Washington, D.C.

I was pleased today to stumble across this avant-garde collection of book covers in the Smitsonian Institution Libraries… from the accompanying essay: “During the period between the two World Wars, the Czechoslovak Republic was an important and prolific center for avant-garde book design. Signed, limited editions showcased experimental design techniques, high-quality materials, and specially commissioned graphics. Book design for the general public, although mass-produced and much more affordable, was similarly innovative and attentive to questions of design. Not recognized as an important focus for academic inquiry until the mid-1970s, Czech book design has recently been the subject of several exhibitions and publications, including The Czech avant-garde and Czech book design: the 1920s and 1930s at the Florham-Madison Campus Library, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, New Jersey.”

“Avant-garde Czech book design sprang from the Devetsil Artistic Union, a highly influential group of avant-garde poets, writers, artists, and designers active from 1920 to 1931. ReD [1927-31], the most important of Devetsil’s journals, published work by leading names in the fields of writing, art, and architecture, among them poetry by Mallarmé and Apollinaire; prose by James Joyce; reproductions of art by Arp, Chagall, Kandinsky, Brancusi, Mondrian and El Lissitzky; and articles on the architecture of Le Corbusier, Gropius, and Frank Lloyd Wright. Czech designers were also in direct contact with a range of artistic activity in Europe, especially France and Russia, and collaborated on projects with several important journals, including Merz, the publication of German Dada artist Kurt Schwitters. The Devetsil group encompassed, if at times uncomfortably, Czech artists working in two major styles, Poetism and Constructivism. Czech avant-garde book design separates broadly into four major movements: Poetism, Constructivism, Surrealism, and Socialist Realism. Each approach developed and utilized its own unique philosophy and aesthetic vocabulary…”

Read the full essay here and view the entire collection of covers here.

Books shown: George Bernard Shaw’s Obráceni kapitána Brassbounda, cover design by Ladislav Sutnar; Ladislav Sutnar and Oldřich Stary’s (eds.) Nejmenší dům, cover design by Sutnar; Joseph Deltaile’s Cholera, cover design by Josef Šíma.

No question, the eyes have it—here’s to Bette (born one hundred years ago) and those enduringly penetrating gazes. Catch Kim Carnes’ memetic 1980s hit tune on YouTube here.

…and she’ll tease you

she’ll unease you

all the better just to please you

she’s precocious, and she knows

just what it takes to make a pro blush

all the boys think she’s a spy

she’s got Bette Davis eyes…

…in 1911, Orville Wright (watched anxiously by his older and heavier brother Wilbur) achieves the first powered flight.

Notably, neither had a pilot’s license…

Geneva, Switzerland

Today is Human Rights Day. The theme for 2008, “Dignity and justice for all of us,” reinforces the vision of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as a commitment to universal dignity and justice. It is not a luxury or a wish-list. The UDHR and its core values—inherent human dignity, non-discrimination, equality, fairness and universality—apply to everyone, everywhere and always.

The Declaration is universal, enduring and vibrant, and it concerns us all. Since its adoption in 1948, the Declaration has been and continues to be a source of inspiration for national and international efforts to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. (A month ago, I posted re: an engaging type-based video on the UDHR here).

Images: received today from Zimbabwean ex-pat Chaz Maviyane-Davies.

Frankfurt, Germany

It truly seems that time flies… here’s a family photo taken exactly a half century ago. Everybody’s smiling except me—I’m told I caught an incurable case of Weltschmerz early on (and being the middle child may not have helped either). At least I’ve got hair… and I’m not wearing a silly bow-tie.

Brussels, Belgium

Today’s the 110th birthday of René Magritte (time does fly, doesn’t it). Thanks M’sieur Magritte for your stimulating examination of the fickleness of images and all you left us with…

La Trahison des Images (The Treachery of Images) from 1928-1929—sometimes translated as “The Betrayal of Images.”

Las Vegas, Nevada

Old neon signs that have been decommisioned… a great image set here.

Kansas City, Missouri

Several hundred of these ephemeral little beauties in a collection here, thanks to fragmented (a.k.a. the talented Maura Cluthe).

Tokyo, Japan

If you’re a fan of jazz and/or Blue Note graphics, there’s an incredible online resource here of album design and artwork (1930s – 1970s).

London, England

Kudos to Catharine Brandy (nee Hildebrand; originally from the rural hamlet of Plum Coulee Manitoba; and a senior design colleague at Circle for over a decade) on the rocking success of the UK’s Beatles stamps—not only have these become the country’s best-selling (non-royalty) postage stamps, they have also won a Gold Cube at this year’s New York Art Directors Club (87th Annual Awards), and have been selected as ‘best of category’ in I.D. magazine’s 54th annual design review. Cath has been a design director with Britain’s Royal Mail for the past half-dozen years—for this issue she worked with the talented designer Michael Johnson of London’s johnson banks.

The six stamps (marking the 50th anniversary of Lennon and McCartney’s first meeting in 1957) portray the ‘Fab Four’ in casual stacks of LPs, each topped with an essential album from the band’s brief history.