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This book, with examples of 1935 French advertising design, is part of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Library’s Special Collections materials on typography and graphic design. With text, design, and layout by Alex Pinon, this volume is a fascinating look into advertising typography by one of the leading French type foundries of the period. Alex Pinon (1900-1961) started his career in typography and fashion illustration after the First World War; during the 1950s he was a prominent cover illustrator of bestsellers of popular literature.

Czech born Ladislav Sutnar (1897-1976) is a well known graphic designer, but who knew that he also produced fine book bindings? Issued by the Cooperative Work collective headed by Sutnar in Prague in the 1930’s, this special full leather binding was designed by Sutnar himself. At extra cost, Cooperative Work would supply special bindings; this book with the same Sutnar design was available bound in green cloth-covered boards stamped in black and silver.

Charles Méryon (1821 –1868) was a French artist and poet who worked almost entirely in etching, as he suffered from colour blindness. Although now little-known in the English-speaking world, he is generally recognized as the most significant etcher of 19th century France. He wrote in verses which were designed to be published alongside his images, expressing the thoughts and feelings the subjects aroused in his mind, and considered himself a poet.

"Droning a drowsy syncopated tune; Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon..." 

This book traces the development of newspapers in the U.S. during their golden age (1830-1930), including influential publishers and journalists, and the increasingly important role newspapers played in American life. It also examines technological innovations in papermaking, typesetting, and printing that made it possible for metropolitan dailies to reach hundreds of thousands of readers. This book is part of the National Postal Museum Library collection, which includes titles relevant to the broader history of communication in America.

Published five years after his death, the editor of Autobiography of W. E. B. Du Bois incorporated selected works related to certain passages’ subjects. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868-1963) was an African American author and civil rights activist who focused on advancing education and representation for African Americans. The last of his three autobiographies, this work expanded on his previous essays to provide a new reflective perspective on his 9 decades of life.

Maya Angelou (1928-2014) is best remembered as a prominent African American poet and civil rights activist.

This book highlights the lives, works, and accomplishments of African American scholars in recent history whose work is influential in the field of anthropology. The contributions of these scholars vary, ranging from the cultural impacts of Zora Neale Hurston’s field works and writings to Caroline Bond Day and her research in physical anthropology. Each chapter focuses on a specific person, discussing both their biography and their scholarly work.

This 1773 collection of poems was the only edition of Phillis Wheatley's work printed in her lifetime. Wheatley was first brought to the United States at age 7 or 8 to be sold into slavery. She was purchased by John Wheatley of Boston and taught to read and write. Having been tutored in the classics by Mrs. Wheatley, Wheatley began to write poetry herself and became well-known for it in Boston's domestic circles. A trip to England in 1773 brought her under the patronage of the Countess of Huntingdon who arranged for this 1773 English edition of her poetry to be published.

This gigantic "book" is actually a stack of unnumbered color plates, arranged in alphabetical order, by the last name of the African American hero featured on each. The author, Thomas Blackshear, is a contemporary African Americna artist who draws, paints, illustrates, and sculpts. Mr. Blackshear's artwork is seen on the 25c Ida B.

The publisher cited the author of this illustrated history only as “a Lady of Rank.” We discovered that her name was Lady Mary Margaret Stanley Egerton, Countess of Wilton, who managed to produce this book despite having 11 children and being a woman in nineteenth century England. Perhaps Lady Mary was inspired to write this history of costume by her mother, an actress named Elisabeth Farren, the second wife of the 12th Earl of Derby.

Zane Grey, the American author famous for his popular Western adventure novels, published this non-fiction work in 1919. In addition to being a dentist and writer, Grey was an avid fisherman. This title is full of zesty and manly fishing adventures of watching and wrestling with big game fish off the coast of southern California and is tastefully illustrated with photos taken by the author.