The King of Folly Island

This design Sarah Wyman Whitman created for The King of Folly Island and Other People, 1888, features a long sinuous stem, possibly bayberry, a plant that appears in the title story.

Sarah Wyman Whitman’s simple cover designs were well received. Her clean lines contrasted sharply with ornate Victorian designs, and she became very much in demand. Whitman was the premier book cover designer for Houghton Mifflin and Company in the late 1800’s.