The Heart of a Goof

The Heart of a Goof (1926) was Wodehouse's second collection of golf stories; the first, and in my opinion superior, collection was The Clicking of Cuthbert (1922), but unfortunately Ionicus did not do a cover for that one, despite the fact that this title was in Penguin's back-catalogue during the Ionicus era. If you are interested, I would say that Cuthbert has more verve and enthusiasm. However, the Goof stories are all thoroughly professional and funny, and there is no real reason to be disappointed by them.

My copy of The Heart of a Goof is, alas, slightly damaged: a small patch under the G and W of the Wodehouse logo has been lifted off by a super-adhesive label, a flaw which the ebay seller from whom I got this copy did not mention in her listing. Well, never mind; it's still a reasonable copy, and as the ancient Romans said: e-buyer beware.

Ionicus has chosen to depict the retired businessmen who infest the Oldest Member's course and who are known to the initiated as the Wrecking Crew, consisting of the First Grave-Digger, the Man with the Hoe, Old Father Time, and Consul, the Almost Human. In the illustration, they are not quite as I imagined them; the First Grave-Digger is described by the Oldest Member as an ex-hammer-thrower whose chest had slipped down to the mezzanine floor, but still muscle-bound; it would be difficult to identify him in the picture. Never mind. The point is still made, especially in the unhappy faces of the golfing ladies to the right as they await the disastrous drive of the gentleman who I will for the sake of convenience here call Old Father Time. As I have mentioned before, Ionicus seemed to match his covers with the publication date, and I would not be surprised to find the fashions suit 1926 exactly. The details are beautiful in their way: the ghastly tattered mac of the First Grave-Digger, the unfortunate plus-fours of the music-hall gentleman to centre left; the sensible cardigan of Old Father Time, the shades of the grass, the hint of the club-house. The Wodehouse logo is just the right shade of green to match it.

The text is set in Linotype Granjon:

Solid, reassuring.

Now, here I am going to take the risk of being very beastly. Round about the Millennium, Penguin completely re-set and re-issued the main Wodehouse titles. The result was, I contend, hideous. I happen to have the 1999 edition of The Heart of a Goof. Here is the front cover:

Note the wacky typeface for title and author, a sort of Comic Sans Plus affair; the cartoon figures with exaggerated period features such as big moustaches, monocle, and billowing plus-fours above stick-legs. We must be kind; we must remember this was the early computer era, where the art of drawing on a screen was still in its infancy or at the most its adolescence. But all the same, this title, like all the titles in this edition, shows absolutely no respect for Wodehouse as being a nonpareil of English humorous prose, looked up to by Evelyn Waugh, among many others, as the Master with a capital M.

And as for the typeface.....

Well, it's clear; I will say that. I can see nothing actively wrong with it - except, of course, the foul and contemptible decision not to fully-justify the text but to leave it with a ragged right hand side. The typeface is like this throughout the entire book - indeed, all the books in this series. Incidentally, the font is called 9/11pt Monotype Trump, which is somehow unsurprising.

Penguin's Millennium Wodehouse has disappeared from print, thank God. But I can't say that Arrow's in-print editions are any better, at least in terms of cover design. Look at this (an image snaffled from the Internet):

Yes, look at it and weep. I am no expert, and perhaps I will be told I am showing embarrassing ignorance in these matters; but I cannot believe that in terms of composition, grace of line, and overall artistry either of the more recent covers can begin to hold a candle to that of Ionicus.