PRINT MAGAZINE
A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE GRAPHIC ARTS
Volume 5, Number 2, 1947
Alex Steinweiss Cover and 16-page A-D Gallery insert
William Rudge: PRINT MAGAZINE: A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF THE GRAPHIC ARTS. Volume 5, No. 2, 1947. Woodstock: William Rudge 1947. Original edition. A near-fine magazine in stiff, decorated wrappers: spine lightly worn and sunned. Interior unmarked and very clean. Cover design By Alex Steinweiss.
7.25 x 10 perfect-bound magazine, with 80 pages and many black and white photos, illustrations, diagrams printed in a variety of methods, primarily letterpress. All tipped-in plates and inserts present.
- Visual Communications Techniques by Alex Steinweiss: 16-page insert preprinted for the A-D Gallery Exhibition
- Sales promotion in Holland
- a Swiss Concert Poster
- The House Organ: Design and Paper: Article by P. K. Thomajen showcasing Marquandt's DESIGN AND PAPER series of paper promotional booklets. Each issue measures 4.75 x 7.75 and contains 24 -28 pages of editorial and design content, all specifically to promote the various lines of Marquandt papers. Shows work by Ladislav Sutnar and others.
- la rue du gros horloge, rouen by Richard Parkes Bonington: no. 19 of print masterpieces
- Departments include Top Drawer, Calendar of Events, Book Reviews
Alexander Steinweiss (1916 – 2011) grew up in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach section and attended Abraham Lincoln High School from 1930-1934. His classmates included Gene Federico, Seymour Chwast and William Taubin. Friend’s group was known as the “Art Squad” and designed school publications, posters and signs. He received a scholarship to Parsons School of Art and graduated in 1937. Through the help of Lucien Bernhard he got his first job as an assistant to Joseph Binder. This position lasted almost 3 years. After leaving Binder’s studio Steinweiss received a call from Dr. Robert Leslie about a new position at the newly formed Columbia Records.
His early work at Columbia was designed in the tradition of the great French and German poster artists — flat color fields, symbolic and metaphorical shapes as well as simple, appealing typography. He held the position of art director until 1941 when he took a job with the US Navy producing informational materials. At night he continued to freelance at Columbia. He maintained his freelance status after the war and added to his list of clients National Distillery, Schenley Distributors, White Laboratories, Print Magazine and Fortune magazine. In addition to design work he created the packaging concept for LP’s that has been in use until the advent of CD’s. Dr. Leslie again showcased Steinweiss’s work in a one man show held in 1947. During the 1950’s he also worked for London, Decca and A&R records. In 1974 he and his wife moved to Sarasota, Florida where he paints and designs posters for community and cultural events.
Erin Malone writes: In 1936, Dr. Robert Leslie, assisted by Hortense Mendel, began showing the work of emigre and young artists in an empty room in The Composing Room offices. Called the A-D Gallery, it was the first place in New York City dedicated to exhibiting the graphic and typographic arts.
The first exhibit as described by Percy Seitlin: "A young man by the name of Herbert Matter had just arrived in this country from Switzerland with a bagful of ski posters and photgraphs of snow covered mountains. Also came camera portraits and various specimens of his typographic work. We decided to let him hang some of his things on the walls and gave him a party... the result was a crowd of almost bargain-basement dimensions, and thirsty too. Everyone was excited by the audacity and skill of Matter's work."
The A-D gallery was one of the only places in New York city for young artists to come into contact with the work of european emigres and soon became a social meeting place for designers to meet each other, as well as prospective clients and employers. Dr. Leslie knew many people in New York and went out of his way to introduce people to each other. The gallery and the magazine became mirrors of each other. Often a feature in the magazine would become a show and vice-versa. PRINT started out under the auspices of William Rudge and played a significant role in the fine press and typographic movements in the mid- twentieth century. Each issue of this beautifully-designed and printed quarterly magazine stands as an essential reference for the private press and fine printing activity of the period.