New book documents the Clown Egg Register

TIL: Chronicle Books has published The Clown Egg Register, a book authored by photographer Luke Stephenson and fine artist/clown Helen Champion on -- you guessed it -- the Clown Egg Register:

For more than 70 years, Clowns International-the oldest established clowning organization-has been painting the faces of its members on eggs. Each one is a record of a clown's unique identity, preserving the unwritten rule that no clown should copy another's look. This unique book is a mesmerizing assembly of more than 150 of these portraits, from 1946 to the modern day, accompanied by short personal histories of many of the clowns. Here are Tricky Nicky, Taffy, Bobo, Sammy Sunshine, the legendary Emmett Kelly, and Jolly Jack, clowning since 1977 and still performing today with a penguin puppet named Biscuit...

Here's what Mark wrote about the Clown Egg Register in 2014:

Apparently, a clown's face can't be copyrighted, but if you decorate an egg with the clown's face, you can copyright that, which stops unscrupulous clowns in their tracks.

The book is available for pre-order now for $16.95 (March 20 release date).

Here's a peek: