LOBBYING FOR EQUALITY
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.
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.)