about the cover illustration

The figure on the cover of Serverless Applications with Node.js is captioned “Serbian from Šumadija.” The illustration is taken from Vladimir Kirin’s “Serbian National Costumes.” Kirin (1894–1963) studied graphic design in London and attended the Academy of Arts in Vienna, and worked as an artist, draftsman, and illustrator. His work and influence are credited with improving book design in Croatia.

Throughout its rich history, the central region of Serbia, known as Šumadija, has been the cultural center of Serbia, and the traditional clothing of the area is the standard for the national costume. As shown in this image, traditional Serbian female dress consisted of opanci, embroidered woolen socks that reached to the knees. Skirts varied, being either plaited or gathered and embroidered linen, with the tkanice serving as a belt. An important part of the costume was the apron (pregace) decorated with floral motifs. Shirts were in the shape of tunics, richly decorated with silver thread and cords was worn over the shirt. Girls also wore collars, or a string of gold coins around their throats, earrings, bracelets, and their hair was decorated with metal coins or flowers.

At a time when it is hard to tell one computer book from another, Manning celebrates the inventiveness and initiative of the computer business with book covers based on the rich diversity of regional life of two centuries ago, brought back to life by Kirin’s illustrations.