Step into the library inside a fine home of the past, browse the shelves in the toniest antiquarian bookstore, or visit the rooms where the most valuable volumes are kept in the world’s great public libraries, and you will likely discover one recurring sight: rows upon rows of handsomely bound books, many of them wrapped in matching leather or cloth covers. There is something very appealing about the visual coherence conveyed by similarly clad volumes marching in vertical lockstep along parallel shelving. It’s what inspired A.R.T. to commission a series of modular artist’s books and to claim the shelf as a viable space for showcasing art. Sure, some people have said that you can’t really judge a book by its cover, but we think the world would be a far more beautiful place if we did.