Margaret Macadam (British, fl. 1920s-1930s)
Margaret Macadam was a British illustrator active in the 1920s and 1930s. Amongst her commercial works are several dust wrapper designs for London-based publishers, most important amongst which is the design for the dust wrapper for the first edition of Agatha Christie’s first straight novel Giant’s Bread. Following the discovery of an archive of Macadam’s work in 2016, it was possible to connect her work on Giant’s Bread to other known designs.

Book dust wrapper designs
Amongst her known works are:
Giant’s Bread by Mary Westmacott, a nom-de-plume of Agatha Christie (1930) Collins, London – first edition.
Joseph Kerkhoven’s Third Existence by Jacob Wassermann (1934) Allen & Unwin, London – dust wrapper for first UK edition.
Neighbours by George Thomas (1935) Williams & Norgate, Ltd., London.
The Barbarians by Virginia Faulkner (1935) Arthur Baker, London.
Blind Mouths by Thomas Frederic Tweed (1934) Arthur Barker, London – dust wrapper for first edition.
Humour by Stephen Leacock (1935) The Bodley Head, London – dust wrapper for first edition.
Water into Wine by Catherine Carter.
Not all her dust wrappers are signed, but those for Blind Mouths and Joseph Kerkhoven’s Third Existence are.

Title

Go to Top