Alvin lustig is one of our alltime favorite designers. I asked if he would write the introductory essay, outlining lustigs role in modern design history. The current preference among american book jacket designers for fragmented. By the time he died at the age of forty in 1955, he had already introduced principles of continue reading. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. Jun 03, 2018 alvin lustigs contributions to the design of books and book jackets, magazines, interiors, and textiles as well as his teachings would have made him a credible candidate for the aiga lifetime achievement award when he was alive.
Steve heller and i had been talking about putting this together for years. Not surprisingly, it turned out steve was already working on a biography formatted like a. Each cover displayed an artistic unity where even the books title and author became. Book cover, bookjacket by alvin lustig for the wanderer by alain fournier, new directions books, book cover from 2004 books with alvin lustig dust jackets calligraphy alphabet by twentysixletters street art utopia. Cool album covers best book covers book cover design book design paper design retro graphic design mid century art book jacket album book. Each cover displayed an artistic unity where even the books title and author. Alvin lustig modern american designer pioneer ehehr1955s. By the time he died at the age of 40 in 1955, he had already introduced principles of modern art to graphic design. Readers of print may remember steves homage to lustig from the janfeb 2004 issue.
Six months ago, i wrote to steven heller about an idea i had for a book on the subject of designer alvin lustig. Five questions with steven heller about alvin lustig. Oct 21, 2017 a new collection of classic illustrations highlights the timeless appeal of dust jackets. Alvin lustig, modern american design pioneer books. The august, september, and october advertisementsthough similar in style to lustigs workwere not made by him, the november advertisement was attributed to rj wolff, and the december issue repeated a previous lustig design. For his valuable contribution to graphic design two of the most prestigious american art clubs honored him with the accolades. Here is a colorful and wellresearched representation of alvin lustig s book cover designs that were created primarily for new directions books and noonday press, among others.
I first met the artist and designer elaine lustig cohen through the website dedicated to her former husband, the legendary designer alvin lustig. The book jacket designs of alvin lustig is a colorful and wellresearched representation of lustig s book cover designs that were created primarily. Alvin lustig, modern american design pioneer about this site. Elaine lustig cohen on the late alvin lustig and the art, and archiving, of the book jacket. Lustig was a modernist designer who partook in nearly all disciplines of design we, of course, focus on the book jackets. Lustig was ultimately responsible for developing a distinctive style of dust jacket that served as a new directions hallmark for many years.
From the book jackets of alvin lustig by james laughlin, print magazine, octnov 1956 the first jacket which lustig did for a new directions book the one for the 1941 edition of henry millers wisdom of the heart was quite unlike anything then in vogue, but it scarcely hinted at the extraordinary flowering which was to follow. Biography an introduction about alvin lustig and his lifetime. Back in 2006, i had been asked to get in touch with the estate regarding his jacket designs for new directions. Oct 05, 2010 six months ago, i wrote to steven heller about an idea i had for a book on the subject of designer alvin lustig. Lustig used the book cover as a vehicle of his bold graphic experimentation that was enhanced by a lifelong collaboration with james laughlin, founder and publisher of. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. It is sure to trigger pangs of belletristic acquisitiveness and perhaps even launch you on a new bookbuying addictionyet even the most dedicated collector will find it difficult to match the quality of the books displayed in this design show. His method was to read a text and get the feel of the authors creative drive, then to restate it in his own graphic terms. Alvin lustig, modern american design pioneer about alvin.
Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times. For new directions books alvin lustig and james laughlin. Included are books, architecture, interiors, ads, identity. Cover by alvin lustig, american graphic designer and typeface designer. Between 1941 and 1952, lustig produced one masterpiece after another stylized, fragmented, some combining multiple photographs, others drawn by hand in glorious abstraction. She began as a book designer for new directions and meridian books. Magooeven a helicopteralvin lustig designed all of. Dec 18, 2017 a colorful history of judging books by their covers. The book jacket designs of alvin lustig graphic design archives chapbook 9781933360485. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. Weve all been told told not to judge a book by its cover, but what about judging a decade, an artistic moment, or a society.
Included are books, architecture, interiors, ads, identity and print. Alvin lustig s contributions to the design of books and book jackets, magazines, interiors, and textiles as well as his teachings would have made him a credible candidate for the aiga lifetime achievement award when he was alive. A streetcar named desire, with modernprimitivist art by alvin lustig. One of his most memorable masterpieces is that of the book cover, lorca. Book cover, bookjacket by alvin lustig for the wanderer by alain fournier, new directions books, 1947. Lustigs book cover designs that were created primarily for new directions books and. The book jacket designs of alvin lustig rit press rit. May 27, 2012 born modern by steven heller eye magazine 1993, vol.
A new collection of classic illustrations highlights the timeless appeal of dust jackets. Alvin lustig was an american graphic designer, typeface designer and teacher. The opportunity to design this series of book jackets was an unusual one. In the course of this alvin lustig revival, elaine has also garnered widespread attention and acclaim as an artist. Alvin lustig, revolutionary book jacket designer and recipient of a 1993 aiga medal. Aug 20, 2015 new directions is a series of small sculptures by mexican artist edgar orlaineta. In the 1960s, elaine worked as a designer for the jewish museum, producing some of her most opulent and iconic. May 20, 20 with his first book for new directions, alvin lustig began a partnership that would revolutionize the art of book cover design.
Alvin lustig was a renowned twentieth century graphic designer. After the time of world war ii, new directions developed a close relationship with the artist alvin lustig, who designed modernist abstract book jackets. His book jackets for new directions spoke to me in the way intriguing album artwork did. There is nothing in the book world today which compares with them for color, for variety, for life, for appeal to the intelligence. Magazines, interiors, book jackets, packaging, fabrics, hotels, mall signage, the opening credits of the cartoon mr. Book cover, bookjacket by alvin lustig for the wanderer by alain. The book jacket designs of alvin lustig is a colorful and.
Rarely is the graphic designer given the chance to act. Modern american design pioneer alvin lustig messerwerferin. See more ideas about alvin lustig, book design and book cover design. Alvin lustig book cover design, vintage book covers, book. The golden age of the illustrated book dust jacket. Alvin lustig, modern american design pioneer about alvin lustig. Fifties designer alvin lustigs book jackets provide inspiration for painted walls and floors. Pioneering graphic designer, artist and archivist, elaine lustig cohen is recognized for her body of design work integrating european avantgarde and modernist influences into a distinctly american, midcentury manner of communication. Nov 23, 2017 the golden age of the illustrated book dust jacket. The book jacket designs of alvin lustig is a colorful and wellresearched representation of lustig s book cover designs that were created primarily for new directions books and noonday press, among others.
Purity of aim the book jacket designs of alvin lustig 0. T raditionally, most manuscripts were covered in materials such as vellum or calf lather, but with the mass production of printed books, in the early nineteenth century, publishers began using cloth bound covers for their books. Each of his allencompassing book covers had a life and character of its own, focusing on more than just one general image. Lustig kept his hand in graphic design, continuing to produce quantities of book jackets for the new directions, knopf and noonday presses during the 1940s and 50s, and covers for several periodicals including fortune magazine. Book cover, bookjacket by alvin lustig for exiles by james joyce. A colorful history of judging books by their covers.
Five questions with steven heller about alvin lustig print. May 17, 2011 alvin lustigs contributions to the design of books and book jackets, magazines, interiors, and textiles as well as his teachings would have made him a credible candidate for the aiga lifetime achievement award when he was alive. Here is a colorful and wellresearched representation of alvin lustigs book cover designs that were created primarily for new directions books and noonday press, among others. Book cover, bookjacket by alvin lustig for exiles by james joyce, new directions books, 1947. Bookjackets by alvin lustig for new directions books, 1947. He began designing book covers in 1937 and revolutionized the approach to book cover design in the 1940s.
Amazing illustrative and colorful book covers by one of our favorite designers. It is obvious that the series of jacket designs which alvin lustig has made for my new classics books is a constant pleasure to the eye. As a tangent from our normal interview posts, today were showing off some of the alvin lustig covers we collect courtesy of charles brock and tim green and can you blame us. Alvin lustigs contributions to the design of books and book jackets. Given the need for transportation of the books from the printing firms to bookstores, publishers had to protect these delicate covers with book jackets. I discovered lustigs work as a teenager in the early 1990s.
Alvin lustig papers, 19351955 archives of american art. James laughlin in the book jackets of alvin lustig had this to say about lustig. The time finally arrived to do a book on alvin lustig. By the time he died at the age of forty in 1955, he had already introduced principles of. It stands out with its symbolic acuity, compositional strength and typographic. See more ideas about alvin lustig, book cover, book jacket. It collects more than 500 coversof paperback and hardcover books, magazines, and catalogsby alvin, who died in 1955, and elaine, who. A colorful history of judging books by their covers the.
Meridian books, thirteenth printing may a later printing, with the. With his first book for new directions, alvin lustig began a partnership that would revolutionize the art of book cover design. The alvin lustig archive includes over 400 designs from this important modern american design pioneer. Alvin lustigs contributions to the design of books and book jackets, magazines, interiors, and textiles as well as his teachings would have made him a credible candidate for the aiga lifetime achievement award when he was alive. See more ideas about alvin lustig, book jacket and graphic design. Alvin lustigs contributions to the design of books and book jackets, magazines. In his latest collection, the illustrated dust jacket. Architects such as eero saarinan and philip johnson hired her to do the lettering for their buildings. It is sure to trigger pangs of belletristic acquisitiveness and perhaps even launch you on a new book buying addictionyet even the most dedicated collector will find it difficult to match the quality of the books displayed in this design show.