BASELINE 10
Mike Daines [Editor], Newell and Sorrell [Art Direction]
Mike Daines [Editor], Newell and Sorrell [Art Direction]: BASELINE 10 [The Cassandre Issue]. London: Esselte Letraset, 1988. Original edition. Folio. Printed photo illustrated saddle-stitched wraparound wrappers. 50 pp. Elaborate graphic design and typography in full color throughout. Cover: Reemtsma Cigaretten OVA i‘m Araber format, poster, 1929. Design by A.M.Cassandre. Trivial wear to spine, so a nearly fine copy.
10.5 x 14.25 saddle-stitched magazine with 50 elaborately-designed pages. Second issue published in the new, oversized format. From the current Publishers: "During 21 years of publication, 'Baseline' has become the leading international magazine about type and typography. It began life in 1979, published by the graphics arts products manufacturer, Letraset. It was originally intended as mainly a vehicle to promote new typeface designs, made available under licence to typesetting system manufacturers. Published "when available material allowed," 'Baseline' nevertheless gained an immediate reputation despite only appearing on average once a year for its first 10 years of existence. Its editorial content, despite the obligatory typeface promotion, struck a chord with the typographic community, because of its objective, and informed approach.
Contents:
- Editorial: Editorial team. A Leading authority on typography; its styles, trends and influences, Baseline combines the very latest in typography with the influences and styles which have coloured the industry through the years. We assess typography on a truly global scale and studying its effects against the backdrop of the demands of the design fraternity. This issue mixes the contemporary with the traditionalist nature of typography with a series of thought provoking articles.
- New work: Editorial team. In the ‘New Work’ section we take a look at some interesting contributions from professional and student typographers and designers.
- Revolution by evolution: Jeremy Leslie. Jeremy Leslie is Art Director of Blitz magazine, one of the leading ‘style’ magazines of the mid 1980s and now firmly established in bookstalls around the world. Baseline talks to Leslie about the Blitz typographic style.
- Type Directors Club New York – TDC 34 Awards Editorial team. Continuing the theme, the Type Directors Club of New York annual competition has been running for 34 years. Baseline reviews the latest offerings.
- Cassandre: Editorial team. The first true commercial artist, A.M.Cassandre became one of the 20th century’s most influential forces in poster design. Less well known for his type design, we examine three of his most famous typefaces developed against the background of his graphics successes. A revolutionary in the best graphic traditions, Cassandre’s contribution to an embryonic industry verges on the legendary.
- Legibility of type: Dr. Linda Reynolds. Breaking the fundamental rules of typography can invoke high drama on the page which sometimes verges on tragedy. Linda Reynolds gets back to basics with a blow by blow account of typographical do’s and don’ts.
- Post Brody: Editorial team. Neville Brody is a legend in his own lifetime and he’s only 31 years old! His radical approach to typography had led a generation of designers to re-evaluate typographical principles. Baseline interviews Brody at a time of torment and self doubt: he’s in danger of becoming a leading light in establishment graphics!
- Morisawa Awards: Colin Brignall. Nobuo Morisawa invented the first Kanji phototypesetting machine back in 1924. Now he runs a major typesetting manufacturing company and is patron of the Morisawa Typographic Awards. In our review of the awards Colin Brignall, Director of Typography at Letraset, comments on the material and Mike Daines reflects on the whole idea of typographic competitions.
- Times Roman: A Revaluation: Peggy Lang. Times New Roman was developed in 1932 and is now established as one of the most widely used text faces. Baseline looks as its ‘raison d’être’ with a fascinating review written just 13 years after its launch.
- Desert Island Type – Paul Smith: Sir Paul Smith. Paul Smith, a London fashion designer, has always had a penchant for type and in our series ‘Desert Island Type’ we look at Paul’s favourite typographic ephemera.
- Reviews: Editorial team. Mike Daines reviews a series of typographical books, which we think you’ll find interesting and on the ‘Back Page’ Mike fills you in on Baseline’s history.
- Imprint: Editorial team
A. M. Cassandre, pseudonym of Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron (Ukrainian, 1901 – 1968) was a French painter, commercial poster artist, and typeface designer. As a young man, Cassandre moved to Paris, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and at the Académie Julian. The popularity of posters as advertising afforded him an opportunity to work for a Parisian printing house. Inspired by cubism as well as surrealism, he earned a reputation with works such as Bûcheron (Woodcutter), a poster created for a cabinetmaker that won first prize at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes. Cassandre's work during this era is often cited as the largest bridge between the modern fine arts and the commercial arts.
Despite his affinity to the fine arts he always believed there should be a separateness between disciplines. The success of his posters probably lies in his philosophy that his posters were meant to be seen by people who do not try to see them. Cassandre became successful enough that with the help of partners he was able to set up his own advertising agency called Alliance Graphique, serving a wide variety of clients during the 1930s. He is perhaps best known for his posters advertising travel, for clients such as the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits.
His creations for the Dubonnet wine company were among the first posters designed in a manner that allowed them to be seen by occupants in moving vehicles. His posters are memorable for their innovative graphic solutions and their frequent denotations to such painters as Max Ernst and Pablo Picasso. In addition, he taught graphic design at the École des Arts Décoratifs and then at the École d'Art Graphique.
With typography an important part of poster design, the company created several new typeface styles. Cassandre developed Bifur in 1929, the sans serif Acier Noir in 1935, and in 1937 an all-purpose font called Peignot. In 1936, his works were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art which led to commissions from fellow Russian Alexey Brodovitch to produce original cover designs for Harper's Bazaar.
“Cassandre’s cover work for this period of Harper’s Bazaar was strange, to say the least. Instead of depicting actual fashions, he depicted the fantasy behind the fashion. He concentrated on the “dream of the idea” of what was being said and what the implication may be. It appealed to an emotional level of otherness and spin. The world on the verge of the second world war must have seemed like a bad nightmare unfolding. So Cassandre depicted floating eyeballs over an outline of France to imagine Paris fashion on the brink of catastrophe. Disturbing stuff—especially weird to see on the cover of a fashion magazine.
“Cassandre’s illustration style was part Dali, part Magritte and a little Max Ernst tossed in for shits and giggles. Cassandre’s imagery was so strange that his work looks psychedelic today (the chemical Surrealism of a later time). For an American magazine of this era, his work must have stood out like a big strange thumb.
“During his brief tenure as cover artist for this high-end fashion publication, Cassandre both brought Surrealism into American editorial illustration and depicted the emotional and mental collapse of an entire world as it rapidly disappeared forever.” — Art Chantry
With the onset of World War II, Cassandre served in the French army until the fall of France. His business long gone, he survived by creating stage sets and costumes for the theatre, something he had dabbled in during the 1930s. After the war, he continued this line of work while also returning to easel painting. He worked with several famous French fashion houses, designing playing cards and scarfs for Hermès and the well-known Yves Saint Laurent logo.
In his later years, Cassandre suffered from bouts of depression prior to his suicide in Paris in 1968.