Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Alex Steinweiss, RIP








Alex Steinweiss, who passed away last week at the age of 94, has traditionally been known (among record collectors and graphic design historians) as the inventor of the record album cover, in 1939.

Although this claim to fame is now being confronted by some collectors of jazz '78s, Steinweiss was, in any event, a fantastic graphic designer of both album cover art, album cover packaging and other forms of 20th century design.

In remembrance of his talents, here are some pics from my 2009 exhibition at Wild Goose Creative, "Steinweiss: the Inventor of the Record Album Cover".

The New York Times obituary for Steinweiss: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/business/media/alex-steinweiss-originator-of-artistic-album-covers-dies-at-94.html

Taschen's $700.00, limited edition book on Steinweiss: http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/design/all/05039/facts.alex_steinweiss_the_inventor_of_the_modern_album_cover.htm

Wild Goose Creative: http://www.wildgoosecreative.com/Wild_Goose_Creative___Home.html
Pin It

1 comment:

Emily said...

I wish i'd seen it, but the pics are a good second best. DId you get any research direct from the man himself? It would be great to hear some anecdotes. Anyway, great post.