Jacques Godard and the Struggle for Jewish Civil Rights during the French Revolution
by Godard Leval
CLIENT: Hebrew Union College Press, Academic Press
YEAR: 2021
YEAR: 2021
Designed book cover, designed template for book interior, typeset the book, including correction rounds
BRIEF: This book tells the story of a young French lawyer from the 18th century who fought for the rights of the French Jewish community during the French Revolution. There were several images the publisher, the author, and I thought about.
The decision fell on a rare image of the Paris Commune - the government of Paris during the French Revolution 1789-1795. The image was already very fitting with the book. Nonetheless I wanted to push it a little bit further and make it more dramatic, befitting the story. I highlighted the lit candles in the image and manipulated the contrast between dark and light areas to balance out the image. Furthermore, a classical look and emphasis on “Equality” were appropriate for this historical book and its themes. Thus, I chose a sans serif but classic-looking font with an elongated Q-tail which leads the viewer’s eye subconsciously to the word “Equality.”
ABOUT THIS BOOK: This beautifully written and meticulously researched biography brilliantly captures the brief but extraordinary life of an influential revolutionary and most eloquent advocate of Jewish emancipation.
—Frances Malino Sophia Moses Robison Professor Emerita of Jewish Studies and History, Wellesley College
ABOUT THE COVER IMAGE: On the cover you see a portion of an etching entitled “La Commune de Paris décerne une épée et une couronne civique à C.J.W. Nesham, Anglais. Le 15 janvier 1790.” Signed Prieur (Jean-Louis), inv. & del., and Berthault (Pierre-Gabriel), sculp. Fig. no. 33 (following p. 132) from Collection complète des tableaux historiques de la révolution française (Paris: chez Auber, An XI.) (From the author’s personal collection.)
ABOUT THE COVER IMAGE: On the cover you see a portion of an etching entitled “La Commune de Paris décerne une épée et une couronne civique à C.J.W. Nesham, Anglais. Le 15 janvier 1790.” Signed Prieur (Jean-Louis), inv. & del., and Berthault (Pierre-Gabriel), sculp. Fig. no. 33 (following p. 132) from Collection complète des tableaux historiques de la révolution française (Paris: chez Auber, An XI.) (From the author’s personal collection.)
