Publisher’s overview:

In Modern Graphics, Keith Murgatroyd, a practising graphic designer, presents the background to the scene today, and offers a short survey, country by country, which introduces the work of some of the leaders, commenting on their national characteristics and tracing their influences. There has been no attempt at a comprehensive treatment; the book is a concise introduction to modern graphic activity and a starting point for further study.

For the cover, designer Ian Craig chose a typeface that was at the forefront of “modern graphics” in the late 1960s, Gemini Computer. Gemini is in the genre of MICR-inspired designs, but was one of the least common and most expressive, so it really stands out here. All the glyphs shown are from the standard set (no alts).

The interior was designed by Jill Greenwood, who is best known for her equally charming Make Do and Mend series of pamphlets, which I’ll add here soon.

First edition by Studio Vista, 1968, designed by Gillian Greenwood, ft. Broadway.

Morris Fuller Benton’s Broadway (ATF, 1927) is, from today’s perspective, a slightly unimaginative, but definitely period-correct and appropriate choice for the cover of this seminal book on Art Deco by Bevis Hillier. Designed by Gillian Greenwood, Studio Vista’s original edition was first published in 1968 in their Pictureback series, which was distributed in the U.S. by Dutton. From Wikipedia:

This was the first major work on a hitherto neglected genre of art that had previously been referred to as Art Moderne (the term Art Moderne has since come to be used to refer to the later streamlined style of Art Deco in the 1930s). Hillier's use of the term Art Deco became definitive. In 1971 Hillier curated a major Art Deco show at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, which helped to increase popular awareness of this style.

Schocken Books published a revised edition in 1985. For the cover and the title page, designer Pauline Harrison stuck with Broadway, but worked with the inline version named Broadway Engraved. This spin-off was not part of ATF’s series (they already had the similar Boul Mich by Oz Cooper), but was made by Sol Hess for Lanston Monotype in 1928. The secondary typeface is Univers, just like in Greenwood’s design of the first edition. Univers is also the text typeface used for the interior (not pictured).

1972 edition.

Back cover.

Revised edition by Schocken Books, 1985, ft. Broadway Engraved.

Title page from the 1985 edition. The frontispiece depicts a frosted glass door removed from Maison Lee, hairdressers, Finchley Road, London NW3 (built 1937, demolished 1964).