PAPER & PRINTING DIGEST
January 1937 – January 1938
[NEW BAUHAUS, László Moholy-Nagy, György Kepes]
William Bond Wheelwright [Editor]
[NEW BAUHAUS, László Moholy-Nagy, György Kepes] William Bond Wheelwright [Editor]: PAPER & PRINTING DIGEST [13-issue bound volume]. Chicago: Bradner Smith & Co., January 1937 – January 1938. Original editions. Thirteen staple-bound digests preserved in a custom red textured cloth binding with “JOS. D. PROBST” stamped in gilt to the front board. Each issue 16 pp. with illustrated essays on the printing and paper industries. “Received” inkstamp and owners’ penciled signature to a couple of the covers, face trimmed for binding, otherwise a very good copy indeed. Rare.
Notable collection due to the inclusion of the January 1938 issue featuring a Typofoto cover design by G[yörgy] Kepes and “Typography-Techique” by L[ászló] Moholy-Nagy, a revised abstract from a lecture he gave in December 1937 as the newly appointed Director of the New Bauhaus, American School of Design, 1905 Prairie Avenue, Chicago.
Fascinating example of Chicago’s acceptance of the Association of Arts and Industries short-lived sponsorship of the New Bauhaus in Chicago from 1937 to 1938, and a remarkably effective self-promotional tool for Moholy-Nagy’s efforts to re-establish the Bauhaus in Chicago.
Editor W. B. Wheelwright wrote this introduction to the Moholy-Nagy essay: “The New Bauhaus, American School of Design recently established by the Association of Arts and Industries in Chicago, amounts practically to the transplantation of the famous Bauhaus of Dessau, Germany.
“The influence of The New Bauhaus upon graphic arts is but one phase of its many educational aims. The student may elect which course prepares for his intended vocation.
“So much interest has already been aroused that an evening course is also to be given beginning on the seventh of February.
“At the opening of the 1937 Printing for Commerce Exhibition, at the Lakeside Press Galleries on December 6th, Professor Moholy-Nagy, Director of The New Bauhaus, traced the history of the “new typography.” Through his courtesy we are permitted to present the following abstract of his remarks.”
Contents of the twelve (12) issues from the complete Volume III of Paper & Printing Digest bound in this book, as well as No. 1 of Vol. IV, from January 1938, each comprising 16 pages with self wrappers:
- JANUARY, 1937: The Use and Significance of the Ancient Watermarks, by Dard Hunter, reprinted from Papermaking Through Eighteen Centuries*; Printers’ Winter Worries, by William Bond Wheelwright; Choosing the Right Paper, Thoughts on Supercalendered Paper, by William Bond Wheelwright; What Papermakers Don’t Know. / *Copies may be obtained from Dard Hunter, Chillicothe, Ohio, $4.75. / On cover: “A DUTCH WATERMARK, LATE 18TH CENTURY.”
- FEBRUARY, 1937: The Use and Significance of Ancient Watermarks, by Dard Hunter, reprinted from Papermaking Through Eighteen Centuries*; Halftone Screen Test / *Copies may be obtained from Dard Hunter, Chillicothe, Ohio. $4.75. / On cover: what appears to be another Dutch watermark.
- MARCH, 1937: The Use and Significance of the Ancient Watermarks, by Dard Hunter, reprinted from Papermaking Through Eighteen Centuries*; Glare Elimination in Originals for Halftones; Choosing the Right Paper – Thoughts on English Finish; The Cost of Paper / On cover, under hand-printed word “PENSILVANIA”: “THE SECOND WATERMARK OF WILLIAM RITTENHOUSE / FIRST PAPERMAKER IN THE COLONIES, 1690-1708.”
- APRIL, 1937: The Use and Significance of the Ancient Watermarks, by Dard Hunter, reprinted from Papermaking Through Eighteen Centuries*; Paper Facts and Paper Fancies, by William Bond Wheelwright; Pioneers in Printing; A Manual of Style; Halftone Screen Tests. / *Copies may be obtained from Dard Hunter, Chillicothe, Ohio, $4.75. / On cover, under a cross with “EFRATA” hand-printed at bottom: “THE SYMBOLIC WATERMARK OF THE EPHRATA PAPERMILL ESTABLISHED IN 1736 IN LANCASTER COUNTY PENN. BY THE ZIONITIC BROTHERHOOD.” Note that this issuer contains a two-page spread illustration captioned “DECORATIVE MAP USED ON END LEAVES OF HISTORY OF PRINTING IN THE UNITED STATES.”
- MAY, 1937: Choosing the Right Paper, Thoughts on Antique and Eggshell Finish; Papyrus – Fore-runner of Paper; How Much a Pound?; Color Contrast in Printing. / NOTE ON COVER DESIGN: The border is a zinc cut made from title-page of The Coronation Service of Their Majesties King Edward VII and Queen Alexandria in 1902. This was produced by Henry Froude M.A., Publisher to the University of Oxford. It is respectfully reproduced in commemoration of the Coronation Ceremonies of 1937.”
- JUNE, 1937: There’s Etiquette in Bond Paper; The Institute of Paper Chemistry*; Bilkins Decides to Go into Business (Acknowledgements to the Suffolk Engraving Co., Boston); Who Should Specify the Paper?; The Drying of Printers’ Ink; Halftone Screen Tests / *The illustrations for this article were made from photographs by Grafa-tone plates, a patented product of the Graphic Photo Engraving Co., Inc., 207 West 25th St., New York. It is claimed they can be used on practically any finish of paper and without make-ready. This being our first experience with this kind of plates we instructed our printer to use whatever makeready seemed necessary for optimum results. The original “copy” was not ideal for reproduction: that of the library was a matte finish photograph. None was retouched. / Photo on front is captioned “KIMBERLY MEMORIAL LIBRARY, INSTITUTE OF PAPER CHEMISTRY.”
- JULY, 1937 [note that this issue has a red-inked stamp and pencil notation on the glossy front cover]: Choosing the Right Paper, Thoughts on Coated Papers; On Printing Flint Glazed Papers; Carton Economies; Targets for Direct Advertising; The Power of Suggestion in Selling / On cover, under a work of art from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts: “AN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PAPYRUS / Papyri were sometimes coated with a mixture of flour with vinegar and burnished with some smooth instrument.”
- AUGUST, 1937: Choosing the Right Paper, Thoughts on Coated Papers; Metal Foil and Its Role in Protective Packaging; Better Proofs – Better Business; Show Your Specimens; How Large Originals?; Application of Metallic Inks; Halftone Screen Test / Caption under photo on cover, whose credit reads “Courtesy of Bausch and Lomb Optical Co.”: “CLEARLY A JOB FOR A GOOD FOLDING ENAMEL.”
- SEPTEMBER, 1937: Choosing the Right Paper, Thoughts on Bristols and Blanks*; Craftsmanship in Papermaking; One Inch Square / *Illustrations in text are used by courtesy of the Wheelwright Paper Company. / Caption of photo on cover, whose credit reads “Courtesy of Wheelwright Paper Co.”: PLATE FINISH BRISTOLS ARE HEAVILY CALENDERED WHILE DAMP / The calendars are fitted with “water doctors,” one of which can be seen on a level with the electric bulb at extreme right of one of the calender rolls. This “doctor” supplies a film of water across the web to moisten the paper. This causes it to take a higher finish similar to supercalendered book paper.
- OCTOBER, 1937 [note that this issue has a red-inked stamp on the glossy front cover]: Choosing the Right Paper, Thoughts on Bristols and Blanks (Concluded)*; Helpful Hints for Printing Metal Foil Products; Wear and Tear in Presswork; Halftone Screen Test. / *Illustrations in text through courtesy of Linton Bros. / Caption of photo on cover: “SURFACE-SIZING INDEX OR PRINTING BRISTOLS / The sizing mixture is licked up from the shallow tub by a roll which applies it to the web of bristol. The pressure from the rubber-covered top roll ensures an even coverage of the sizing.”
- NOVEMBER, 1937 [note that this is the issue printed in dark brown ink]: Choosing the Right Paper, Thoughts on Coated Blanks; The Weather and Printing; Printing Cellusuede Papers, by J. B. Busse, Superintendent Marathon Press; Fortune Smiles on Paper / Caption of photo on cover: “AT THE WINTER OF A CYLINDER PAPER MACHINE / The slitters are set to make three 22 inch rolls and one 28 inch roll. After sheeting to 22 x 28 size the grain will be “long fold” from the 22 inch rolls, and “broad fold” from the 28 inch rolls.”
- DECEMBER, 1937 [note that this issue is also printed in dark brown ink, and it has an ornate baroque- or rococo-style border, with the words “Paper & Printing Digest, with a similar border on the glossy back page, which reads “Yuletide / Greeting / MCMXXXVII / BRADNER / SMITH & COMPANY” / December 1937 / BRADNER / SMITH & COMPANY / CHICAGO” printed within]: Choosing the Right Paper, What an Author Should Know about Paper; Advertising Bound to Avoid the Waste Paper Basket, by W. E. Laverick, Holliston Mills; The Paper Mulberry Tree; The Drying of Ink.
- JANUARY, 1938 [this is the Vol. IV, No. 1 issue with the striking red, black, and white photograph on the front cover, signed “KEPES” on the upper right]: Typography-Technique, By L. Moholy-Nagy; Choosing the Right Paper, Thoughts on Bonds and Ledgers; America’s First Ground-Wood Mill; America’s First Paper Mill Sponsored by a Printer; Index Volume III – 1937; Cover Design By G. Kepes, of The New Bauhaus.
László Moholy-Nagy [Hungarian, 1895 – 1946] was a born teacher, convinced that everyone had talent. In 1923, he joined the staff of the Bauhaus, which had been founded by Walter Gropius at Weimar four years before. Kandinsky, Klee, Feininger and Schlemmer were already teaching there. He was brought in at a time when the school was undergoing a decisive change of policy, shedding its original emphasis on handcraft. The driving force was now "the unity of art and technology.” Moholy-Nagy was entrusted with teaching the preliminary course in principles of form, materials and construction - the basis of the Bauhaus's educational program. He shared teaching duties with the painter Josef Albers, whose career was to develop in parallel with his.
The hyper-energetic Moholy-Nagy also ran the metal workshop at the Bauhaus in Weimar and later in the purpose-designed buildings at Dessau. The metal shop was the most successful of departments at the Bauhaus in fulfilling Gropius's vision of art for mass production, redefining the role of the artist to embrace that of designer as we have now come to understand the term. The workshop experimented with glass and Plexiglas as well as metal in developing the range of lighting that has almost come to define the Bauhaus. The lamps were produced in small production runs, and some were taken up by outside factories. The royalties made a welcome contribution to the school's always precarious finances.
Although always a painter and designer, Moholy-Nagy became a key figure in photography in Germany in the 1920's. In 1928 Moholy-Nagy left the Bauhaus and traveled to Amsterdam and London. His teachings and publications of photographic experimentations were crucial to the international development of the New Vision.
In 1937 former Bauhaus Master László Moholy-Nagy accepted the invitation of a group of Midwest business leaders to set up an Industrial Design school in Chicago. The New Bauhaus opened in the Fall of 1937 financed by the Association of Arts and Industries as a recreation of the Bauhaus curriculum with its workshops and holistic vision in the United States.
Moholy-Nagy drew on several émigrés affiliated with the former Bauhaus to fill the ranks of the faculty, including György Kepes and Marli Ehrman. The school struggled with financial issues and insufficient enrollment and survived only with the aid from grants of the Rockefeller and Carnegie foundations as well as from donations from numerous Chicago businesses. The New Bauhaus was renamed the Institute of Design in 1944 and the school finally merged with the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in 1949.
In Chicago Moholy aimed at liberating the creative potential of his students through disciplined experimentation with materials, techniques, and forms. The focus on natural and human sciences was increased, and photography grew to play a more prominent role at the school in Chicago than it had done in Germany. Training in mechanical techniques was more sophisticated than it had been in Germany. Emerging from the basic course, various workshops were installed, such as "light, photography, film, publicity", "textile, weaving, fashion", "wood, metal, plastics", "color, painting, decorating" and "architecture". The most important achievement at the Chicago Bauhaus was probably in photography, under the guidance of teachers such as György Kepes, Nathan Lerner, Arthur Siegel or Harry Callahan.
Moholy-Nagy served as Director of the New Bauhaus in its various permutations until his death in 1946.
György Kepes [Hungarian, 1906 – 2001] was a friend and collaborator of Moholy-Nagy. Also of Hungarian descent, Kepes worked with Moholy first in Berlin and then in London before emigrating to the US in 1937. He was educated at the Budapest Royal Academy of Fine Arts. In his early career he gave up painting for filmmaking. This he felt was a better medium for artistically expressing his social beliefs. From 1930 to 1937 he worked off and on with Moholy-Nagy and through him, first in Berlin and then in London, met Walter Gropius and the science writer J. J. Crowther. In 1937, he was invited by Moholy to run the Color and Light Department at the New Bauhaus and later at the Institute of Design in Chicago. He taught there until 1943. In 1944 he wrote his landmark book LANGUAGE OF VISION. This text was influential in articulating the Bauhaus principles as well as the Gestalt theories. He taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1946 to 1974 and in 1967 he established the Center for Advanced Studies. During his career he also designed for the Container Corporation of America and Fortune magazine as well as Atlantic Monthly and Little, Brown.