Edward Gorey

Edward Gorey was probably best known as an author and illustrator of more than 100 books in his lifetime. Collector's items today, his books have become icons in and of themselves, darkly humorous and humorously dark. The books defied genres and publishers sometimes had a hard time determining how to market them. They were illustrated yes, but the dark and sometimes gruesome tales certainly weren’t children's books. This contribution was undoubtedly significant, but this was not the limit of his career, which included designing book covers, sets, and costumes for theater and ballet (including the Tony award-winning designs for Dracula in 1977), and the illustrations for animations for the PBS Mystery! series, a shortened version of which can still be seen today. Gorey’s book cover designs are often identifiable by his hand-lettered titles, which he claims he did because he didn’t know much about type. Additionally, Gorey was an icon of fashion in the New York scene, he and his extensive collection of fur coats were the subjects of multiple articles on the New York Fashion scene. Yet despite his numerous contributions, he is not mentioned in design or illustration history books, is his absence from the design history canon a result of gatekeeping? Was it because he mostly designed book covers for inexpensive paperback books rather than glamorous hardcovers? Or Possibly because his own work was described by critics as “macabre”, “gothic”, or even “campy”. Or was it because of his association with the LGBT community? Many have speculated about his sexual orientation, even though Gorey was not “out” and he preferred ambiguity only going so far as to admit to an interviewer that he supposed he was gay, but didn’t “identify with it much”.TIMELINE1925 – b Chicago, Illinois, as Edward St. John Gorey<br />1942 – was accepted to Harvard<br />1942 – Drafted into the Army, served stateside during WWII at the Dugway Proving Grounds in Utah, deferred college entrance<br />1946 – Begins at Harvard, education is paid for by the G.I. Bill, majoring in French Literature<br />1953– Hired at Anchor /Doubleday as a book cover designer, moves to NYC<br />1953 – Publishes first book of his own, The Unstrung Harp<br />1962 – Founds the Fantod Press to publish his own books<br />1962-63 – Hired as an art director at Bobbs-Merrill, publisher<br />1963 – Begins working as a Freelance book designer and illustrator, begins living part-time at the cape<br />1963 – Publishes abecedary, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, along with The Insect God and The West Wing<br />1977 – Designs sets and costumes for Broadway revival of Dracula, wins a Tony award for both<br />1980 – Creates illustrations for animated introduction to PBS Mystery!<br />1983 – Resolves to leave the city (NYC), moves permanently and full-time to the Cape<br />2000 – d Gorey dies at age 75<br />2002 – Edward Gorey’s home at the cape becomes a museum, The Edward Gorey HouseREFERENCESBorrelli-Persson, L. (2021, October 30). Celebrating Edward Gorey, Style Icon. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/....celebrating-edward-g M. (2005) High theory/low culture. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Curwen, T. (2004, Jul 18). ART; light from a dark star; before the current rise of graphic novels, there was Edward Gorey, whose tales and drawings still baffle -- and attract -- new fans.: [HOME EDITION]. Los Angeles Times Retrieved from https://libproxy.uco.edu/login....?url=https://www-pro