Logos covers by Des Fitzgerald 1966-1970

Rethinking the Church, Edited by F.V. Johannes, Logos, (1970). Cover design: Des Fitzgerald

Morals, Law & Authority, Edited by J.P. Mackey, Logos, (1969). Cover design: Des Fitzgerald

Celibacy and Virginity, Auer/Egenter/O’Connor, Logos, (1968). Cover design: Des Fitzgerald

The Council Reconsidered, Louis McRedmond, Logos, (1966). Cover design: Des Fitzgerald

Look Towards the East, John Power, Logos, (1969). Cover design: Des Fitzgerald

Set My Exiles Free, John Power, Logos, (1969). Cover design: Des Fitzgerald

New Ways in Theology, J. Sperna Weiland, Logos, (1968). Cover design: Des Fitzgerald

Logos was an imprint of Gill & Macmillan which published books on theology, philosophy and sociology. Launched in the years following the Second Vatican Council, the cover art reflects the Church’s unlikely embracing of Modernism, particularly in architecture, during this period.

With such obtuse titles as Morals, Law & Authority and Celibacy and Virginity the designer, Des Fitzgerald, has managed to do an admirable job. I can find no biographical information on Mr Fitzgerald but I can reveal that he is the (uncredited) designer behind one of the most well known Irish book covers of the last half century – Soundings – the school poetry anthology edited by Augustine Martin.

I had hoped to include the Soundings cover with this post but haven’t been able to source a clean copy as it was invariably defaced by sullen students. The reissued version sports a cover by the very talented Graham Thew which plays on that very fact, adding the updated information as scrawls on the original cover.