Rare & Beautiful: The Man Who Designed 500 Logos
Rediscovering the work of American graphic design pioneer Clarence Hornung
By Anne Quito, Superscript November 5, 2013During his long and remarkable career, Clarence Pearson Hornung (1899-1998) designed typefaces, automobile ads, sales catalogues, packaging, products, and interiors. An accomplished illustrator with a keen sense for typography, Hornung found his niche in developing logos. Since his first commission at age 16, Hornung would go on to design more than 500 marks—commercial logos, signets, emblems, monograms, and colophons. He designed for book publishers like Encyclopedia Britannica, Vanguard Press, and the Book League of America. Hornung created the iconic eagle symbol for the Victory Book Campaign and designed logos for federal agencies during the war.
Hornung was also a prolific author with several of his books still in circulation, but a compendium of his logo work is a rare find. In this installment of Rare & Beautiful, Randall Ross of Modernism 101 corresponds with Anne Quito about this special volume on the seminal work of an American graphic design master.
Anne Quito: Why do you think this book is overlooked?
Randall Ross: Trademark collections occupy the shadow areas between Technical, Vocational, and Artisan publishing. As such, many of these volumes are perceived as little more than textbooks. But a closer look often reveals a hidden gem.
The Books


Jim Heimann
AQ: What makes this copy particularly special to you?
RR: Trade-Marks Designed By Clarence P. Hornung was published by the Caxton Press in 1930. If the elaborate gilt-stamping on the spine gets your interest long enough to pull this title off the shelf you will be immensely rewarded, starting with the revelation of a tipped-in decorative medallion on the line-ruled and embossed cloth front panel.
The colophon stated that 750 copies were printed in December 1930, with 650 copies for sale; each volume was hand-signed and numbered by Hornung. The American Institute of Graphic Arts selected this title as one of their 50 Books of the Year in 1932.
AQ: For such a prolific logo designer we seem to have forgotten about Clarence Hornung. Why do you think that is?
RR: Hornung studied at City College and Columbia University and proved himself a prolific designer and author, but little else is known about his background. If he had studied at the Bauhaus, worked in the Behrens atelier or embraced the European modernism that came into vogue in the early 1930s, I believe the case would be different.
Randall Ross is the owner of Modernism 101, a Louisiana-based bookseller specializing in rare and out-of-print design books and periodicals. Their inventory spotlights famous and forgotten architects, photographers, typographers, and industrial designers.
Announcements
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy by John Lobell
Louis Kahn: Architecture as Philosophy
By John Lobell
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: June 2020
Noted Louis I.Kahn expert John Lobell explores how Kahn’s focus on structure, respect for materials, clarity of program, and reverence for details come together to manifest an overall philosophy.
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn by Harriet Pattison
Our Days Are Like Full Years: A Memoir with Letters from Louis Kahn
By Harriet Pattison
Publisher: Yale University Press
Forthcoming: October 2020
An intimate glimpse into the professional and romantic relationship between Harriet Pattison and the renowned architect Louis Kahn. Harriet Pattison, FASLA, is a distinguished landscape architect. She was Louis Kahn’s romantic partner from 1959 to 1974, and his collaborator on the landscapes of the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and the F.D.R. Memorial/Four Freedoms Park, New York. She is the mother of their son, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nathaniel Kahn.
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
Louis I. Kahn: The Nordic Latitudes
By Per Olaf Fjeld and Emily Randall Fjeld
Publisher: University of Arkansas Press
Published: October 4, 2019
A new and personal reading of the architecture, teachings, and legacy of Louis I. Kahn from Per Olaf Fjeld’s perspective as a former student. The book explores Kahn’s life and work, offering a unique take on one of the twentieth century’s most important architects. Kahn’s Nordic and European ties are emphasized in this study that also covers his early childhood in Estonia, his travels, and his relationships with other architects, including the Norwegian architect Arne Korsmo.
Reading Graphic Design History: Image, Text, and Context by David Raizman
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By David Raizman
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Published: December 2020
An innovative approach to graphic design that uses a series of key artifacts from the history of print culture in light of their specific historical contexts. It encourages the reader to look carefully and critically at print advertising, illustration, posters, magazine art direction, and typography, often addressing issues of class, race, and gender.
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian by Rick Poynor
David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian
By Rick Poynor
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: September 2020
A comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of David King (1943–2016), whose fascinating career bridged journalism, graphic design, photography, and collecting. King launched his career at Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine in the 1960s, starting as a designer and later branching out into image-led journalism, blending political activism with his design work.
Teaching Graphic Design History by Steven Heller
Teaching Graphic Design History
By Steven Heller
Publisher: Allworth Press
Published: June 2019
An examination of the concerted efforts, happy accidents, and key influences of the practice throughout the years, Teaching Graphic Design History is an illuminating resource for students, practitioners, and future teachers of the subject.
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