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The charming march of the Penguin Books logo

The penguins of Penguin Books march along, one book at a time.
The penguins of Penguin Books march along, one book at a time.
Spitalfields Life Blog

Penguin Books, which celebrated the 80th anniversary of its paperback offerings this week, has changed its logo in some very endearing ways.

John Coulthart's screenshot of a page in the 1981 Book of Paperbacks reveals changes in the sections around the eyes and a wobbly, "dancing" walk between 1938 and 1948, which straightened out by 1949. All the iterations are adorable (see others below), but I'm a big fan of the modern look.

‘Dignified but flippant', exploring the story of the Penguin logo: http://po.st/Penguinlogo#PenguinBlogsFor more on...

Posted by Penguin Books on Monday, September 29, 2014

There's an entire universe of original Penguin artwork to explore online. If you're itching for more delightful works, take the Telegraph's new quiz on Penguin book covers, read about the logo's creator, Allen Lane, enjoy more vintage sketches used to prepare the final logo design, and, last but not least, browse through 28 books to read from the Vox summer reading list.

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