A-D
April – May 1941
George Giusti, Robert L. Leslie and Percy Seitlin [Editors]
Robert L. Leslie and Percy Seitlin [Editors]: A-D [An Intimate Journal For Art Directors, Production Managers, and their Associates]. New York: The Composing Room/P.M. Publishing Co., Volume 7, No. 4: April - May 1941. Original edition. Slim 12mo. 4-color Photo offset perfect bound and sewn wrappers. 76 pp. Illustrated articles and advertisements. Multiple paper stocks. Original cover design by George Giusti. Wrappers faintly worn, but a nearly fine copy.
5.5 x 7.75 perfect-bound digest with 62 [14] pages of articles including George Giusti; Calligraphy Today; Oswald Cooper - 1879 - 1940; The Paper Sculpture of Erica Hanka Gorekka; Books and Pictures; Chicago PAC Session on Art Direction; The Index of American Design By Holger Cahill- a WPA Art Program; Gallery Art for Advertising; A-D Shorts.
Issue highlights are the Cover and 11-page insert on Swiss emigre George Giusti. Includes samples of his surrealist-inspired work for posters,magazine and book covers, packaging and more.
For you WPA/FAP enthusiasts, there is an article by Holger Cahill (director of the WPA Art Program) entitled The Index of American Design. This 16-page article catalogs and displays many pieces of early american design in ceramics, fabric, etc. But the really interesting part is the editorial preface and call to action that alerts readers to the fact that Lincoln Rothschild and eleven other WPA supervisors in the NYC area have had their jobs suspended due to allegations of Communism, Nazisim and non-citizenship. This serves as a chilling reminder that it can (and does) happen here. Consider yourself warned.
The Gallery Art for Advertising 8-page article deals with the associated American Artists plan to sell their works directly tot he public. This AAA article includes many WPA/FAP artists, including Grant Wood, Don Freeman, James Chapin, Margaret Sullivan, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Aaron Bohrod, and Walter Quirt.
A-D Shorts mention: Herbert Bayer, Lila Ulrich, A-D Gallery, Brooklyn Museum, and the AIGA.
Books Reviewed: Picture Making By Children by R. R. Tomlinson; Drawing A Cat by Clare Turlay Newberry; The Great Montezuma by Joseph O'Kane Foster.
Listing of Advertisements: The Composing Room, Pioneer - Moss Co., Strathmore Paper Co., Federated Printing Co., Wilbar Photo Engraving, Crafton Printing, Wolf Envelope Co., Reliance Reproduction Co., Longman¹s, Green and Co., Ludlow Typograph and Flower Electrotype.
On a visit to the US, in 1938, George Giusti was enticed to stay and work with Herbert Matter on the Swiss Pavilion for the 1939 New York World's Fair. During his career, Giusti designed covers for Time, Fortune, Holiday and other major magazines as well as publications for the US Information Agency. He was art consultant to Geigy Pharmaceuticals in the US and Switzerland.
PM magazine was the leading voice of the U. S. Graphic Arts Industry from its inception in 1934 to its end in 1942 (then called AD). As a publication produced by and for professionals, it spotlighted cutting-edge production technology and the highest possible quality reproduction techniques (from engraving to plates). PM and A-D also championed the Modern movement by showcasing work from the vanguard of the European Avant-Garde well before this type of work was known to a wide audience.