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Alex Steinweiss: The Inventor of the Modern Album Cover - XXL Collectors Edition
Kevin Reagan & Steven Heller
Hardcover in linen covered slipcase | 39.6 x 5.8 x 33 cm | 422 pp
Taschen | 2009 | 9783836501927
Text in English, French & GermanLimited edition of 1,500
PLEASE NOTE: This is an ex-display trade sample of Taschen's limited edition of 1500 copies, and as such it is unsigned and unnumbered.
Condition
Ex-display copy in excellent condition.
Outer cardboard box has some minor dents - see final image.
Ex-display copy in excellent condition.
Outer cardboard box has some minor dents - see final image.
Alex Steinweiss invented the album cover as we know it, and created a new graphic art form. In 1940, as Columbia Records’ new young art director, he pitched an idea: why not replace the standard plain brown wrapper with an eye-catching illustration? The company took a chance, and within months its record sales increased by over 800 percent. His covers for Columbia—combining bold typography with modern, elegant illustrations—took the industry by storm and revolutionised the way records were sold.
Over three decades, Steinweiss made thousands of original artworks for classical, jazz, and popular record covers for Columbia, Decca, London, and Everest; as well as logos, labels, advertising material, even his own typeface, the Steinweiss Scrawl. He launched the golden age of album cover design and influenced generations of designers to follow. Less well known—but included here—are his posters for the U.S. Navy; packaging and label design for liquor companies; film title sequences; as well as his fine art. Includes essays by three-time Grammy Award–winning art director/designer Kevin Reagan and graphic design historian Steven Heller; Steinweiss’s personal recollections from an epic career; and extensive ephemera from the Steinweiss archive, most of it never before published.
Over three decades, Steinweiss made thousands of original artworks for classical, jazz, and popular record covers for Columbia, Decca, London, and Everest; as well as logos, labels, advertising material, even his own typeface, the Steinweiss Scrawl. He launched the golden age of album cover design and influenced generations of designers to follow. Less well known—but included here—are his posters for the U.S. Navy; packaging and label design for liquor companies; film title sequences; as well as his fine art. Includes essays by three-time Grammy Award–winning art director/designer Kevin Reagan and graphic design historian Steven Heller; Steinweiss’s personal recollections from an epic career; and extensive ephemera from the Steinweiss archive, most of it never before published.
The artist
The father of record design is Alex Steinweiss, who in 1940, at the age of 23, single-handedly invented the album cover. He made thousands of classical, jazz, and pop covers for Columbia, London, Decca, and Everest; and his modern designs graced the packaging, logos, and covers of dozens of distilleries, film studios, and magazines; earning him an AIGA Medal and the Art Directors Hall of Fame lifetime achievement award.
The authors
Kevin Reagan is a triple Grammy Award–winning art director, also honored by AIGA, Print, and Communication Arts. As former art director of Geffen, MCA, and Maverick, he designed packages for Madonna, Beck, Sonic Youth, and many others. He lives in Los Angeles.
Steven Heller has produced over 200 books on visual communication and published countless articles in international design magazines. Currently he is cofounder and cochair of the MFA Design program at the School of Visual Arts, New York.
$200.00
Alex Steinweiss: The Inventor of the Modern Album Cover - XXL Collectors Edition—
$200.00
Product Information
Product Information
Shipping & Returns
Shipping & Returns
Description
Kevin Reagan & Steven Heller
Hardcover in linen covered slipcase | 39.6 x 5.8 x 33 cm | 422 pp
Taschen | 2009 | 9783836501927
Text in English, French & GermanLimited edition of 1,500
PLEASE NOTE: This is an ex-display trade sample of Taschen's limited edition of 1500 copies, and as such it is unsigned and unnumbered.
Condition
Ex-display copy in excellent condition.
Outer cardboard box has some minor dents - see final image.
Ex-display copy in excellent condition.
Outer cardboard box has some minor dents - see final image.
Alex Steinweiss invented the album cover as we know it, and created a new graphic art form. In 1940, as Columbia Records’ new young art director, he pitched an idea: why not replace the standard plain brown wrapper with an eye-catching illustration? The company took a chance, and within months its record sales increased by over 800 percent. His covers for Columbia—combining bold typography with modern, elegant illustrations—took the industry by storm and revolutionised the way records were sold.
Over three decades, Steinweiss made thousands of original artworks for classical, jazz, and popular record covers for Columbia, Decca, London, and Everest; as well as logos, labels, advertising material, even his own typeface, the Steinweiss Scrawl. He launched the golden age of album cover design and influenced generations of designers to follow. Less well known—but included here—are his posters for the U.S. Navy; packaging and label design for liquor companies; film title sequences; as well as his fine art. Includes essays by three-time Grammy Award–winning art director/designer Kevin Reagan and graphic design historian Steven Heller; Steinweiss’s personal recollections from an epic career; and extensive ephemera from the Steinweiss archive, most of it never before published.
Over three decades, Steinweiss made thousands of original artworks for classical, jazz, and popular record covers for Columbia, Decca, London, and Everest; as well as logos, labels, advertising material, even his own typeface, the Steinweiss Scrawl. He launched the golden age of album cover design and influenced generations of designers to follow. Less well known—but included here—are his posters for the U.S. Navy; packaging and label design for liquor companies; film title sequences; as well as his fine art. Includes essays by three-time Grammy Award–winning art director/designer Kevin Reagan and graphic design historian Steven Heller; Steinweiss’s personal recollections from an epic career; and extensive ephemera from the Steinweiss archive, most of it never before published.
The artist
The father of record design is Alex Steinweiss, who in 1940, at the age of 23, single-handedly invented the album cover. He made thousands of classical, jazz, and pop covers for Columbia, London, Decca, and Everest; and his modern designs graced the packaging, logos, and covers of dozens of distilleries, film studios, and magazines; earning him an AIGA Medal and the Art Directors Hall of Fame lifetime achievement award.
The authors
Kevin Reagan is a triple Grammy Award–winning art director, also honored by AIGA, Print, and Communication Arts. As former art director of Geffen, MCA, and Maverick, he designed packages for Madonna, Beck, Sonic Youth, and many others. He lives in Los Angeles.
Steven Heller has produced over 200 books on visual communication and published countless articles in international design magazines. Currently he is cofounder and cochair of the MFA Design program at the School of Visual Arts, New York.
