Brothers Grimm

Here is the first version I feel comfortable showing. You will have to trust that it is the last of many many experiments. Choosing the typography (the simple typography on top) was one of the more challenging parts. I looked at book cover archives from the 20s as well as the work of London-based designer David Pearson. I tried out about 20 different classic serifs in different weights and degrees of capitalization. I eventually settled on Centaur (designed by bruce rogers in the early 1900s--the italic was based on Arrighi's calligraphy... which i LOVE!!)
I'm targeting these books to an adult audience (the original Grimm fairytales are not without their share of violence, death, sex, and tragic endings), but I still want to communicate the whimsical, folkloristic nature of this type of narrative.
I've been looking at monograms a lot in the past few days and decided a kind of monogram might be the way to go to add a decorative element. The custom of monograms is typical of the time in which these books were first published and it allows me to add some dynamism to an otherwise very static (intentionally) layout.
Anyway, enough talk. As always, comments and opinions are very welcome.