The Graphic Art of Paul Rand — IBM Gallery, 1970 [Design: Paul Rand]

The Graphic Art of Paul Rand, 1970. IBM, International Business Machines Corporation, New York, USA. 6.25 x 9.25, double sided, folded once. Lithograph printed with five colors. Design by Paul Rand. The superb cover design (borrowed from Sparkle and Spin, 1957) features Rand’s unmistakably playful script and cut-paper collage design.

Uncommon; the last time we handled this work was in 2013! Published in conjunction with the exhibition, “The Graphic Art of Paul Rand” which took place from May 18 to June 20, 1970 at the IBM Gallery, 16 East 57th Street, New York, N.Y. 10022.

With an Introduction to the gallery exhibition, a short text re: Rand’s biography and achievements and testimonials by: Giovanni Pintori, Yusaku Kamekura, E. McKnight Kauffer and Ladislav Moholy-Nagy [sic]. Our favorite: “He thinks in terms of need and function. He is able to analyze his problems but his fantasy is boundless.” 

“Seeing Stripes: Nature has striped the zebra. Man has striped his flag and awnings, ties and shirts. For the typographer, stripes are rules; for the architect they are a means of creating optical illusions. Stripes are dazzling, sometimes hypnotic, usually happy. They are universal. They have adorned the walls of houses, churches, and mosques. Stripes attract attention.” (Rand, 1985, pp. 39)

A good, original 1970 Paul Rand exhibition invitation that has been moderately handled with tiny splits to the spine fold and wear to the corners and along the edges. Some blemishes and light marks to the black front cover. Not perfect and despite any flaws, would look lovely framed!