Type Tuesday - Graphis magazine

In today’s Type Tuesday we look at Graphis, the International Journal of Visual Communications. First published in by Walter Herdeg and Dr. Walter Amstutz in 1944, the magazine detailed the work of fine artists and illustrators in the formative years of graphic design.  The Graphis website includes an archive of all of their dynamic covers.

Issue number 50 from 1954 (seen at left) celebrated the magazine’s 10^th birthday and included American calligrapher Paul Standard’s article The Restoration of Calligraphy. In his article Standard blamed the technology of the Victorian age for the demise of calligraphy. He wrote, “The infinitely promising machine was to be the world’s salvation; craftsmanship was a quaint notion of a curious past, best forgotten.”  Standard then acknowledged post-Victiorian era craftsmen such as England’s Edward Johnston, Germany’s Eric Gill and America’s W.A. Dwiggins and Stanley Morison for reviving the practice of calligraphy in a variety of printed material, from book and magazine covers to ephemeral items such as letterhead and advertising pamphlets. Shown below are examples of some of Standard’s favorite calligraphy from the first half of the 20^th century. 

Jaime Henderson,
Archivist