PM
February 1936
Lynd Ward, Robert L. Leslie and Percy Seitlin [Editors]
[Lynd Ward] Robert L. Leslie and Percy Seitlin [Editors]: PM [An Intimate Journal For Art Directors, Production Managers, and their Associates]. New York: The Composing Room/P.M. Publishing Co., Volume 2, No. 6: February 1936. Original edition. Slim 12mo. French-folded Japanese Paper wrappers printed in one color. 32 pp. Illustrated articles and advertisements. Multiple paper stocks. Cover is a wooden engraving by Lynd Ward on Natsume 4006 by Japan Paper Company, reproduced by electrotype by Herald-Nathan Press, Inc. Fragile cover lightly edgeworn and mildly discolored to edges, but the best copy we have handled. A very good or better copy. A fragile and uncommon item, and rare in this condition.
5.5 x 7.75 saddle-stitched Digest with 32 pages of articles including three separate essays on Lynd Ward and the art of Woodblock Printing. An exceptional A-list item for Lynd Ward collectors, very rare in any condition and seldom offered.
- Cover: Wood block print by Lynd Ward printed on Natsume 4006 by Japan Paper Company, reproduced by electrotype by Herald-Nathan Press, Inc.
- Frontispiece
- Editorial notes
- Woodcutters of Our Time -- Franz Masereel and Others by Lynd Ward. 3-page essay with b/w work examples from Franz Masereel, Hans Alexander Mueller, Eric Gill and Clare Leighton.
- Lynd Ward by Percy Seitlin. 2-page appreciation.
- Lynd Ward woodblock letterpress insert: 4-page insert printed on Shojei by Japan Paper Company, reproduced by electrotype by Herald-Nathan Press, Inc. Includes Lynd Ward images from Wild Pilgramage, Frankenstein, Prelude to a Million years, Most Women, and The Green Bough.
- A Note on Technique by Lynd Ward. Photo-illustrated article concerning the production of the cover forthis issue of PM. Photography by Alfred A. Cohn
- The Devils Picture Book: Playing Cards Through the Ages by Eli Cantor.
- Paper Questions Answered
- Yesterdays Photography by Alfred A. Cohn
- Frank L. Henahan
- Anything Can be Set in Caslon
- PM / A-D Shorts: Russell T. Sanford, Guy Gayler Clark, Milton Ackoff
- Books Reviewed: Advertising Layout & Typography by Eugene Lopatecki
- Advertisements: Reliance Reproduction Co.; The Composing Room; Intertype; Japan Paper Company; Flower Electrotypes.
Lynd Ward (1905 - 1985) studied theory of design, art history and teaching methods at Columbia University. He spent a year at the State Academy for Graphic Arts in Leipzig, Germany studying with Hans Mueller, Alois Kolp and George Mathey. He illustrated many of the classics published by the Limited Editons and Heritage Book Clubs.
Ward is known for his wordless novels told entirely through dramatic wood engravings. Ward's first work, God's Man (1929), uses a blend of Art Deco and Expressionist styles to tell the story of an artist's struggle with his craft, his seduction and subsequent abuse by money and power, and his escape to innocence. Ward, in employing the concept of the wordless pictorial narrative, acknowledged as his predecessors the European artists Frans Masereel and Otto Nuckel. Released the week of the 1929 stock market crash, the book was the first of six wood engraving Ward novels produced over the next eight years, including: Madman's Drum (1930); Wild Pilgrimage (1932); Prelude to a Million Years (1933); Song Without Words (1936); and Vertigo (1937).
He was a member of the Society of Illustrators and The Society of American Graphic Arts. He won many awards including the Caldecott Medal, the Library of Congress Award and the Limited Editions Club SIlver Medal. He retired in 1974.
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.