Progressive German Graphics explores the aesthetic, historical, and social influences of the period between the two world wars as manifested in the German, as well as Austrian, graphic design of the day. Highly conceptual and geometric, this style has had a significant impact on modern design.

This volume includes an array of posters, packaging, trademarks, letterheads, and advertising ephemera that exemplify this distinctive genre. At first glance, the most striking qualities of German graphics are their weight and severity. But behind the stern geometry are layers of complexity that belie a larger context: the Bauhaus and Constructivist movements, the Gothic Style, and Art Deco, as well as such historical influences as World War I, the Weimar Republic, and the 1936 Olympics.

Progressive German Graphics highlights numerous designs, many of which have never been published before in the United States. These artifacts reveal the development of German and Austrian graphic arts through the years of relatively free, creative expression, while the rest of the world still looked on in admiration.

Charles Solomon of the L.A. Times writes:

The efflorescence in the graphic arts that swept much of Europe during the late 19th Century came late to Germany. During the first third of the 20th Century, artists there seemed to make up for lost time, creating a wealth of bold posters, packages and trademarks. Like so many other artistic works, these elegant designs were sacrificed to the didactic realism endorsed by the Nazi regime.

My copy has the following imprint:

Copyright © 1994 by Leslie Cabarga. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cabarga, Leslie, 1954-
Progressive German Graphics: 1900-1937 / by
Leslie Cabarga.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8118-0374-0
1. Commercial art-German-Themes, motives,
etc. 2. Graphic arts—Germany—History—20th
century-Themes, motives. I. Title.
NC998.6. G4C23 1994
741.6 0943°09041—dc20.
93-43600. CIP

Editor: Carey Charlesworth
Book design: Leslie Cabarga
Translations: Marga Kasper
Art Photography: Peter Deierleine
Headlines set in KOBALT NEU,
designed by the author especially for this book.
Printed in Hong Kong
Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books,
112 East Third Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V5T 1C8
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

CHRONICLE BOOKS
275 Fifth Street
San Francisco, CA 94103