Cinder-path tales, William Lindsey (1896) - poster
The pattern
This still is filed under Lettered cover hook.
Define
The cover is the hook, and the hook is lettering: a title treated as an image.
Mechanism
Type as bait. The words are drawn so they stop the hand before the contents are known.
Verdict
A journal, book, or issue must sell itself on a rack or a feed
Why it works
Three values only, paper, black and white, and the white is spent entirely on the figure, so the runner is the first and only thing the eye can land on. The hurdles converge toward the reader and the leading leg breaks the picture plane, which manufactures forward motion in a still image. Top and bottom bands of identical weight clamp the picture like a sandwich board, so the title and the price get equal billing with the art instead of being tucked underneath it. The price is set at the same size as the publisher, which treats a dollar as a selling point rather than an apology.
Steal this when
Copy this when the product's subject matter contains a single physical action worth showing, and you want the buyer to feel it before they read. Also use the two-band clamp when you need title and price to survive at distance without shrinking the picture.