Aleksandr Rodchenko (Russian, 1891-1946)

Some cool Constructivist book cover designs from the late 1920s and early 30s from the Museum of Modern Art.

Aleksandr Rodchenko, L'Art Décoratif et Industriel de L' U.R.S.S 1925 — Aleksandr Rodchenko, L'Art Décoratif et Industriel de L' U.R.S.S 1925

Aleksandr Rodchenko. New LEF: Journal of the Left Front of the Arts), no. 12, 1928 — Aleksandr Rodchenko. New LEF: Journal of the Left Front of the Arts), no. 12, 1928

Aleksandr Rodchenko No. S. (Novye stikhi) 1928 — Aleksandr Rodchenko No. S. (Novye stikhi) 1928

+moma.org

Aleksandr Rodchenko, Novyi LEF. Zhurnal levogo fronta iskusstv (New LEF: Journal of the Left Front of the Arts), no. 6, 1928 — Aleksandr Rodchenko, Novyi LEF. Zhurnal levogo fronta iskusstv (New LEF: Journal of the Left Front of the Arts), no. 6, 1928

A nice Paul Rand designed book jacket

Mine Boy by Peter Abrahams. Cover design by Paul Rand. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1955. First American Edition. This beauty is available at Lorne Bair Rare Books for a mere $45

Lois Lenski

Here are a few great examples of books illustrated (many also written) by Lois Lenski (1893 – 1974)

Betsy-Tacy, by Maud Hart Lovelace, illustrated by Lois Lenski via

The Little Auto by Lois Lenski via Brickbatbooks.com

The Little Airplane by Lois Lenski. New York: Oxford University Press, (1938) — The Little Airplane by Lois Lenski. New York: Oxford University Press, (1938)

Erik Nitsche

Erik Nitsche (September 7, 1908 - November 14, 1998) was a Swiss-born designer who, after moving to the United States at the age of 26, had a long and successful career as a graphic designer and art director. He's most famous for the work he did for General Dynamics, the engineering company, but also created many iconic record album and book covers. I love his abstract geometric images humanized by delicate color palettes. Enjoy!

Poster for General Dynamics, Convair 880: world's fastest jetliner, 1959 via galerie123.com

Poster for General Dynamics, General Dynamics, liquid carbonic, medical gases, 1960 — Poster for General Dynamics, General Dynamics, liquid carbonic, medical gases, 1960

Poster for General Dynamics, Astrodynamics, Atoms for peace, 1955 — Poster for General Dynamics, Astrodynamics, Atoms for peace, 1955

Poster for General Dynamics (Triga around the world, General Atomic) 1960

J.S Bach, The Well-tempered clavier, Decca Records

Rachmaninoff for Decca Records via — Rachmaninoff for Decca Records via

Magazine illustration, Eyes of the fighting 9th

Read and see more here: iconofgraphics.com, Erik Nitsche Design Archive and galerie123.com

Winnie Fitch

I only just came across this illustrator the other day. She's been working hard in the industry for many years and is happily still at it! Her work is available on Imagekind. Here are some especially nice book covers and a catalogue cover from the 1950s. I love her line work in these book cover illustrations, and the catalogue gives us a taste of her quintessentially mid-century style of character illustration. She also created some whimsical advertisements while working in Chicago, New York and Boston. See more here.