The Book Designs of Ernst ReichI

CATHERINE TYLER BRODY

During his professional career of half a century, Ernst ReichI
achieved a reputation for excellence as one of America's
leading book designers. Now seven years after his death,
it becomes easier to evaluate his historical importance. His innova¬
tions in design have left a permanent influence on the appearance
of the contemporary printed book, and his calm, reasoned
approach to creating designs and solving design problems made
him a key figure in the development of American book typography
during a crucial time.

At his death in 1980, ReichI left not only a heritage of over
2,500 book designs, several publications of his own, and the fruits
of a dedicated teaching career, but also an extensive collection of
private papers, correspondence, scrapbooks, diaries, clippings, and
photographs. The materials include a file of some thousand cards,
carefully written out by ReichI in the years before his death. On
each card he comments critically on one of his book designs,
recalling the circumstances under which it was created and sup¬
plying autobiographical detail and analyses. Miriam Brudno
ReichI, the designer's widow, donated this material, comprising
more than 2,200 items, which include manuscripts, dummies,
mock-ups, about 1,100 ofthe books he designed, and examples of
his trademarks, letterheads, and other commercial art, to the Rare
Book and Manuscript Library. The collection gives an inside view
of the complicated and subtle process by which book designs are
created. In many ways, the collection constitutes Reichl's artfstic
autobiography.

The historical significance of Reichl's work lies in its documenta¬
tion of the transition from the traditional methods of book design
to the new methods necessitated by the revolutions in book pro¬
duction. By the late 1960s, photocomposition and offset printing
gradually replaced metal type and letterpress almost completely.