TYPE PICTURES: AN EXHIBITION FEATURING THE WORK OF ALBERT SCHILLER

stapled paper wrappers

n.d. · Rochester, NY

Rochester, NY: Melbert B. Cary, Jr. Graphic Arts Collection, Wallace Memorial Library, Rochester Institute of Technology, n.d.. stapled paper wrappers. Schiller, Albert. 8vo. stapled paper wrappers. unpaginated. Minor fading to the edges, else a fine copy. Unique collection of items pertaining to the advertising typographer and art director Albert Schiller (1899-1970), who is best known for his "type pictures." The pamphlet is not illustrated except for the cover, however the pamphlet contains a very short description of the 25 sections featured for the exhibition. Schiller's archive is housed at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

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Schiller's pictures were composed of non-alphabetic type elements (rules, ornaments, etc.) set in a form; the original prints were then taken directly from the original composition. Schiller composed 22 major pictures in this fashion and a number of smaller illustrations or designs. The pictures are often ingenious in the use of typographic elements, and the larger pictures (urban landscapes, interiors, etc.) may be quite detailed. Part of the interest lies in the artistic consequences of the choice of medium, for ex., the difficulty in introducing 3-dimensional perspective using elements of unvarying size. Schiller understood his pictures as "machine art" and regarded them as something new; one might regard them today as a precursor of computer art. In his own time, he was sufficiently well-known to have several exhibitions and be the subject of several NY Times articles. Art critics ignored him, however.

Schiller's artwork and designs appeared in various printed materials produced by or with the involvement of his employer of many years, the Advertising Agencies' Service Company. His pictures seem to have functioned somewhat as an in-house source clip art, and could appear in different sizes and colors, alone or with other pictures, in their entirety or in segments, all as needed in different contexts. He also did more conventional typographic designs. This collection contains many examples of the same picture or other typographic design used in various ways. Schiller also designed various issues of graphic arts journals, of which several examples are included, and other items for the graphic arts community, for ex. a keepsake for a visit and talk by Beatrice Warde, for which both the finished product and some mock-ups will be found here. He designed his own Christmas cards and many of his employer's internal publications: type specimen sheets, elaborate notices of company picnics, company greeting cards, special envelopes, and so on.

Schiller also wrote several brief items on graphic arts topics, a short monograph on "Machine Age Art," and an autobiography. (Inventory #: 139707)

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