Commercial Art (July 1930) (Jan Tschichold)

Sometime in 1930, Jan Tschichold published Eine Stunde Druckgestaltung, a heavily illustrated follow-up to Die neue Typographie that is now exceedingly rare. In July 1930, an abridged translation appeared in the British journal Commercial Art. As noted in Shaping Typography, “[t]his marked the first appearance of Tschichold in English.” A footnote in Shaping reads, “In his listings for books published by the author, Tschichold lists the article, suggesting that perhaps the English edition had appeared first.” A note by the editors observes that this was “the first exposition in English of the new conceptions of typography and of arrangement of the printed page, which has begun already to establish a twentieth-century style. To advertisers, advertising agents, printers and designers it is a matter of vital importance.” An exceedingly important document that seems to have been largely overlooked—and since Eine Stunde Druckgestaltung is impossible to get, this is a good substitute.