I found this book yesterday at the Super Flea, a profoundly depressing flea market out in the suburbs. It is the teacher's guide for two children's books, In the City and People Read, both published in 1965 and illustrated by Dan Dickas. The books are reproduced within the teacher's guide. I don't normally go for this general style of illustration but I think these really work. Grainedit.com features a lot of mid century modern illustration like this.
I just found this book today at Rust Belt Books in Buffalo. I love this series of guides, I already have guides for the birds of Eastern and Southern Africa so this works out nicely.
I also like the way the spines look on the shelf
These images are from the six volume Vision + Values series published in the mid 1960s. I have three of the books, I'd like to find the rest at some point. The project of the series is described like this:"This series of six volumes aims at the re-integration of our contemporary, social, and artistic environment. The educational method involved is essentially visual, the 'design,' whether revealed by science, constructed by the intellect, or created by the imagination, being the connecting link between the various disciplines..."
The wonders of coal
These pages are from the International Pictorial Treasury of Knowledge: Man's Conquest of Materials, published in 1960.
This is the catalog from a show I saw in Copenhagen at the Kunstindustrimuseet (Danish Museum of Art & Design) back in 2001. The show featured installations that blurred the lines between craft, art and design. The graphic design was done by e-Types, check out their site, they have done some amazing projects!
The artist and his ceiling fan drawing machine
A drawing in progress
Items traded for drawingsFrom May 22-May 29, Lamson will work in the gallery making drawings with a device that consists of a ceiling fan, string and a marker. Visitors are invited to look through a flat file archive of this work and offer him something in exchange for a drawing of their choice. The traded item will become part of a collection of unique objects on display in the gallery, and anything that is not already in the collection may be offered as a trade.
This is the drawing I picked
I bought this at a library book sale in Charleston, South Carolina a couple of years ago. As I have mentioned before, I really like this kind of cover design from the 1960s and 70s. Unfortunately the cover is in rough shape. More African mammals in DBG #76. © 1971
This is the inexpensive pocket version of Josef Alber's Interaction of Color published in 1971. The original 1963 book had 150 color plates, weighed 22 pounds and retailed for $200 ($1400 in 2009 dollars). This version has only 8 color plates and the printing quality is quite low.
This is a rare post from the 00's, the cover of the catalog for the Barbican Gallery's 2002 show The Americans: New Art.
This illustration of New York's George Washington Bridge comes from one of the International Pictorial Treasury of Knowledge books (published in the early 1960s). I previously posted graphics from the series in DBG #27, and DBG #42. When I drive into New York (as I did on Wednesday) I make a point of using the bridge even thought the Lincoln tunnel would be shorter. I love the view of Manhattan from the bridge. 
This map made out of fabric is a weird anomaly in the book
Looks like a potential Swine Flu outbreak map
Although I scanned all the blog material for the days I'll be in NYC before I left Buffalo, I forgot to make a note of some of the publishing dates of the books. I think this text book is from 1973. It has a large number of cool maps and graphics.
The Western NY Book Arts Center opens in downtown Buffalo716 903 6875
The Western New York Book Arts Collaborative (WNYBAC) a new not-for-profit Cultural Organization, existing to promote the art of the book in all of its manifestations is having its Grand Opening May 21, 2009, from 6-9pm.
The Western NY Book Arts Center is conveniently located at 468 Washington Street, on the corner of Washington St and Mohawk in downtown Buffalo. The newly remodeled space features a gallery, bookshop, event space, print studio, reading library, printing museum & more. On May 22, the center will be open regular hours 12-6 pm, Wed-Sat. In addition, the bookshop will offer book making supplies, art papers, books, stationery, and fine art.
The Grand Opening of WNYBAC coincides with the first members' exhibition. The members' exhibit features established and emerging artists, craftspeople and self-published authors, such as Jozef Bajus, Julian Montague and Diane Bond.
Through workshops and community studio access, individuals can learn old and new techniques to create their own printed ephemera, bookworks, prints and editions, and everything in-between. The summer workshop series will be announced at the opening as well as a special surprise announcement!
For more information on resources and membership details visit www.wnybookarts.org, email info@wnybookarts.org or contact Richard Kegler,
The Western NY Book Arts Center
468 Washington St (at Mohawk)
Buffalo NY 14203
I assembled metal type into a hemispheric map for a book cover at WNYBAC last year
