During the 1920s Jan Tschichold began corresponding with many emerging graphic designers throughout Europe and the Soviet Union, offering to exchange works or requesting examples of adverts, posters and letterheads. What began as a means of educating himself in the principles of modern design, developed into a comprehensive survey collection of progressive graphics in Europe. Tschichold even referred to it as his “museum”. This collection is now dispersed, but we can recapture the spirit of the heroic period of modernism through Tschichold’s eyes by examining the designs he acquired. This talk will illuminate works by some leading figures such as ElLissitzky, Kurt Schwitters, Moholy-Nagy and Piet Zwart, as well as lesser known designers like Johannes Molzahn, Walter Dexel and Max Burchartz.

Paul Stirton was curator of the exhibition Jan Tschichold and the New Typography held in New York in 2019 and author of the book of the same title (Yale, 2019). His previous books include“Is Mr. Ruskin Living too Long?”: Selected Writings of E.W. Godwin(Oxford 2005). He is Professor of Modern European Design at the Bard Graduate Center in New York and editor of West 86th: A Journal of Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture, published by University of Chicago Press.

Book Online HERE

Ticket is non-refundable, however you are welcome to offer your ticket to another person or reschedule the date of your visit. Please contact [email protected] to change the date/event of your booking at least 7 days prior to the event date.

Part of our ‘Celebrating 125 Years of St Bride Library’, this lecture series has kindly been sponsored by:

Adobe

Commercial Type

Eye Magazine

Eric de Bellaigue

Jerry Wright

Just Another Foundry

Klim Type Foundry

Lexon GB, Creative & Innovative Print

Mayor of London

Medioto - Graphics & Animation

Peter Longland

R-Typography

Type By

Usborne Publishing

and The Wynkyn de Worde Charitable Trust who have sponsored students and recent graduates across the UK to attend this lecture.