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.

Aside from the ” Louise Brooks Bookshelf,” a page of essential reading, Louise Brooks has appeared on the cover of numerous works about the movies and film history. These titles are not about the actress per se, and in some instances only reference the actress in passing.

amour erotisme et cinema Dictionnaire-Du-Cinema Dictionary of the Cinema Dictionary of the Cinema
Amour-Erotisme et Cinema (binding)
Ado Kyrou
Le Terrain Vague, 1957
non-fiction | France
Dictionnaire du cinema (vol 2)
Maurice Bessy
Jean-Jacques Pauvert, 1965
non-fiction | France
A Dictionary of the Cinema
Peter Graham
A. S. Barnes, 1968
non-fiction | USA
A Dictionary of the Cinema
Peter Graham
A. Zwemmer Ltd, 1968
non-fiction | UK
hollywood glamour portraits Rebellin in Hollywood celluloid closet 1987
Hollywood Glamor Portraits
John Kobal
Dover Publications, 1976
non-fiction | USA
Rebellin in Hollywood
Paul Werner, Uta van Steen
Tende, 1986
non-fiction | Germany
Celluloid Closet
Vito Russo
Harper, 1987
non-fiction | USA
Il cinema di Augusto Genina
Germani Sergio & Martinelli Vittorio
Biblioteca dell’immagine, 1989
non-fiction | Italy
Femmes Fatales Der Film der Weimarer Republik 1929 Cine 100 50 Most Erotic Films of All Time
Femmes Fatales
By Mary Ann Doane
Routledge, 1991
non-fiction | USA
Der Film der Weimarer Republik 1929
Gero Gandert
Walter de Gruyter, 1993
non-fiction | Germany
Cine 100 (day planner)
Catherine Tourne
L’Institut Lumiere, 1994
datebook | France
50 Most Erotic Films of All Time
Maitland McDonagh
Citadel, 1995
non-fiction | USA
Hollywood Movie Stills G.W. Pabst Geheimnisvolle Tiefe: G. W. Pabst Hollywood Dressed & Undressed
Hollywood Movie Stills
Joel W. Finler
B T Batsford Ltd, 1995
non-fiction | UK
G.W. Pabst
Wolfgang Jacobsen
Argon, 1997
non-fiction | Germany
Geheimnisvolle Tiefe: G. W. Pabst
Günter Krenn
film archiv austria, 1998
non-fiction | Austria
Hollywood Dressed & Undressed
Sandy Schreier
Rizzoli, 1998
non-fiction | USA
Pandoras Schätze Playing to the Camera Film ist Comics Halbnah
Pandoras Schätze
Gerald Koll
Diskurs Film Verlag, 1998
non-fiction | Germany
Playing to the Camera (HB)
Bert Cardullo & Harry Geduld
Yale University Press, 1998
non-fiction | USA
Film ist Comics
Paolo Caneppele & Günter Krenn
film archiv austria, 1999
non-fiction | Austria
Halbnah
Thomas Kroebner
Gardez Verlag, 1999
non-fiction | Germany
Playing to the Camera Dictionnaire du cinéma Intl Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers Positif
Playing to the Camera (PB)
Bert Cardullo & Harry Geduld
Yale University Press, 1999
non-fiction | USA
Dictionnaire du cinéma (vol 3)
Jacques Lourcelles
Robert Laffont, 1999
non-fiction | France
Intl Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers
Tom Pendergast
St. James Press, 2000
non-fiction | USA
Positif
Bernard Chardère
Jean-Michel Place, 2000
anthology | France
M wie Nebenzahl Movie Star Vamps and Scamps Casting City Girls
M wie Nebenzahl
Hans-Michael Bock
Edition Text + Kritik, 2002
non-fiction | Germany
Movie Star Vamps and Scamps
Tom Tierney
Dover Publications, 2003
non-fiction | USA
Casting
Etienne Ethaire
Le Somnambule équivoque, 2006
non-fiction | Belgium
City Girls
Jatho Gabriele
Bertz und Fischer, 2007
non-fiction | Germany
Louise Brooks and the New Woman in Weimar Cinema Concise Cinegraph Academy Award Losers 1912-1939 Exhibiting Cinema in Contemporary Art
Louise Brooks and the New Woman in Weimar Cinema
Vanessa Rocco
International Center of Photography, 2007
non-fiction | USA
Concise Cinegraph
Hans-Michael Bock
Berghahn Books, 2009
non-fiction | USA
Academy Award Losers 1912-1939
Jordan Young
Past Times Publishing, 2012
non-fiction | USA
Exhibiting Cinema in Contemporary Art
Erika Balsom
Amsterdam University Press, 2013
non-fiction | USA
The Photoplay Cosas que no creeríais Cinema tedesco: i film Shadows in a Phantom Eye
The Photoplay
Hugo Munsterberg
Duke Classics, 2014
non-fiction | USA
Cosas que no creeríais
José Manuel Benítez Ariza
Universitat de València, 2016
non-fiction | Spain
Cinema tedesco: i film
Leonardo Quaresima
Mimesis Edizioni, 2019
non-fiction | Italy
Shadows in a Phantom Eye
Nocturne Group
Independently published, 2023
non-fiction | USA