WORLD GEOGRAPHIC ATLAS
A Composite of Mans Environment
Herbert Bayer [Designer/Editor]
Herbert Bayer [Designer/Editor]: WORLD GEOGRAPHIC ATLAS. A Composite of Mans Environment. Chicago: Container Corporation of America, 1953. Only Edition ever produced [never commercially available]. Folio. Monkscloth stamped in gold. Gilt page edges. Rosette-patterned endpapers. Publishers slipcase. 368 pp. Addenda sheet laid in. Maps, diagrams and illustrations. Index. Binding tight and secure: the slipcase has done an excellent job of protecting the book. Close inspection reveals a couple of faint discolorations to the monkscloth and two tiny dust spots to textblock upper edge. The slipcase is in vry good condition with (mild) standard edgewear to the box joints and a couple of faint scratches to both panels. An exceptional copy of this legendary volume whose form and content guarantees use and abuse. A nearly fine copy housed in a very good example of the Bayer-designed slipcase.
11.25 x 15.75 hardcover book with 368 pages, including Table of contents, maps, charts, illustrations and an enormous (88-page) index. Illustrated throughout with color maps, renderings, free drawings, photography & montage. This book is a triumph of the Bauhaus ideology of clarity put into practice. It is also a high point of American book design and production, from the rosette-inspired endpaper designs to the incredible ten-color printing throughout (CMYK plus custom spot blues, reds and others).
Bayer supervised a team of three designers (Martin Rosenzweig, Henry Gardiner and Masato Nakagawa) over a five-year period in order to produce this volume for the CCA's 25th anniversary in 1953. CCA Chairman Walter Paepcke wanted Bayer to produce an atlas that reflected the new geopolitical realities of post-WWII life. In order to achieve this lofty goal, Bayer travelled throughout Europe searching out suitable maps and data, producing a re-examination of the classic atlas with Bauhaus clarity and concision. Jan Van Der Mack noted Bayers "fascination with the shape of the earth resulted in an extensive use of pictorial and diagrammatic representations in the section of geomorphology" (Cohen p.237).
Bayer chose to cross-reference his information in the following categories:
- economics
- geography
- geology
- demography
- astronomy
- and climatology.
In doing so, Bayer's clarity of vision set a benchmark for information graphics that has yet to be equaled. According to Bayer: " Successful map study provides two kinds of knowledge: interpretation of landscape, and human development in the physical setting... swiftly spreading global communications and increasing interdependence of all peoples compel us to consider the world as one. This Atlas places emphasis on the physical and material background against which man is set."
Maps are arranged in regional sequence, commodities of produce: import and export are listed by rank in quantity. "Symbols for immediate comprehension noting they are not as exact as actual figures." Symbol coloring as follows, green for agriculture, blue for mining, red for manufacturing, brown for exports and imports (a few exceptions for special reasons). Mineral symbols based on chemical elements. From the origin of the earth with 200-inch telescope, to air masses, from an air map to an economic map, from the production of synthetic nitrogen to that of butter, rayon, automobiles, and linseed. Literally thousands of images, words, maps, drawings, scale changes, Indian Tribal lands, Indonesian tobacco fields, peoples of the USSR, all again in words and symbols and maps.
This book has to be seen and experienced to be believed.
"In 1936 Container Corporation published an atlas which had some unusual features. It was enthusiastically received at the time, and ever since additional requests for copies have been coming in. It is important that we know more about the geography and the conditions of life of our neighbours in the world so that we may have a better understanding of other peoples and nations. Design has been a vital part of the activities of Container Corporation of America. The rather unique methods of presentation used in this atlas are in character with the principles of design and visualization employed by this company in its products, offices, factories, and advertising. We, in (sic) Container Corporation, believe that a company may occasionally step outside of its recognized field of operations in an effort to contribute modestly to the realms of education and good taste." -- Introduction by CCA Chairman Walter Paepcke
Herbert Bayer (1900 – 1985) is one of the individuals most closely identified with the famous Bauhaus program in Weimar, Germany. Together with Walter Gropius, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, and Wassily Kandinsky, Bayer helped shape a philosophy of functional design that extended across disciplines ranging from architecture to typography and graphic design. Endowed with enormous talent and energy, Bayer went on to produce an impressive body of work, including freelance graphics commissions, Modernist exhibition design, corporate identity programs, and architecture and environmental design.
He was born in Haag, Austria, and apprenticed in a local architectural design and graphic arts studio. By 1920 he was in Germany and a year later enrolled in a recently established, state-funded school of design called the Bauhaus. Then located in Weimar, the Bauhaus came to represent an almost utopian ideal that "modern art and architecture must be responsive to the needs and influence of the modern industrial world and that good designs must pass the test of both aesthetic standards and sound engineering."
Though Bayer came to the Bauhaus as a student, he stayed on to become one of its most prominent faculty members. His design for a new Sans-serif type called Universal helped to define the Bauhaus aesthetic.
He left in 1928 and moved to Berlin where he opened a graphic design firm whose clients included the trend-setting magazine Vogue. During this period, he also created or art-directed a number of memorable exhibitions. As with other designers of his generation, Bayer became alarmed over the increasingly repressive political situation in Germany and finally left in 1938 for New York. Within a short period of time, he was well-established as a designer and, among other achievements, had organized a comprehensive exhibition at MoMA on the early Bauhaus years. He also formed important connections with the publishers of Life and Fortune magazines, General Electric, and Container Corporation of America. CCA's chief executive, Walter Paepcke, became an important patron of Bayer's in the years to come, beginning with an invitation to move to Aspen, Colorado, to become a design consultant for the company. Bayer also supervised the architectural design of the new Aspen Institute, and then many of its program graphics. Bayer remained in Aspen until 1974, when he moved to California. There he worked on various environmental projects until his death in 1985.