Monday 2 August 2010

The percentage of excellence in books...

1919 - Extracts from an Investigation into the Physical Properties of Books as They Are At Present Published. The Society of Calligraphers, Boston. 

This is a small pamphlet that was designed and authored by the graphic designer W.A. Dwiggins  and his cousin L.B. Sigfried. It pilloried the format of books and his concern for the poor methods of printing trade books in the US at that time. 

The book was published by the imaginary Society of Calligraphers and the stinging investigation was a hoax cooked up by Dwiggins - nevertheless it did have an effect on publishing in the US following its wide distribution. 

The graph by Dwiggins shows the reduction in book quality since 1910.