Schweizer Signete – Trade Marks and Symbols, 1948 [Walter Herdeg]

Schweizer Signete – Trade Marks and Symbols: A Collection of the Finest and Most Expressive Modern Swiss Trade Marks, Symbols, Emblems and Colophons, Walter Herdeg, 1948. Amstutz & Herdeg, Graphis Press, Zürich, Switzerland. 9.75 x 9, pp. 92 with German and English text. Printed in Switzerland.

Uncommon. An important collection of (92) Modern Swiss trademarks, symbols, emblems and colophons. French folds with one logo presented on a single page in black with designer, client and type of company credits. ”While the quality of the Swiss poster has earned general recognition at home and abroad, the very high artistic level of Swiss trade marks has so far remained almost completely unknown.” This publication made Swiss trademarks more accessible to a wider audiences.

A thoughtful Introduction by Walter Herdeg (1908–1995) where he sets forth the “intellectual and artistic prerequisites for the production of good design.” With a List of the Trade Marks, and an Index to Designers followed by an impressive collection of examples by but not limited to: Hermann Eidenbenz, Pierre Gauchat, Hans Hartmann, Walter Herdeg, Honegger-Lavater, Walter Käch, Ernst Keller, Helmut Kurtz, Herbert Leupin, Gérard Miedinger, Hans Neuburg, Celestino Piatti, Imre Reiner, Jan Tschichold, Carlo Vivarelli, Kurt Wirth and many others.

A very good grey hardcover cloth with a slight split to pp. 91 towards the back binding and a light bend to a few page corners. In it’s good, uncommon dust jacket with moderate wear and soiling, a faded spine and some paper loss to the edges and corners.