2013) |
 Die Waffen Nieder Film Poster 1914 |
 Tower of Jewels San Francisco, CA 1915 (book 1915) |
 Anti-War Painting Tate Gallery, Engl. 1916 |
 Hall of Mirrors Versailles, France 1919 unintended |
 Hall of Mirrors Versailles, France 1919 unintended |
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1919-1922 |
 Hall of Mirrors Versailles, France 1919 unintended |
 Die Freiwilligen By Käthe Kollwitz 1920 |
 Peace Arch,BC/WA Canada/USA 1921 (book 2005) |
 Suffrage Pioneers US Capitol, DC 1921 (book 2014) |
 Never Again War! By Käthe Kollwitz 1922 |
 Lincoln Memorial Washington, DC 1922 (march 1963) |
 Lincoln Memorial Washington, DC 1922 (book 2004) |
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1922-1927 |
 Lincoln Memorial Washington, DC 1922 (book 2004) |
Lincoln Memorial Washington, DC 1922 (book 2007) |
 Lincoln Memorial Washington, DC 1922 (mag. 1953) |
 By Gustav Vigeland Oslo, Norway c1925 (book 2012) |
 Anti-War Museum Berlin, Germany 1925 (book 1935) |
 Cultural Gardens Cleveland, Ohio 1926 (book 1954) |
 Peace Birdge Canada/USA 1927 (book 2007) |
 Peace Tower Ottawa, Ontario 1927 (Nook 1996) |
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1927-1932 |
 Peace Tower Ottawa, Ontario 1927 (video) |
 Peace Tower Ottawa, Ontario 1927 (novel) |
 Peace Tower Ottawa, Ontario 1927 (book 2013) |
 Bok Tower Lake Wales, Florida 1929 (book 2013) |
 IJzertoren Museum Dixmude, Belgium 1930 (book 2003) |
 Pax Cultura By NicholasRoerich 1931 |
MadonnaOriflamma By NicholasRoerich 1932 |
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1932-1934 |
 WatertonGlacierIntl PeacePark, Can/US 1932 (mag 1961) |
 WatertonGlacierIntl PeacePark, Can/US 1932 (book 2001) |
 WatertonGlacierIntl PeacePark, Can/US 1932 (book 2003) |
 WatertonGlacierIntl PeacePark, Can/US 1932 |
 Intl Peace Garden Canada/USA 1932 (book 2005) |
 Detroit Industry By Diego Rivera 1933 (book 2010) |
 World's Fair Chicago, Illinois 1934 (book 1934) |
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1936-1937 |
 Palais des Nations Geneva,Switzerland 1936 (book 2006) |
 Palais des Nations Geneva,Switzerland 1936 (book 2006) |
 Palais des Nations Geneva,Switzerland 1936 (book 2001) |
 Guernica by Picasso Madrid, Spain 1937 |
 Guernica by Picasso Madrid, Spain 1937 (book 2001) |
 Guernica by Picasso Madrid, Spain 1937 (book 2002) |
 Guernica by Picasso Madrid, Spain 1937 (book 2003) |
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1937-1939 |
 Guernica by Picasso Madrid, Spain 1937 (book 2005) |
 ------- ---- ------ |
 Guernica by Picasso Madrid, Spain 1937 (book 2006) |
 Guernica by Picasso Madrid, Spain 1937 (book 2013) |
 Armillary Sphere Geneva,Switzerland 1939 (book 2011) |
 Trylon & Perisphere NY World's Fair 1939 (book 1939) |
 Trylon & Perisphere NY World's Fair 1939 (book 1939) |
 Trylon & Perisphere NY World's Fair 1939 (book 1939) |
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1940-1945 |
 Coventry Cathedral Coventry, England 1940 unintended |
 Rosie the Riviterby Howard Miller 1942 (book 2011) |
 Rosie the Riviter by Norman Rockwell 1943 (mag. 1943) |
 Dumbarton Oaks Washington, DC 1944 unintended |
 End of the Tracks AuschwitzBirkenau 1945 unintended |
 Arbeit Macht Frei Dachau, Bravaria 1945 unintended |
 Camp Gate Dachau, Bravaria 1945 unintended |
Jedem das Seine Buchenwald 1945 unintended |
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1945-1952 |
 A-bomb Dome Hiroshima, Japan 1945 unintended |
 A-bomb Dome Hiroshima, Japan 1945 unintended |
 A-bomb Dome Hiroshima, Japan 1945 unintended |
 Stone Jizo Figures Hiroshima, Japan 1945 unintended |
 A-Bomb Epicenter Hiroshima, Japan 1947 unintended |
Victims at Girls HS Hiroshima, Japan 1948 (book 2013) |
 Cenotaph Hiroshima, Japan 1952 unintended |
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1952-1955 |
 UN Headquarters New York City 1952 (book 2009) |
 UN Headquarters New York City 1952 (guide 1964) |
 UN Headquarters New York City 1952 (book 2013) |
Peace & Freedom UN SecurityCouncil 1952 |
 UN Headquarters New York City 1952 |
 Struggle for Lasting Peace, UN Hq,NYC 1953 (book 2009) |
 Rosa Parks' Bus Ford Museum, MI 1955 unintended |
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1953-1960 |
 Goddess of Peace Karlstad (Sweden) 1955 (book year?) |
 Peace Monument Nagasaki, Japan 1955 |
 Children's Peace Mon., Hiroshima 1958 (book 2012) |
 Spirit of Detroit Detroit, Michigan 1958 (mag. 2012) |
 SwordsPlowshares UN Headquarters 1959 (CD date?) |
 Memorial Tragende Ravensbrück,Germ. 1959 (book 2009) |
 Mon. to Departed Natzweiler, France 1960 |
 Anne Frank Huis Amsterdam, Neth. 1960 |
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1961-1969 |
 Dove by Picasso Muséed'Art,StDenis 1961 (book 2010) |
Golden Rule by Norman Rockwell 1961 (Post 1961) |
 Golden Rule by Norman Rockwell 1961 |
 World's Fair New York City 1964 (book 1964) |
 Maruki Panels Saitama, Japan 1967 (book 1985) |
 Lorraine Motel Memphis, TN 1968 (book 2012) |
 The Sphere by Fritz Koenig, NYC, NY 1969 (book 2004) |
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1970-1982 |
 LOVE by Robert Indiana, Indianapls 1970 |
 Kamikaze Peace Museum, Japan 1975 (book 2008) |
Vitrail de la paix Sarrebouirg, France 1976 (book 2001) |
 Reconcilation By de Vasconcellos 1977 (book 2008) |
 People's Art Chicago, Illinois 1977 |
 John Lennon Peace Wall,Prague,Czech 1980 (book 2013) |
 Vietnam Vets Mem Washington, DC 1982 (book 2013) |
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1982-1990 |
 Vietnam Vets Mem Washington, DC 1982 (book 2009) |
 John Lennon Mem New York City 1984 (book 2009) |
 Knotted Gun UN Headquarters 1988 (book 1986) |
 Knotted Gun UN Headquarters 1988 (mag 2005) |
 Knotted Gun UN Headquarters 1988 (book 2013) |
 Death March Dachau, Bravaria 1990 (book 2003) |
 East Side Gallery Berlin Wall, Germ. 1990 (book 2011) |
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1991-1994 |
Nat Civil Rights Museum, Memphis 1991 |
 UDHR Article V By Wm. T. Ayton 1991 (book 2012) |
HandsAcrossDivide Derry, N. Ireland 1992 (book 2000) |
 HandsAcrossDivide Derry, N. Ireland 1992 (book 2010) |
Holocaust Museum Washington, DC 1993 (book 2013) |
 Holocaust Museum Washington, DC 1993 |
 Ohara Peace Bell Enger Park, Duluth 1994 (book 2008) |
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1994-1998 |
 Harriet Tubman Battle Creek, Mich. 1994 (book 1994) |
 Christo de la Paz El Salvador 1994 (book 2012) |
 UNESCO Globe Paris, France 1995 (book 2013) |
 Independence Square Kiev, Ukraine Year? (book 2013) |
Japan Peace Bell Jerusalem, Israel 1996 (book 2013) |
 Anthony & Stanton Seneca Falls, NY 1998 (book 1995) |
 Anthony & Stanton Seneca Falls, NY 1998 (book 2005) |
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1998-2004 |
 Peace Wall Philadelphia 1998 (book 2003) |
 Krzyzowa Found Kreisau, Poland 1998 (book 2013) |
 Reunification Mon DMZ, South Korea c1999 (book 2012) |
 Rconciliation Belfast, Northern Ireland 2000 (book 2009) |
 Holocaust Manmal Kinder, Tennessee 2001 (book 2004) |
 Maloti-Drakensberg Lesotho/S.Africa 2001 (book 2013) |
 Reconciliation Mon Germany/Nethrlnds 2003 (book 2008) |
 Amitabha PeacePrk Sedona, Arizona 2004 (book 2010) |
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2004-2005 |
 Peace Mural Bogside, N. Ireland 2004 (book 2007) |
 Peace Mural Bogside, N. Ireland 2004 (book 2009) |
Hindu Museum Toronto, Ontario 2004 (book 2013) |
Two Banks Bridge France/Germany 2004 (book 2012) |
 Grafitti by Banksy Bethlehem, Palestine c2005 (book 2007) |
 Grafitti by Banksy Bethlehem, Palestine c2005 |
 Graffiti by Banksy Bethlehem, Palestine c2005 (book 2010) |
 Graffiti by Banksy Bethlehem, Palestine c2005 (book 2010) |
 Murdered Jews Berlin, Germany 2005 |
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2005-2008 |
 "Poruke" by Maja (age 12), Croatia Year? |
 Museum by M.Safdi Yad Vashem, Israel 2005 (book 2006) |
Intl Peace Museum Dayton, Ohio 2005 (book 2013) |
 Border Fence San Diego / Tijuana 2006? unintended |
 Zulu King Dinuzulu Durban, South Africa 2007 (book 2010) |
Peace Tower by Yoko Ono, Iceland 2007 (book 2008) |
 HR/CivilizationsRm Geneva,Switzerland 2008 (mag. 2010) |
 Holocaust Boy By Samuel Bak 2008 (book 2009) |
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2010-2011 & Future |
 Nagasaki Peace Bell Haiden, Switzerland 2010 |
USIP by M.Safdi Washington, DC 2011 (book 2011) |
 Self-Help Graphics By Peter Tovar 2011 (book 2011) |
 MLK Memorial Washington, DC 2011 (book 2012) |
 Sylvia Pankhurst London, England Future (book 2012) |
 Newtown Peace Park, Connecticut Future (book 2013) |
 Newtown Peace Park, Connecticut Future (book 2013) |
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"Reconcilation" Ireland 19___ (book 2013) |
 Security Council United Nations 19___ (book 20___) |
 ????? ????? 19___ (book 20___) |
 The Hand of God by Carl Milles 19___ (book 20___) |
 Pax on Wellington Arch London 1912 (book 1913) |
------- ---- ------ |
------- ---- ------ |
 MLK Streets ---- ------ |
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