Saul Steinberg: "Design and Paper" Number 30

Design and Paper No. 30

Work by Saul Steinberg

Marquardt & Co. Fine Paper Promotional Booklet

Saul Steinberg, P. K. Thomajan [Editor]: Design and Paper No. 30. New York: Marquardt & Company Fine Papers, n. d. [c. 1948].

A softcover booklet in stiff, staped wrappers: spine edge lightly rubbed and worn. Interior unmarked and very clean. Out-of-print. 4.75" x 7.75" softcover booklet with 16 pages of text and graphics printed on one color concerning Saul Steinberg. Steinberg (1914-1999) was a Romanian-born American cartoonist and illustrator, best known for his work for The New Yorker.

The first six of Marquardt’s Design and Paper series of promotional booklets were portfolios showcasing a variety of artists. From Number Seven on, each issue was devoted to an individual artist. The Design and Paper series published original booklets designed by Ladislav Sutnar, Saul Steinberg, Raymond Loewy, E. McKnight Kauffer, Erik Nitsche, George Krikorian, Georges Wilmet, Ugo Mochi, Walter Westerveldt, Clarence John Laughlin, and others. 

Since the booklets promoted Marquardt papers, the design and printing of each issue met the highest production standards of the day.

From “The House Organ: Design and Paper” by P. K. Thomajan from Print Vol. 5, No. 3, 1947: “The idea for this typographic gem started with Edward Alonzo Miller, then associated with The Marchbanks Press. He suggested to Oswald F. Marquardt exactly ten years ago, the project of issuing an attractive quarterly presenting fine artwork on fine papers, thereby inspiring the increased usage of the latter. Mr. Marquardt promptly O.K.’d the idea and ever since has been O.K.’ing more and more ambitious issues.”

“The early issues were devoted to impressive assemblages of trademarks,  title pages, woodcuts, specimens of hand lettering and distinctive typefaces by prominent designers. These were printed on varying shades of antique papers, wire-stitched and thread-tied for that extra touch.”

“Distribution is directed principally to printers , art directors, trade press, and important executives. In addition, many copies go to non-customers, such as instructors of journalism and the graphic arts, who use copies as noteworthy specimens for classroom discussion.”