PM
December 1939 – January 1940
Herbert Bayer, Robert L. Leslie and Percy Seitlin [Editors]
Herbert Bayer and Robert L. Leslie and Percy Seitlin [Editors]: P-M [An Intimate Journal For Art Directors, Production Managers, and their Associates]. New York: The Composing Room/P.M. Publishing Co., Volume 6, No. 2: December 1939- January 1940. Original edition. 12 mo. Perfect-bound letterpressed wrappers. 108 pp. Illustrated articles and advertisements. Sewn signatures tight and square. Original 2-color letterpress cover design by Herbert Bayer. Front wrapper lower corner with a tiny bit of insect etching [see scan], but a very good or better copy.
5.5 x 7.75 Digest with 108 pages of articles including two-color original letterpress design cover and 32-pages written and designed by Bayer, with four pages of wax-paper overlays to illustrate Bayer's composition theories. Three articles authored by Bayer in the early thirties are published here for the first time in English: contribution toward rules of advertising design, fundamentals of exhibition design, and towards a universal type are printed in their entirety. 53 photos, illustrations, diagrams and reproductions are in the Bayer section alone.
Contents:
- Herbert Bayer: Contributing Towards Rules of Advertising Design
- Herbert Bayer: Fundamentals of Exhibition Design
- Herbert Bayer: Towards a Universal Type
- PM Presents the Art Squad by Leon Friend: cover by Alex Steinweiss and layout by Seymour Robins. Includes student work by Alex Steinweiss and Gene Federico.
- Fritz Eichenberg
- Editorial Notes
- Books and Pictures
- PM Collaborators 1934 - 1939
- A Central Mart
- PM Shorts
This edition of PM is an amazing original example of Bauhaus Graphic Design and its influence on American modern design. The 1939 publication date mark this as an early representation of the Bauhaus immigration to America.
This issue also contains "PM presents the Art Squad," a bound-in Insert with cover by Alex Steinweiss and layout by Seymour Robins.
Listing of Advertisements: The Composing Room, Mergenthaler - LinotypeCo., American Type Founders, Ralph C. Coxhead Corp., Reliance Reproduction Co., Wilbar Photo Engraving, Strathmore Paper Co., Flower Electrotypes, Duenewald Printing, Horah Engraving Co., Longmans, Green and Co., Worthy Paper Co. Assoc., Ludlow Typograph Co., Whitehead V. Alliger Co.
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.
Of all the artists to pass through the Bauhaus, none lived the Bauhaus ideal of total integration of the arts into life like Herbert Bayer (1900 - 1985). He was a graphic designer, typographer, photographer, painter, environmental designer, sculptor and exhibition designer. He entered the Bauhaus in 1921 and was greatly influenced by Kandinsky, Moholy-Nagy and El Lissitzky. He left in 1923, but returned in 1925 to become a master in the school. During his tenure as a Bauhaus master he produced many designs that became standards of a Bauhaus "style." Bayer was instrumental in moving the Bauhaus to purely sans serif usage in all its work. In 1928 he left the Bauhaus to work in Berlin. He primarily worked as a designer and art director for the Dorland Agency, an international firm. During his years at Dorland a Bayer style was established. Bayer emigrated to the United States in 1938 and set up practice in New York. His US design included work for NW Ayers, consultant art director for J. Walter Thompson and design work for GE. From 1946 on he worked exclusively for Container Corporation of America (CCA) and the Atlantic Richfield Corporation. In 1946 he moved to Aspen to become design consultant to CCA. In 1956 he became chairman of the department of design, a position he held until 1965. He was awarded the AIGA medal in 1970. Bayer's late work included work for ARCO and many personal projects including several environmental designs.