Announcement:

designinform: ReVIEW [digital library]

designinform has recently embarked on a major two-year project to digitize most of the leading European and American art journals published between the 1870s and the early 1920s - making several of them available for the first time online. It will be a significant contribution to art history scholarship and will open up many new areas of research.


• We are aiming for 100% accuracy when proof-reading the OCR text. This will enable ReVIEW to be used in conjunction with translation and text-to-voice services.


• We are developing a new interface for the ReVIEW database to make it easier to search the vast number of journals that we are digitising.


• All of the titles will be cross-searchable, together with the designinform databases Design Abstracts Retrospective and Design ProFILES

ReVIEW will eventually include many hundreds of thousands of pages of text and images. When complete, it will be an invaluable resource for research into the history of the Aesthetic movement, Art Nouveau, the Arts and Crafts movement, the origins of Modernism, the artists and designers associated with the Wiener Werkstätte, the early days of the Bauhaus, the flowering of the poster, the art of World War One, the genesis of Art Deco, the influence of Japan, the major international exhibitions such as Paris 1889 and 1900, Glasgow 1901, Turin 1902, St. Louis 1904, Brussels 1910, and San Francisco 1915, and the hundreds of thousands of architects, artists and designers active during these years



DESIGN RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS

Poundsford . Vicarage Lane . Burwash . East Sussex . England TN19 7JS

T: +44 1435 883950 . E: info@designinform.co.uk . W: www.designinform.co.uk



• The American Art Review: A Journal Devoted To The Practice, Theory, History, and Archaeology of Art

Boston, Massachusetts [etc.]: D. Estes and C. E. Lauriat, monthly, 1879-1881

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW 1879-1881; digitized 1880-81; 1879 available 1912]

The American Art Review was founded and edited by Sylvester Rosa Koehler (1837-1900). Born in Leipzig, Germany, he emigrated with his family to the USA in 1849. He subsequently became Technical Manager of the lithograph publisher Louis Prang and Company, and the first curator of prints at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. In his introduction to volume 1 of The American Art Review (1879), Koehler proclaimed that his aim in establishing the journal was to create a periodical that would “occupy a position analogous to that held by the ‘celebrated’ European publications Gazette des Beaux Arts, L’Art, the Portfolio, and the Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst. Although The American Art Review was to survive for only two years, largely as a result of its lavish production costs, it is generally acknowledged today as a primary catalyst in fostering the art of etching in America. Notable among the artists who were commissioned to produce original etchings for the journal were Otto Bacher, J.M. Falconer Thomas and Peter Moran, Henry Farrer, Samuel Coleman, Anna Lea Merritt, Robert Swain Gifford, Alfred Brennan, James D. Smillie, John Foxcroft Cole, and Marcel Gaugengigl. Significant among the articles published by The American Art Review were ‘A History of Wood-Engraving in America’ by W.J. Linton; and ‘American Stained Glass’ by R. Riordan.


• L'Art Décoratif: Revue Mensuelle d'Art Contemporain [subtitle varies]

Paris, France: Bureaux de L’Art Décoratif, 1898-1914

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW will be 1898-1914. Available 2013]

 

L’Art Décoratif was founded by the German writer and publisher Georg Hirth (1841-1916) as a French companion to the Munich-based decorative arts journal Dekorative Kunst. Hirth’s aim was to supply the new movement in art “with a critical theory, supporting Van de Velde and the more functional designers” [Anthony Burton ‘Nineteenth Century Periodicals’ in ‘The Art Press: Two Centuries of Art Magazines’, edited by Trevor Fawcett and Clive Phillpott. London: The Art Book Company, 1976 p.9]. The journal initially focused exclusively on contemporary decorative and applied art, however, before long it broadened its coverage to include early art and fine art. This is reflected in the subtitle it later adopted, Revue de L’Art et de la Vie Artistique Moderne.

In August 1902, L’Art Décoratif absorbed Revue des arts Ddécoratifs and in June 1914 it merged with Art et Décoration


• Art et Décoration: Revue Mensuelle d’Art Moderne

Paris, France: Librairie Centrale des Beaux Arts, 1897-1933.

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1897-1922. Digitized 1893-1911; 1911-1922 available 2012]

Art et Décoration, could be described as “the French Studio”. It was launched four years after its British counterpart and had the same editorial style as The Studio with long, well-illustrated articles on contemporary fine, decorative and applied art, together with book and exhibition reviews and news items.

The focus of Art et Décoration was on French, Belgian and Western European art. It includes extensive coverage of several international exhibitions including the Exposition Universelle et Industrielle in Paris in 1900.

Publication of Art et Décoration was suspended between August 1914-April 1919. In June 1914 it absorbed L’Art Décoratif


• The Art Journal

London: Hodgson & Graves; Samuel Carter Hall; George Virtue, monthly, 1839-1912

[The period covered initially by designinform ReVIEW will be 1870-1912]

Art Journal was the longest running and possibly the most important art periodical of the Victorian period. It originated as the Art Union Monthly Journal in 1839 and renamed The Art Journal in 1849 following its acquisition by the publisher George Virtue (1794-1868). The editor of the journal for the first forty-years its history was Samuel Carter Hall (1800-1889). For much of that time he was also its proprietor. Hall was succeeded as editor by Marcus Bourne Huish (1843-1921), who ran the journal until 1892. Huish did much to widen the range of subject matter covered, allowing etchings and photographically-reproduced illustrations to displace steel engraving. Huish, in turn, was replaced by David Croal Thompson (1855-1930) who was editor from 1893 to 1902. Under Thompson, The Art Journal showed greater interest in the decorative arts fostered by the Arts and Crafts movement. By the end of the nineteenth century, The Art Journal was facing fierce competition from numerous other art periodicals, notably The Magazine of Art (founded 1878), The Studio (founded 1893), The Connoisseur (founded 1901), and The Burlington Magazine (founded 1903). The Art Journal eventually ceased publication in 1912.


• The Art Student: An Illustrated Magazine conducted by Members of the Birmingham School of Art

Birmingham, England: Cornish Bros, New Street; Midland Educational Co, 1885-1887

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW will be 1885-1887. Available 2013]

The Art Student contains a wide range of articles on the fine and decorative arts, including examples of work by students at the school. The format and standard of production of the journal is comparable with any of the leading contemporary art serial publications such as the Magazine of Art, the Art Journal or The American Art Review

The Art Student includes articles on stained glass, repoussé work, art education, the National Competition of 1885 and 1886, chromo-lithography, ‘Hope’ by G.F. Watts (1817-1904), etc. Among the journal’s contributors were the artists Thomas Cooper Gotch (1854-1931), Joseph Finnemore (1860-1939), John Fullwood (1854-1931) and Thomas Spall (1853-?).


Artwork

London, England: Artwork Publishing Co., 1924-1931

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1924-1931. Available 2013]

Initially subtitled An Illustrated Quarterly of the Arts and Crafts, and later The International Quarterly of Arts and Crafts, Craftwork was published in 7 volumes (28 issues). It was edited by Herbert Wauthier (1924-28); D.S. McColl (1929-30); and Randolf Schwabe (1930-1931).

The journal was a critical review of contemporary fine, decorative and applied art. It contains articles on wall decoration, sculpture, poster art, hand printing, photography, scenography, wood engraving, woodcuts, furniture design, batik, industrial design, stained glass, etching, medal design, architectural drawing, advertising art, ceramics, lithography, silversmithing, glass art, prints, illustration, architecture, documentary films, textile design, etc.

Contributors to Artwork included, James Laver, John Grierson, R.H. Wilenski, John Rothenstein, Douglas Percy Bliss, Martin Hardie, Sir Reginald Blomfield, Henry Tonks, John Gloag, E.O. Hoppé, Bernard Rackham, Jacob Epstein, Wyndham Lewis, Charles Ginner, Gordon Craig, Omar Ramsden, E. McKnight Kauffer, Edward Wadsworth, Frederick Etchells, Robert Anning Bell, Eric Gill, Gordon Russell, Paul Nash, William Rothenstein, Muirhead Bone, etc.

Among artists whose work is discussed or illustrated in Artwork include C.R.Ashbee, Frank Brangwyn, Ivan Mestrovic, W.G. Raffé, Eric Gill, William Roberts, E. McKnight Kauffer, Georg Jensen, Bernard Leach, Eric Ravilious, Aristide Maillol, René Lalique, Diego Rivera, Frans Masereel, John Skeaping, Edward Bawden, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Walter Crane, David Jones, Katherine Pleydell-Bouverie, Dora Braden, Edward Johnston, Pablo Picasso, Aubrey Beardsley, etc.


• The Art Workers’ Quarterly

London, England: Chapman & Hall, 1902-1906

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1902-1906. Digitized]

The editor of The Art Workers' Quarterly was W.G. Paulson Townsend, author of several books and articles on the decorative arts. In his foreword to volume 1, no. 1, he wrote that the object of the journal, was to provide a source of inspiration for art workers and “to supply designs in a readily applicable form to those who do not invent, plan, or adapt ornament, and who find difficulty in obtaining good and suitable suggestions for their work. Further, it is his aim to assist those who may have some knowledge of the principles on which ornamental design is constructed, by publishing specimens of good work from the best historical and contemporary examples”.

Like The Craftsman, launched the previous year in the USA, William Morris was the subject of the first article in The Art Workers’ Quarterly. Subsequent articles reported on the work and activities of the leading art schools including the Royal Academy Schools, Royal School of Art Needlework, the Royal College of Art, Central School of Arts and Crafts, Camberwell School of Arts and Crafts, and Keswick School of Industrial Arts, and the principle craft organizations, guilds and societies such as the Church Crafts League, the Home Arts and Industries Association, the Dress Designers Exhibition Society, the Clarion Guild of Handicrafts, and the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society. There are also articles on the British Section at the St. Louis Exposition of 1904; the Impact of Modern Social and Economic Conditions on the Decorative Arts; the architecture of Letchworth Garden City, etc. These were interspersed with practical, well-illustrated articles on wood block printing, mural decoration, ornamental lettering, metalwork, embroidery, weaving, furniture, ceramics, stained glass, bookbinding, etc.

Townsend was successful in attracting many of the leading commentators on the decorative arts to write pieces for The Art Workers’ Quarterly, including May Morris, Walter Crane, J. Illingworth Kay, Alexander Fisher, Lawrence Weaver, Bernard Rackham, Silvester Sparrow, Alfred Stevens, A. Romney Green, and James Guthrie.

Among artists and designers whose work featured in The Art Workers’ Quarterly were some of the major figures in the English Arts and Crafts movement including Ambrose Heal Jr., Walter Crane, C.F.A. Voysey, Alexander Fisher, May Morris, R.A. Dawson. W.J. Neatby, Harold Stabler, Allan Vigers, W. Curtis Green, A. Romney Green. Heywood Sumner, Charles E. Dawson, Edward Spencer, Bernard Cuzner, Arthur Gaskin, Charles Spooner, C.R. Ashbee, Paul Woodroffe, Ernest Gimson, Mary Seton Fraser Tytler (Mrs G.F. Watts), Ernestine Mills and Sidney Barnsley.

An additional two special issues of The Art Workers’ Quarterly were published in August and December 1908. These contained the papers and extracts of papers read at the Third International Art Congress for the development of Drawing and Art Teaching and the Application to Industries held in London in August 1908, as well as a record of the Retrospective Exhibition of Students’ Works, held at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, in connection with the Congress. Together with volumes 1-5 of The Art Workers’ Quarterly, these have also been digitized.
for designinform ReVIEW


L'Artista Moderno• L’Artista Moderno: Rivista illustrata d’arte applicata [subtitle varies]

Turin, Italy: Società Tipografico-Editrice Nazionale (S.T.E.N.), 1901-1941

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW will be 1904-1922. Available 2013]

Despite its long history, L'Artista Moderno is extremely scarce and little known outside Italy. It is one of the most important sources on contemporary decorative art, particularly the Stile Liberty (Art Nouveau) style, in Italy during the period covered by designinform ReVIEW. It was published bi-monthly and contains well-illustrated articles on ceramics, glass, furniture, poster design, graphic art, jewellery metalwork, textiles, interior design and architecture.

In its latter years L'Artista Moderno was superseded by more radical Italian arts journals such as Domus.


• Artistic Japan: A Monthly Illustrated Journal of Arts and Industries

London, England: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1888-1891

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1881-1891. Available 2012]

Founded and compiled by the German art dealer S. (Siegfied) Bing (1838-1905) Artistic Japan was published simultaneously in English, German [Japanischer Formenschatz] and French [Le Japon Artistique]. Bing’s declared aim in producing the journal was to “stimuler l’intérêt des amateurs” and “exercer une influence sur le goût, la culture, l’art et la constitution des collections publiques et privées” (stimulate the interest of amateurs and to influence the taste, culture, art and formation of public and private collections) in the art of Japan. One of the publication’s chief sponsors was the fashionable London retail firm Liberty & Co. who had a full-page colour advertisement for their art fabrics on the back page of every issue of the English edition.

The journal contains a series of illustrated essays on architecture, engraving, Hokusai’s “Man-gwa”, the decoration of swords, Ritsuo and his School, netsukés and okimonos, the theatre in Japan, Hiroshigé, the poetic tradition in Japanese art, Animals in Japanese art, and Korin.

Among contributors to Artistic Japan were Edmond de Goncourt, Roger Marx, Victor Champier, and Eugène Guillaume. The editor of the English edition was Marcus B. Huish (1843-1921).



• Les Arts: Revue Mensuelle des Musées, Collections, Expositions

Paris: Goupil & Cie, monthly, 1902-1920

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW will be 1902-1920. Available 2013]

The editors and co-proprietors of Les Arts were Michel Manzi (1902-1914) and Maurice Joyant (1916-1920). The journal covered the fine and decorative arts, both early and modern, and contained long well-illustrated articles, including an annual report on the Paris Salons. Les Arts was, however, rather conservative and contained little on the avant-garde movements active in Paris during years of its publication. This possibly reflected the taste of its editors, who were art dealers, collectors and co-owners of Galerie Manzi-Joyant, a fine art gallery and publishing house in Paris.

Manzi was an acquaintance of Edgar Degar who painted him in c.1889, and Joyant was a close friend of Toulouse-Lautrec and organised retrospectives of his work in 1902, 1907 and 1914.



• Arts & Crafts. A Monthly Magazine for the Studio, the Workshop & the Home

London, England: Hutchinson & Co., 1904-1906

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1904-1906. Available 2012]

Intended for both the professional and the amateur craftsperson, Arts & Crafts is an important source on the middle period of the Arts and Crafts movement in England. In addition to practical articles on craftmaking, particularly jewellery, bookbinding, furniture, metalwork and embroidery, it included articles on the work of some of the leading names in the Arts and Crafts movement, such as M.H. Baillie Scott, and Walter Crane. It also contained book reviews and reports on exhibitions of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society, the Paris Salon, the Royal Academy, etc.

 


The Bill Poster

The Bill Poster

London: United Billposters’ Association, monthly, 1887-1910

[The years covered initially by designinform ReVIEW will be 1892. 1896. Available 2013]

The Bill Poster was the official journal of the United Billposters’ Association. The subtitle varies.

The journal provides an interesting insight into poster and outdoor advertising from the perspective of the printer and the distributor. In addition to trade news, these issues contain an eclectic range of articles including Pigs as Advertising Mediums; An Australian View of Highly Coloured Posters; Indecent Posters; Objectionable Hoardings; Billposting in India; the Nude in Art; Street Lamp Advertising; the ‘Cute’ Billposter; the Pictorial Poster; Jules Cheret’s Posters; The Horrors of Newspaper Advertisements; Celestial Advertising [projecting advertising messages on to clouds]; Railway Station Name Boards; Omnibus Advertisements; American Billposters’ Associations; the 1896 Poster Show in Philadelphia; The Poster Artist at Home [an interview with Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen]; ‘Poster Parties’; and Electric Signs.

Like many trade journals of this period, The Bill Poster is extremely scarce. We are hoping to digitize more issues at a later date.


• Brush and Pencil: An Illustrated Magazine of the Arts of Today [subtitle varies slightly]

Chicago, Illinois: The Arts and Crafts Publishing Company / The Brush and Pencil Publishing Company, monthly, 1897-1907

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW will be 1897-1907. Available 2013]

Brush and Pencil was the official journal of the Brush and Pencil Club in Chicago. It was a well-illustrated review of contemporary American painting and sculpture, with occasional articles on the decorative and applied arts and work by foreign artists. It also contained a monthly round-up of art news, together with book reviews and exhibition reports.

The first editor of Brush and Pencil was Charles Francis Browne (1859-1920), an instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago and one of the founders of the Club.He was succeeded by Frederick William Morton (1859-1935) who remained its editor until the closure of the magazine in June 1907.


• Cabinet Maker and Art Furnisher: A Monthly Budget of Designs and Information for the Furniture, Upholstery and Decorating Trades

London, England: Benn Brothers, 1880-1902

[The period covered initially by designinform ReVIEW will be 1880-1896. Available 2013]

Cabinet Maker and Art Furnisher was published monthly and edited by J. William Benn. It was the leading journal for the furniture and furnishing trade in Britain in the late Victorian period and is one of one of the principal sources for research on design and manufacture in this sector during these years.

The focus of the journal is very much on design. It is extensively illustrated and contains numerous articles. It also includes reports on current trends, a round up of trade news, reviews of trade literature, details of new patents, etc.

By 1890 Cabinet Maker and Art Furnisher incorporated a number of other trade publications including The Upholstery & Decorating Journal; Carpet & Floor-Covering Record; Furnishing Hardware Guide, and Timber-Yard & Woodworking Machinist.



• Colour Magazine

London, England: Colour Magazine, monthly, 1914-1932

[The period covered initially by designinform ReVIEW will be 1914-1922. Available 2012]

Colour contained an eclectic mixture of short stories, poetry, and articles about art. What makes it particularly interesting is its numerous reproductions (mainly in colour) of work by contemporary British painters, notably by members of the Camden Town Group and the London Group, such as Robert Bevan, Walter Sickert, Harold Gilman and Charles Ginner. It also includes many examples of work by First World War artists.

The digitization will include all the advertisements that accompany the magazine.


Commercial Art

London, England: Commercial Art Ltd., monthly, 1922-1926

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW will be 1922-1926. Available 2012]

Commercial Art was published by Commercial Art Ltd. in 5 volumes (42 issues) between October 1922 and June 1926. It was conceived as a trade journal for the British advertising industry and contains numerous, well-illustrated articles on posters, poster stamps, printing, typography, letter art, illustrations, signage, point-of-sale and window display, packaging, etc.

Among artists whose work is discussed or illustrated in Commercial Art include E. McKnight Kauffer, Fred Taylor, Tom Purvis, Reginald Frampton, Jean d’Yllon, Austin Cooper. G.M. Ellwood, H.M. Bateman, Frank Brangwyn, Harold Nelson, Fred Pegram, E.A. Cox, Frank Newbould, Herrick, Aldo Cosmati, Charles Pears, Horace Taylor, Lovat Fraser, Anna and Doris Zinkeisen, Laurie Taylor, Septimus Scott, Rilette, F. Gregory Brown, Edmund J. Sullivan, George Sheringham, Robert Braun, Frederic W. Goudy, Paul E. Derrick, etc.



• The Craftsman

Eastwood, N.Y.: United Crafts, 1901-1916.

The period covered by designinform ReVIEW 1901-1916. Digitized]

The Craftsman played a seminal role in promoting the philosophy and ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement in America. It was founded by the designer Gustav Stickley (1858-1942) and published by his United Crafts workshop in Eastwood, New York.

The influence of the English craft aesthetic on the The Craftsman is evident in the fact that four of the five articles in the first issue of the journal were on the work of William Morris and Morris & Company, and the second issue was largely devoted to the writings of John Ruskin. Other articles in the first two years of the journal included ‘Revival of English Handicrafts: the Haslemere Industries’; ‘Cobden-Sanderson and the Doves Bindery’; and ‘Some Cornish Craftsmen’. It was only towards the end of the second year of The Craftsman that it began to turn its attention to the crafts in other countries, and particularly America. Later articles in the journal include ‘René Lalique: His Rank Among Contemporary Artists’; ‘L’Art Nouveau, Its Origin and Development’; ‘Rookwood Pottery’; ‘Workshops and Residence of M. René Lalique’; ‘L'Art Nouveau: An Argument and Defence’; ‘Korin and the Decorative Art of Japan’; ‘Japanese Book Illustrations’; ‘Craftsmanship in the New York Schools’; ‘The Influence of the "Mission Style" Upon the Civic and Domestic Architecture of Modern California’, ‘August Rodin’; ‘Mural Painting from the American Point of View’; 'Tiffany and Company, at the St. Louis Exposition’; ‘The Future of Ceramics in America’; ‘Rossetti and Botticelli: a Comparison of Ideals and Art’; ‘The Decorations of the Chancel of Saint Thomas' Church, New York City: Work of John La Farge and Augustus St. Gaudens’; ‘The New Art in Photography: Work of Clarence H. White, a Leader Among the Photo-Secessionists’; ‘Photography as One of the Fine Arts: the Camera Pictures of Alvin Langdon Coburn’; ‘Is There a Sex Distinction in Art? The Attitude of the Critic Toward Women's Exhibits’; ‘Why the Handicraft Guild at Chipping Campden Has Not Been a Business Success’; ‘Modern German Art: its Revelation of Present Social and Political Conditions in Prussianized Germany’; ‘An afternoon with Walter Crane’; ‘Town Planning in Theory and in Practice: the Work of Raymond Unwin’; ‘Mary Cassatt's Achievement: its Value to the World of Art’; ‘The strange genius of Aubrey Beardsley’; and ‘The new idea in French furniture, as expressed by Maurice Dufrène’.

Gustav Stickley wrote frequently for The Craftsman. Among other contributors were Charles F. Binns, Ernest A. Batchelder, Ralph Waldo Emerson, G.K. Chesterton and Leopold Stokowski.



• Dekorative Kunst: Zeitschrift für angewandte Kunst [subtitle varies]

Munich, Germany: Verlaganstalt F. Bruckmann A.-G., 1897-1929

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1897-1922. Digitized]

Dekorative Kunst was founded by H. (Hugo) Bruckmann (1863-1941), in association with the art critic J. (Julius) Meier-Graefe (1867-1935) and the writer and publisher Georg Hirth (1841-1916). The journal focused exclusively on contemporary decorative and applied art, particularly furniture, interior design, ceramics, glass, jewelry, metalwork and textiles. It played a significant role in promoting the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements in Germany. In its early years, coverage was international, however, after c.1910 the journal concentrated more on the German and Austrian art.

Notable among contributors to Dekorative Kunst were the art dealer S. (Siegfied) Bing (1838-1905), and the writer/designers Henry van de Velde (1863-1957) and Hermann Muthesius (1861-1927). Among the numerous artists and designers whose work feature in the journal are Peter Behrens, Richard Riemerschmid, C.R. Ashbee, M.H. Baillie Scott, C.F.A. Voysey, C.R. Mackintosh, Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and Gustav Klimt.



• Details: A Monthly for Those Interested in Architecture and the Allied Arts

London, England: Details Magazine, 1909 [all 12 issues published]

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1909. Available 2013]

Edited by the architect, R. Randal Phillips (1878-1967), this short-lived monthly journal contains detailed descriptions, photographs and plans of architectural features in contemporary British buildings. Includes arcades, balconies, bridges, carvings and sculpture in stone and wood, chimney-pieces and fireplaces, church work, doors, doorways and entrances, door furniture, floors, gates, gate piers and railings, leadwork, panelling, plasterwork, ponds and fountains, shop fronts, staircases, wall treatments, and windows and window treatments. Among architects whose work is included are J.D. Sedding, Edwin Lutyens, Aston Webb, E. Guy Dawber, Ernest Newton, Maxwell Ayrton and W.H. Bidlake.

Details was absorbed into the Architectural Review in January 1910.



• Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration

Darmstadt, Germany: Alexander Koch, 1897-1932.

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1897-1922. Digitized 1893-1911; 1911-1922 available 2012]

Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration was founded, edited and published by Alexander (Alex) Koch (1860-1939). It is sometime known as “the German Studio”, and was launched four years after its British counterpart. It is similar, both in size and format, to The Studio, and like its predecessor, primarily covers contemporary decorative and fine art. In addition to well-illustrated articles it also includes book and exhibition reviews and news items.

Although international in its scope, Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration predominantly covered German, Austrian, Scandinavian and Central European art. It contained extensive reports on the Exposition Universelle et Industrielle in Paris in 1900, the Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte Decorativa Moderna held in Turin in 1902, and the work of the Wiener Werkstätte and by members of the Deutscher Werkbund.


• L’Exposition de Paris 1889

Paris, France: En Vente à la Librairie Illustrée, 1888-1889

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1888-1889. Digitized]

L’Exposition de Paris de 1889 was published in 40 issues between 15 October 1888 and 2 October 1889. It documents in detail the preparations for and course of the Exposition Universelle held in Paris between May and October 1889.

The journal is an invaluable record of one of the most important cultural events in France during the nineteenth century. It is illustrated extensively with photo engravings and contains numerous reports on every aspect of the Exposition, notably the construction of the Eiffel Tower, the abiding symbol of the Fair.

 



• The House: An Artistic Monthly for Those who Manage and Beautify the Home [subtitle varies]

London, England: Horace Cox, H. Virtue, etc. 1897-1903

[The period covered initially by designinform ReVIEW will be 1897-1902. Available 2012]

In the introduction to the first issue of The House, the editor observed that “There are now dozens of journals which have to do with the dressing and adornment of the body; but strange to say, there is not one dealing exclusively with the dressing of the house.” This, they asserted would be the function of The House. Over the next five years the magazine covered every conceivable aspect of the furnishing and management of the Victorian home with articles on furniture, lighting, wallpaper, carpets and rugs, tiles, art needlework, ceramics, glassware, decorative woodcarving, stained glass, art metalwork, etc. Among artists, designers and firms whose work feature in The House are Walter Crane, Liberty & Co., Heal & Sons, and John Ruskin. The influence of the Arts and Crafts movement is evident.



• L’Image: Revue Mensuelle Artistic et Litteraire [Subtitle varies]

Paris, France: A. Floury, Éditeur, 1896-1897.

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1896-97. Digitized]

L’Image was published monthly between December 1896 and December 1897 by Henri Floury, on behalf of the Corporation Française des Graveurs sur Bois. The editor was the engraver Tony Beltrand (1947-1904), who also provided art direction in collaboration with Léon Ruffe and Auguste Lepère. The aim of L’Image was to promote and encourage the art of wood engraving. It featured original work by many of the leading engravers, illustrators, graphic artists and painters then active in France including Jules Chéret, Eugène Carrière, Fantin-Latour, Victor Prouvé, Henri Bellery-Desfontaines, Puvis de Chavannes, Jean Émile Laboureur, Alphonse Mucha, Maurice Denis, Eugène Froment, Léon Perrichon, Georges de Feure, Auguste Rodin, Kees van Dongen, Edgar Degas, Frédéric Florian, Georges Jeanniot, Clément Bellenger, Eugène Carrière, Lucien Pissarro, Henri Rivière, Jean Veber, and Jacques Beltrand.

Among artists who were commissioned to design covers for L’Image were Alphonse Mucha, Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri Bellery-Desfontaines, Victor Prouvé, Paul Berthon, Georges de Feure, and Marcel Lenoir.



• The Imprint

London, England: The Imprint Publishing Co., 1913

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1913. Digitized]

The Imprint was a short-lived but seminal journal devoted to the arts of printing, typography, illustration and lettering. It was published in between January and November 1913. The editors were the influential English typographic designers F. Ernest Jackson, Edward Johnston, J. H. Mason, and Gerard T. Meynell, who were assisted by an Advisory Committee of over 30 artists and individuals from the realms of art, printing and publishing that included Joseph Pennell, W.R. Lethaby, Douglas Cockerell, Arthur Waugh, F. Morley Fletcher, R.A. Austen-Leigh, and Sidney Colvin.

The Imprint contains articles on Poster Advertising on the London Underground; Children’s Book Illustration by Walter Crane; Decorative Lettering by Edward Johnston; Art and Workmanship by W.R. Lethaby; Current Trends in Illustration by Joseph Pennell; the Wood Engravings of Lucien Pissarro by J.B. Manson; Liturgical Books by Stanley Morison; the 1913 Arts and Crafts Exhibition by B. Newdigate; Post-Impressionism, with some personal recollections of Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, by A.S. Hartrick; Honoré Daumier by Frank Rinder; the International Colour Printing and Poster Exhibition of 1913; etc.



• Innen-Dekoration

Darmstadt, Germany: Verlaganstalt A. Koch, 1890-1944

[The period covered initially by designinform ReVIEW will be 1903-1922. Available 2013]

Innen-Dekoration originated as Illustrirte kunstgewerbliche Zeitschrift für Innen-Dekoration in 1890. The title changed in 1900. It was founded, edited and published by Alexander (Alex) Koch (1860-1939).

The journal was published monthly and contains well-illustrated articles on contemporary German and Austrian interiors and decorative art. It also includes reports on design trends in other countries.

Among architects and designers whose work is discussed or illustrated in Innen-Dekoration are Peter Behrens, Richard Riemerschmid, Bruno Paul, Josef Hoffmann, H.M. Baillie Scott, Emanuel Margold, Runge & Scotland, Koloman Moser, Julius Klinger, Ludwig Hoffmann, Georg Metzendorf, Emanuel von Seidl, Paul Würzler, Georg Honold, Alfred Altherr, C.R. Ashbee, Ludwig Hohlwein, Rudolf and Fia Wille, Otto Prutscher, Henry van de Velde, Hans Ofner, Albin Müller, Karl Bertsch, Willy von Beckerath, Max Littmann, etc.


• The International Studio

New York, NY / London, England: John Lane Company [etc.], 1897-1931.

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW will be 1897-1922. Available 2013]

Between 1897-1921, The International Studio was the U.S. edition of the British fine and decorative arts journal The Studio, and was produced jointly in New York and London. Although the focus of The International Studio was art from an American perspective, for many years it replicated a percentage of material from the British edition. In 1922 The International Studio was acquired by International Studio Inc. and henceforth published exclusively in New York. In September 1931 it was absorbed into The Connoisseur.

Editors of The International Studio were Charles Holmes (1868-1936), from 1897 to 1920; G.C. Eglington, from 1920 to 1922; Peyton Boswell (1879-1936), from 1922 to 1925; W.B. McCormick, from 1925 to 1928; and H.J. Whigham (1869-1954), from 1928 to 1931



• The Journal of Decorative Art: An Illustrated Technical Journal for the House Painter, Decorator, and all Art Workmen [subtitle varies]

London, England: Simpkins, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co.; Manchester, England: The Decorative Arts Journal Co., Ltd. [etc.], 1881-1949

[The years covered initially by designinform ReVIEW will be 1896, 1903, 1907. Available 2013]

The Journal of Decorative Art was the official organ of the National Association of Master House Painters of England and Wales. It was published monthly and contains detailed national and regional reports on current technical and design trends in the decorative arts, particularly furniture and surface decoration, together with trade news and reports.

Possibly because it was a trade journal with a limited circulation, The Journal of Decorative Art is extremely scarce. It is an invaluable source for research on late Victorian and early twentieth century British decorative art from an industry perspective.



• Kunstgewerbeblatt

Leipzig, Germany: Verlag von G. A. Seemann, 1885-1917.

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW will be 1890-1917. Available 2012]

Kunstgewerbeblatt was a decorative arts journal published in two series - vols.1-5, 1885-1889; and vols. 1-28, 1890-1917. The focus of the first series, which was printed in the Gothic script, was primarily early and traditional German art. From the second series, the journal was printed in modern German script and the focus shifted to contemporary art, particularly Art Nouveau, and the German interpretation of the Arts and Crafts style. The journal includes well-illustrated articles on ceramics, glass, jewellery, furniture, metalwork, and surface decoration and, to a lesser extent, architecture.

The editors of Kunstgewerbeblatt were: Arthur Pabst (October 1885-September 1894); Karl Hoffacker (October 1894-September 1905); and Fritz Hellwag (June 1908-September 1917)


Magazine of Art

The Magazine of Art

London and New York: Cassell & Co [etc.], monthly, 1878-1904

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW will be 1878-1904. Available 2013]

The Magazine of Art was both similar in its coverage and format as The Art Journal. Its editors were, in turn, Arthur James Richens Trendell (1836-1909) from 1878 to 1880; Eric Robertson in 1880-81; William Ernest Henley (1849-1903) from 1881 to 1886; Sidney Galpin in 1886; and Marion Harry Spielmann (1858-1948) from 1886 to 1904.

Liela Rumbaugh Greiman, in her article ‘William Ernest Henley & The Magazine of Art’ [Victorian Periodicals Review Vol. 16, No. 2, Summer, 1983, pp. 53-64] observed that The Magazine of Art had a substantial influence upon popular aesthetic taste and that it included among its contributors some of the best essayists and critics of the late Victorian period. Under Henley’s editorship, the magazine was transformed from being an “insular, uninspired trade journal, into a lively, cosmopolitan review of the arts containing criticism, prose, and poetry of lasting worth”. During the seventeen years of Spielmann’s editorship, many of the leading artists and critics of the day, notably John Ruskin, were commissioned to write articles for the magazine. By 1904 The Magazine of Art, like The Art Journal, found it increasingly difficult to compete with some of the more dynamic new rivals such as The Studio, and consequently ceased publication.


• Our Homes and Gardens: A Practical Magazine Dealing with Houses, Furniture & Equipment, Gardens

London, England: “Country Life” Limited, 1919-1923

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW will be 1919-1922. Available 2013]

In their forward to the first issue of Our Homes and Gardens, the publishers wrote: “There is a widespread demand for a better manner of house design; rooms planned in keeping with present-day needs; furniture that is graceful while at the same time being suitable for everyday use; window hangings and floor coverings that are both serviceable and pleasing to the eye; and last but not least, features belonging to the equipment of the house – such as cooking ranges, sinks, heating apparatus, labour-saving appliances – that will ensure the utmost convenience and economy. All these things shall find representation in our pages”. The magazine is extensively illustrated and is an interesting record of the furnishing of the middle-class British home in the immediate post-World War One years.



• Das Plakat

Berlin, Germany: Verlag Max Chiliburger, 1910-1921

[The period initially covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1912-1921. Digitized]

Das Plakat originated as Mitteilungen des Vereins der Plakatfreunde. It changed to its more familiar title with the January 1913 issue.

Das Plakat is generally considered to have been the most influential journal ever produced on the art of the poster. It was the official publication of the Verein der Plakat Freunde (The Society for Friends of the Poster) an association of poster dealers, collectors and designers established in Berlin in 1905. The founder and driving force behind the journal was Hans Josef Sachs (1881-1974), a Berlin dentist with a passionate interest in the poster.

Das Plakat is extensively illustrated with numerous colour plates. It covers all aspects of the art of the poster and in addition to German posters, it includes articles on poster design and designers in Austria, Hungary, Sweden, the UK, the USA, the Netherlands, and other countries.

Nearly every major poster designer active during the years of its publication are represented in Das Plakat. Adding to the usefulness of the digitization. we have included details of all the c.4000 artists, whose work is reproduced, giving their full name, dates, nationality, etc. We also intend to subject index [in English] all the articles and classify all the posters by subject and type.

In addition to digitizing all but two of the numbers of Das Plakat from the years 1912-1921, we have digitized several of the special supplements issued by the journal, including two supplements on plagiarism in poster design, and a supplement on the design of wine labels.

For the significance of this exceptionally rare and important journal see the 2004 essay by Steven Heller, ‘Graphic Design Magazines: Das Plakat’ www.typotheque.com/articles/graphic_design_magazines_das_plakat



• The Poster: An Illustrated Monthly Chronicle

Leyton, Essex, England: E. R. Alexander & Sons; London, England: Hugh Macleay, 1898-1901.

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1898-1901. Digitized]

The Poster was the most important journal in English devoted to the art of the poster. In addition to containing over 3,000 images (several in colour), it included interviews with and profiles of many of the leading names in poster design including Toulouse-Lautrec, Steinlen, Alphonse Mucha, Ethel Reed, Maxfield Parrish, Paul Berthon, Will Bradley, Arpad Basch, Jules Chéret, Jack B. Yeats, Aubrey Beardsley, the Beggarstaff Brothers, etc.

The Poster also includes articles on poster art in Russia, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Japan, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Denmark, the Netherlands, Great Britain, the USA, etc., as well as articles on specific aspects of the poster, including bicycle posters, political posters, railroad posters, theatre posters, the poster as a mirror of life, plagiarism in poster design, symbolism in advertising, etc.

In its final year (volume 6, 1901) the title was expanded to The Poster and Art Collector, and it began to include articles on related aspects of art including the design of magazine covers, book covers, bookbinding (e.g. a long article on the Guild of Women Binders), pictorial postcards, playbills, and theatrical caricatures.

A complete file of The Poster is exceptionally rare, and because this journal has never been indexed, these articles are little known. In order to enhance the value of the digitization, we have classified the posters by subject and type. We have also added details of all the artists whose work is reproduced, giving their full name, dates, nationality, etc. In addition we have added over 1,200 links to web sites containing biographical information on the artists and examples of their work.



• The Studio: An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art [Subtitle varies]

London, England: The Studio Ltd., 1893-1964

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW will be 1893-1922. Digitized 1893-1910; 1911-1922 available 2012]

The Studio was one of the most respected and influential art journals published in Britain. It was international in its coverage, and contained, long, often well-illustrated, articles on all aspects of the decorative, fine and applied arts. It included contributions from many of the leading art critics of the day, e.g. Aymer Vallance, Walter Crane, Fernand Knopff and A. Lys Baldry.

Each issue of The Studio also contained a round-up of the latest art news, reports on recent exhibitions, and book reviews.
The Studio played an important role in promoting trends and developments in contemporary art and was largely responsible for establishing the reputations of many artists notably Aubrey Beardsley, James McNeill Whistler, and the artists of the Glasgow School. It was also significant in promoting the Arts and Crafts movement in Britain.



• The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art

London, England and New York, NY: The Studio [etc.], 1906-1925 [renamed Decorative Art in 1926]

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1906-1922. Digitized 1906-1913; 1914-1922 available 2012]

The Studio Yearbook of Decorative Art was an annual review of some of the finest examples of contemporary architecture and applied art. Among the architects, designers and companies whose work feature in these issues are C.R. Ashbee, M.H. Baillie Scott, Liberty & Co., the Guild of Handicraft, Heal & Son, Ambrose Heal, Ernest Gimson, Edwin Lutyens, C.F.A. Voysey, Jessie M. King, William Morris & Co., Arthur Sanderson & Sons, Ann Macbeth, Walter Crane, Frank Brangwyn, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, George Walton, Heywood Sumner, Peter Behrens, Josef Urban, Josef Hoffmann, the Wiener Werkstätten, Richard Riemerschmid, Louis Majorelle, Maurice Dufrène, Henry Holiday, Koloman Moser, René Lalique, Ernestine Mills, Hermann Muthesius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Rookwood Pottery, Gio Ponti, Carl Malmsten, Gunnar Asplund, Edward Hald, Wilhelm Kåge, Simon Gate, Orrefors Glasbruk, Georg Jensen, etc.



• The Yellow Book

London, England: E. Mathews & J. Lane; Boston, Massachusetts: Copeland & Day, 1894-1897.

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW is 1894-1897. Available 2012]

In their prospectus to Volume 1 (April 1894), the publishers and editors of The Yellow Book wrote that it was their aim to “depart as far as may be possible from the bad old traditions of periodical literature, and to provide an Illustrated Magazine which will be as beautiful as a piece of book-making, modern and distinguished in its letter-press and its pictures, and withal popular in the better sense of the word."

The Yellow Book captured the zeitgeist of the 1890s and, despite its short life, was highly influential both in Britain and abroad. Artists who contributed to the magazine included Aubrey Beardsley (who designed the cover of the first issue), Philip Wilson Steer, Walter Sickert, John Singer Sargent, Walter Crane, Charles Conder and William Rothenstein. Notable among literary figures that wrote for The Yellow Book were Henry James, H.G. Wells, Arnold Bennett, W.B. Yates, Edmund Gosse and George Gissing.


Transactions of the Guild & School of Handicraft

London, England: The Guild & School of Handicraft, 1890

[The period covered by designinform ReVIEW 1890. Available 2012]

The Guild and School of Handicraft was established as a workshop and training school for silversmiths in Whitechapel, London in 1888 by the architect, artist and designer Charles Robert (C.R.) Ashbee (1863-1942). The Guild relocated to Chipping Campden in the English Cotswolds in 1902 and closed in 1907. During its short history, the Guild had a profound influence on the Arts and Crafts movement not, only in Britain, but in the USA, Continental Europe, and elsewhere

The Transactions, of which this was the only volume published, contains ‘A Short History of the Guild & School of Handicraft’ by C.R. Ashbee; and articles by William Holman Hunt, Lawrence Alma Tadema, Henry Holiday, W.B. Richmond, Thomas Stirling Lee, Edward Prioleau Warren, G.F. Watts, Walter Crane, and Giovanni Udine.