I have the book The Razor’s Edge and it has a symbol on the cover that can roughly be described as an arch with some lines it it. (Sorry description I know) Here is a picture of a cover so that you can see the symbol.
Anyone know what the symbol means or is? Just something Somerset made up? The symbol is on other books of his. For example Moon and Sixpence
Story == “Ward Off Eivil Eye”, Reality == ?
If you do some Google searches, you’ll find he claimed it was a symbol against the evil eye.
http://roborant.info/main.do?entry=1132
“… sign against the Evil Eye which he had found in Morocco and which the reader may see on the cover of this book.”
But … it doesn’t look like any anti-Evil-Eye symbol that’s known, which are typically eye-motif or hand-motif.
I suspect this is like people who get Oriential characters as tatoos because they think it’s exotic, and the symbol is a manufacture’s mark which really conveys something like “Acme window company”.
Just found this
http://www.jenman.com.au/NewsQuestions1.php?id=16
Claims that Maugham’s fourth book “The Hero” had the symbol on the cover but it was upside down. Book was a flop. Symbol was turned right side up on future books. (Now I just need to verify this tale)
Nabisco
I see some resemblence here with the double cross as with the Nabisco logo. If memory serves from reading Barbarians at the Gate, it (Nabisco logo) has its origins with medieval Italian printers. Something about good over evil. Perhaps some connection with the crosses?
Religious symbol?
Looks to me something like a bishop’s miter with a Russian or Greek Orthodox cross.
Re:Nabiscor s_marks.html
Here is a link to a picture of the ceiling of a library that has printers marks in it.
http://www.publicartinla.com/USCArt/Doheny/printe
The one with the cross I think is the printers mark for St. Albans. This has some resemblance to the mark you mentioned Tomeboy.
Re:Religious symbol?
I wrote this afternoon that it was the Pope’s hat a mitre ya Protestents. Apparently the submit button outsmarted me.
Postal Symbol
The double cross is a symbol for the 17th Century Thurn and Taxis postal system, but when the two spiked canards are over it like that it becomes a symbol of the rival Tristero postal system. Another symbol for Tristero was te [sic] muted post horn.
You can read about it in the play from the same period, Wharfinger’s The Courier’s Tragedy.