Jack Kerouac's Hand-Drawn Cover for On the Road (1952)

He wrote this letter to his potential publisher to explain why he preferred to use his own cover art:

Dear Mr. Wyn:

I submit this as my idea of an appealing commercial cover expressive of the book. The cover for “The Town and the City” was as dull as the title and the photo backflap. Wilbur Pippin’s photo of me is the perfect On the Road one … it will look like the face of the figure below.

J.K.

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