splash  Louise Brooks has appeared on the covers of more than a handful of contemporary books, which is notable in that a good number of them are not necessarily about the actress or only reference her. These cover appearances are sometimes merely decorative — as an iconic figure, Brooks’ image was meant to be alluring, or perhaps evoke something about fashion or popular culture. With some covers, Brooks’ image was merely decorative — a pretty face, as is said, can help sell a book or magazine or whatever.

Besides this, there are a few other pages on the LBS website which showcase contemporary book covers featuring Louise Brooks or a Louise Brooks look-alike, including ones for fiction, poetry and drama, general non-fiction, and works of film history. Those pages are:

FICTION  |  POETRY & DRAMA  |  NON-FICTION  |  FILM HISTORY

A 2012 article by Thomas Gladysz on the subject of contemporary book covers featuring Louise Brooks can be found on the Huffington Post, “Louise Brooks – Cover Girl and Secret Muse of the 20th Century.” Notably, Louise Brooks also appeared on number of books published in the past. The LBS website which features a generously illustrated page of vintage Photoplay Editions (movie tie-in books and booklets) as well as a page of a few unrelated Vintage Book Covers. Know of other cover appearances? Have a better scan or additional information to share? The LBS would love to hear from you via its CONTACT page.

WORKS OF NON-FICTION (excluding film history):

Una giovinezza inventata People Will Talk Photographic Printing The Eyebrow
Una giovinezza inventata
Lalla Romano
Einaudi, 1979
non-fiction | Italy
People Will Talk
John Kobal
Aurum, 1991
non-fiction | UK
Photographic Printing
Gene Nocon
Virgin Pub, 1995
non-fiction | USA
The Eyebrow
Robyn Cosio
William Morrow, 2000
non-fiction | USA
People and Pearls A Due Voci Wicked Wit of Women Selected Sketches and Studies
People And Pearls
Ki Hackney & Diana Edkins
HarperCollins, 2000
non-fiction | USA
A Due Voci: Photography of Rita Hammond
Ann M. Ryan, Kim Waale & Julie Grossman
Syracuse University Press, 2003
non-fiction | USA
Wicked Wit of Women
Dominique Enright
Michael O’Mara, 2003
non-fiction | USA
Selected Sketches and Studies
Dave Stevens
Bulldog Studios, 2004
non-fiction | USA
Girls in Pearls portrait dune flapper 100 Years of Fashion Rappers 2 Flappers
Girls in Pearls
Claudia Lanfranconi
Merrell Publishers, 2006
non-fiction | USA
Portrait d’une flapper
Roland Jaccard
PUF, 2007
non-fiction | France
100 Years of Fashion
Cally Blackman
unknown publisher, c 2012
non-fiction | Japan ?
Rappers 2 Flappers
Tom Dalzell
Dover Publications, 2012
non-fiction | USA
Art Deco Hair Flappers Louise Brooks, Frank Zappa, & Other Charmers & Dreamers La Femme est une dandy comme les autres
Art Deco Hair
Daniela Turudich
Streamline Press, 2013
non-fiction | USA
Flappers
Judith Mackrell
Pan Macmillan, 2014
non-fiction | UK
Louise Brooks, Frank Zappa, & Other Charmers…
Tom Graves
DeVault-Graves Agency, 2015
non-fiction | USA
La Femme est une dandy comme …
Alister
Fayard/Pauvert, 2018
non-fiction | France
La sensualità nell'arte Hollywood 1920s Women of the 1920s Popular Performer: 1920s
La sensualità nell’arte
Anna Maria Landi
Independently published, 2018
non-fiction | Italy
Hollywood 1920s (back cover)
Nagaharu Yodogawa
Haga Publishing, 1977
non-fiction | Japan
Women of the 1920s (back cover)
Thomas Bleitner
Abbeville Press, 2019
non-fiction | Italy
Popular Performer: 1920s
Jan Sanborn
Alfred Music, date unknown
piano book | USA


AN APPEARANCE IN NAME ONLY:

Louise Brooks’ name can be found on the covers of the following books. On Lee Israel’s Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Brooks’ name is XXXXXX XXXXXX out.

John Kobal - People Will Talk John Kobal - People Will Talk Kenneth Tynan Profiles Lee Israel - Can You Ever Forgive Me?
People Will Talk
John Kobal

Alfred A. Knopf, 1986
non-fiction | USA
People Will Talk
John Kobal

Arum Press, 1986
non-fiction | UK
Profiles
Kenneth Tynan

HarperCollins, 1990
non-fiction | USA
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Lee Israel

Simon & Schuster, 2008
non-fiction | USA