The typewriter

commercially viable typewriters were patented in the period just after the civil war. the challenge of mass-producing precise movable parts was met by refinements of earlier industrial methods. the typewriter helped standardize communications and behaviors.

Women entered the workforce as clerks and typists, their roles partly defined by these mechanized processes and protocols. It proved to be a tool in helping women's suffrage. 

Since typewriters were faster and more accurate than handwriting, they allowed for quicker and clearer documents, as well as making corrections and producing multiple copies which helped standardize the appearance of documents, which was necessary for businesses. 

(here a cool video of the history of typewriters)

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As a side note: here's my Olivetti graphica (1958), with its Cassandre typeface. 

I wrote my first papers here. The best so-called "proportional typewriter" (it's all about spacing between fonts) and that carbon ribbon's indelibly superb mark!

natural science gets illustrated

flowers (and its different parts)

fruits,

vegetables,

in natural science illustration the goal is to render the image as didactic as possible, clear, faithful, but also beautiful.

insects,

take a look at this amazing biodiversity heritage library of images!

after Morris, movements took up the challenge of social design

Morris' design is far removed from Victorian aesthetics

what do we see here? honesty = beauty!

(here a good video about William Morris)

nouveau (tatoo artists)

fabio maduro, buenos aires

chinese canadian artist nomi chi

unknown artist

based on a Mucha design, Cesar from Ithaca, NY

 

The nouveau touch of Eugène Grasset

Eugène Grasset (1845-1917) was an admirer of Egyptian motifs and Japanese art, both of which influenced his creative designs. Grasset worked as a painter and sculptor in Lausanne and moved to Paris in 1871, where he designed furniture fabrics, tapestries, ceramics, and jewelry. His fine art decorative pieces were crafted from ivory, gold and other precious materials in unique combinations and his creations are considered a cornerstone of Art Nouveau motifs and patterns. He turned to graphic design in 1877, producing income-generating products such as postcards and, eventually, postage stamps for both France and Switzerland. However, it was poster art that quickly became his forté.

(Above, Grasset's exhibition poster for Salon des Cent, 1894).

Grasset's self-portrait, 1866

L'eventail, 1890

Grasset was a skillful "natural" artist and contributed to important 19th-century natural treatises. 

Here's a pretty good virtual exhibition of Grasset's works (via Meister Druke).

Privat Livemont (how typography layout expresses a moment in culture)

Rajah Coffee Poster, 1899

Privat Livemont, who worked in Paris and then in Brussels, is the quintessential nouveau artist. His style borrows slightly from Mucha's idealized women, their tendrilous hair and lavish ornament." His major innovation consists of the white contour he added to his figures. 

 

biscuits de chocolat, 1901

 

as

le bec liais, 1904

Livemont self-portrait

The art of Livemont was well-known in his time.  From 1891 he was also a professor of drawing and ornamental design at the industrial design school in Schaarbeek, teaching alongside Adolphe Crespin, Paul Hankar and Paul Saintenoy. From 1893 to 1902 he painted a number of grand ceilings in theatres, commercial premises, and Ostend casino, most of which have subsequently been lost. He was regarded as a Symbolist, but became better known for his posters in Art Nouveau style, most famously that for the Brussels International Exposition (1897). Two of his posters, for Absinthe Robette and the Casino de Cabourg, were published in Les Maîtres de l'Affiche. (WIKIPEDIA)

Here are the posters of Maîtres de l'Affiche, Volume 1 (Great work by Wikipedia). 

Gustave Doré, the genius of romantic illustration

gustav doré, from dante's inferno

Gustave doré is my favorite romantic designer.

There is a BIG difference between drawing and engraving. The first is on paper; the second is on wood or copper. 

Doré executed the drawings, and they're masterful. However, Doré was not a block-cutter. Therefore, the credit goes to artisans such as Louis Pierre Dumont, Adolphe François Pannemaker, Héliodore Pisan, and Delduc.

Falvey Library shows and explains the differences.  Here,

and here

here are some of Doré's famous illustrations.

Divine comedy: paradise.

At the height of Doré's career, some 40 block-cutters were employed to cut his drawings onto the wooden printing blocks, usually also signing the image.

People don't know their names, which explains the difference between art and craft. 

Alphonse Mucha

"After Alphonse Mucha presented his poster for Sarah Bernhardt's play, Gismonda in 1895(above), he became a celebrity. Spurning the bright colors and the more squarish shape of the more popular poster artists, the near life-size design was a sensation.

Living above a cremerie that catered to art students, drawing illustrations for popular (ie. low-paying) magazines, getting deathly ill and living on lentils and borrowed money, Mucha met all the criteria. It was everything an artist's life was supposed to be.

Some success, some failure. Friends abounded and art flourished. It was the height of Impressionism and the beginnings of the Symbolists and Decadents. He shared a studio with Gauguin for a bit after his first trip to the south seas."-- Jim Vadeboncoeur.

Mucha in his studio

Check this link from the Mucha's Foundation.

early medicinal advertising (anything works!)

Early medicinal ads used outrageous rhetoric to claim the virtues of drugs, cures, and products for health, beauty, or virility. Any enterprising could make, bottle label, and sell something that promised to renew lost vigor, promote longevity, cure baldness, or treat hysteria --often with the same ointment. 

cigarettes to help soothe asthma??

or this,

or this, 

heroin??

the reddish-brown and extremely bitter tincture of opium is called laudanum. it contains almost all of the opium alkaloids, including morphine and codeine, and its high morphine concentration makes it a potent narcotic. laudanum was historically used to treat various ailments, but its principal use was as an analgesic and cough suppressant. until the early 20th century, laudanum was sold without a prescription and was a constituent of many patent medicines.

what is art nouveau?

Whistler, Peacock Room (1976) Freer Gallery, Washington

Art Nouveau is an international style of art, architecture and applied art, especially the decorative arts, that was most popular between 1890 and 1910.

1- reaction against 19th century academic art,
2- natural forms and structures,
3- curved lines of plants and flowers,

Staircase for the Salle du Theatre in the Grand Magazins (1905)

art nouveau is the form of the curl, the fold, the squiggle, the coil

tapestry (Morris)

photo of model posing for Mucha

wallpapper (Morris, arts & crafts)

furniture (and interior design) absorb the whole space

graphic design (Mucha)

AI architecture

this is what we have from 1890 to about 1910 in the West.

where does it come from?

nature,

pictorialism: photography as art

Edward Steichen, Pond, 1904

Above is the most expensive photograph auctioned so far, by American photographer Edward Steichen (Pond, New York City, 1904), which sold for 2.9 million in February 2006. At some point photographers deliberately made their photographs look like productions of other graphic media, most often prints. 

There is no standard definition of the term, but in general it refers to a style in which the photographer has somehow manipulated what would otherwise be a straightforward photograph as a means of "creating" an image rather than simply recording it. Typically, a pictorial photograph appears to lack a sharp focus (some more so than others), is printed in one or more colors other than black-and-white (ranging from warm brown to deep blue) and may have visible brush strokes or other manipulation of the surface (from Wikipedia).

This superficial similarity to the representational quality of accepted media was a direct appeal to artistic tradition: the photograph had the look of an etching; an etching is art; so the photograph was art. 

Alfred Stieglitz, Portrait of Georgia O'Keeffe, 1918

Clarence White, The Watcher, 1906

Julia Margaret Cameron, Sadness (1864), a portrait of Ellen Terry, the American actress

Heinrich Künh (1907-10)

Pierre Dubreil, L'Opera, 1909

Frederick Evans, portrait of Aubrey Beardsley, 1894

the gibson girls! (female anthropology?)

The First Quarrel, by Charles Dana Gibson, creator of the first American pin-up girl. He also established the prototype of the square-jawed man, which lasted throughout the mid-1900s. 

 

here is a good video by Watts atelier about Gibson.

 

The weaker sex II, 1900.

Owen Jones' The Grammar of Ornament

Owen Jones (1809-1874) was a British architect. A versatile architect and designer, he was also one of the most influential design theorists of the nineteenth century. He helped pioneer modern colour theory, and his theories on flat patterning and ornament still resonate with contemporary designers today. He rose to prominence with his studies of Islamic decoration at the Alhambra, and the associated publication of his drawings, which pioneered new standards in chromolithography. (WIKIPEDIA)

Owen Jones's illustrated plates and design motifs drew from nineteen different cultures including the ornament of Oceania, Rome, Byzantium, ancient Greece, Renaissance Italy, Rome, and Moorish Spain. The Grammar was adapted to architectural decoration, fabrics, textiles, tile design, furniture and wallpaper during the second half of the nineteenth century. 

The book feels a bit like anthropology:

and the history of design. Jones' narrative is quite engaging. 

Owen Jones' Grammar of Ornament (1856) is one of the most influential design books of the 19th century. It played a crucial role in shaping architectural, decorative, and industrial design by promoting principles of good design drawn from historical and global sources. 

Here’s why it is important: 

1. Groundbreaking Design: Theory Grammar of Ornament introduced 37 key design principles, emphasizing harmony, simplicity, and structure in decoration. Advocated for design rules based on historical and natural patterns, influencing generations of designers and architects. 

2. Global Influence on Decorative Arts: Jones studied and documented ornamental styles from different cultures, including Egyptian, Islamic, Greek, Roman, Indian, and Gothic motifs. Encouraged designers to move beyond classical European traditions and embrace non-Western aesthetics. 

3. Pioneering Use of Color Printing: One of the first books to use chromolithography, making it a visually stunning resource. Helped revolutionize color theory in design, promoting vibrant, historically accurate palettes. 

4. Impact on the Arts and Crafts & Art Nouveau: Inspired figures like William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement, who embraced handcrafted beauty and historical influences. Its emphasis on natural forms and geometric patterns influenced Art Nouveau and modern decorative design. 

5. Educational and Industrial Impact:  Became a reference book for architects, designers, and manufacturers, guiding 19th-century industrial design. Influenced the Victoria and Albert Museum’s approach to design education and collection curation. It was originally published in installments for subscribers. 

Here is a great site for the book.