New Faux Work 6

Poster: Managing Structural Bird Problems / Symposium 5, 2013. Digital pigment print, 38 x 24 inches / 96 x 60 cm.

Poster: The Mayfly's Master, 2013. Digital pigment print, 27 x 19 inches / 68 x 48 cm.

New Faux Work 5

2013, digital pigment print, worn book, edition of 4 with 2 A.P. / Part of the Secondary Occupants Collected & Observed project

New Faux Work 4

2013, digital pigment print, worn book, edition of 4 with 2 A.P. / Part of the Secondary Occupants Collected & Observed project

New Faux Work 3

2013, digital pigment print, worn book, edition of 4 with 2 A.P. / Part of the Secondary Occupants Collected & Observed project

New Faux Work 2

2013, digital pigment print, worn book, edition of 4 with 2 A.P. / Part of the Secondary Occupants Collected & Observed project

New Faux Work 1

Larson Clark/Arachnologos, 2013. Digital pigment print, 37 x 18 inches / 94 x 46 cm.

Larson Clark/Arachnologos, 2013. Digital pigment print, 37 x 18 inches / 94 x 46 cm.

Coming Soon

I was recently commissioned to create a series of prints for PrintCollection.com. We decided that the subject would be the various official insignia of the American states. There are 21 (18x24 inch) prints in this first installment of the series (titled State of America) including birds, mammals, grains, fossils, minerals, insects and more. The set will be revealed on Monday when the prints will be part of a sale at Fab.com. I'll post info about the sale when it's up.

Daily Book Graphics #1198

©1964

Daily Book Graphics #928

©1970 / Design: Gerald Cinamon

Daily Book Graphics #217 / Art Nouveau

I think the color choices on this cover represent the modernist hatred of Art Nouveau.

Daily Book Graphics #189 / Architects on Architecture

This cover didn't quite fit on the scanner bed so there is a bit more black to the cover than appears here. ©1966, Jacket design by DeMartin-Marona and Associates, Inc.

Daily Book Graphics #105 / An Economic History

I found this book today at a garage sale. I really like the illustration, and the University Paperbacks logo is great. I'll have to keep my eyes open for their books. The illustration is by Patrick Tilley, this printing is from 1966.

Daily Book Graphics #99 / In the City

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.

Daily Book Graphics #93 / Interaction of Color

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.

Daily Book Graphics #82 / + -

This is a book co-authored by my maternal grandfather Harold Cottingham, it was published in 1973, the year I was born (BTW my middle name is Cottingham). Unfortunately my Grandfather died when I was still quite young in 1981. I like the cover a lot but I can't find a design credit.

Daily Book Graphics #78 / The Smiths

Catalogs for shows by David Smith and Tony Smith that took place in 1964 and 1971, respectively. The David Smith cover has a nice glossy shine to it that makes it feel new despite the years. I prefer Tony's sculpture to David's, but I can't say either of them move me very much.

Daily Book Graphics #77 / 8 Americans

back cover

I bought this catalog at an Albright-Knox Gallery book sale a few years ago. It's from a 1956/57 show at the Sidney Janis Gallery. The shape of the 8 is die-cut out of the cover. I looked up the Sidney Janis Gallery and was surprised to find that Janis (1896-1989), was from Buffalo, and as a young man owned a chain of shoe stores here.

Daily Book Graphics #67 / The Philosophy of Symbolic Forms

I admire this kind of disciplined serial graphic design. My one criticism of this design is that it makes Ernst Cassirer's forehead look enormous. Maybe in the field of philosophy that's a plus. ©1965, no design or photo credit

Daily Book Graphics #58 / Understanding Media

This is another great Rudolph de Harak cover. I previously posted his work in DBG #3 and DBG #9. ©1964

Daily Book Graphics #46 / Fred Troller

This cover was designed by Fred Troller. I hadn't heard the name until I came across this book, but after looking into it a little I realized that I had seen Troller's work many times before. He was a Swiss designer (born in 1930) who spent most of his career in New York. Massimo Vignelli said that ''His designs successfully combined Swiss rigorousness with American vitality.'' Unfortunately Troller died in 2002, Steven Heller wrote the NYT obit. The above book was published in 1972.

I found a post on the blog TPW that links to an article in PDF form about Troller. The covers below come from that piece.