A treasure chest of art deco

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A beautiful book – immerse yourself or dip in at will

The Art Deco Poster by William W. Crouse, Introduction by Alistair Duncan

The number of posters involved in this collection is astounding, all thanks to the poster enthusiast William Crouse. It focuses on the years between the wars and even contains rare examples from some of the great graphic designers, such as Lester Beall (1903–69), Marcello Nizzoli (1887–1969) and Cassandre (1901–68). The book is a testament to the love of poster art that Crouse possessed.

One of the best qualities of the book is its structure. I would class this as a catalogue, even an encyclopedia, of Art Deco posters. The posters are categorized into themes of Aviation, Automobiles and Motorcycles, Consumer and Industrial Products, Leisure, Fashion and Entertainment, Motor Racing, Food, Beverage, and Tobacco, Ocean Liners, Railways and finally Travel and Tourism. Along with each illustration there is an enlightening text that deals with the socio-cultural components as well as the aesthetic. The texts are short and concise but still factually rich. They don’t try and compete with the visuals, which quite rightly take centre stage. So if you don’t have the time to dedicate to reading whole chapters – if you only have a few minutes – you can open the book to any page and quickly learn not only about a poster but also a bit of history.

In comparison with other Art Deco books on the market, this is middle of the range in cost,  at £35. A cheaper book is Art Deco: The Golden Age of Graphic Art and Illustration, published by Flame Tree Publishing at £20, although this lacks as much depth and has half the number of illustrations. It is something of a taster into the Art Deco era of design. On the other side there is the more expensive Art Deco Complete: The Definitive Guide to the Decorative arts of the 1920s and 1930s, published also by Thames and Hudson, which sells for £50 but has more pages and pictures (544 pages to be exact). All are coffee-table books and good value but The Art Deco Poster occupies the middle ground in price and size.

For anyone interested in the aesthetic of Art Deco style or the history of the 1920s and ’30s, or who wants to find inspiration from early graphic design, this book provides a thorough assemblage of the wide range of poster advertisements of the time. The book is quite frankly beautiful, although I have long been quite the enthusiast for the 1920s style. It is just over A4 in size (31 x 25 x 3.7cm) with every page covered in colour illustrations, a majority even being close to full-page prints. A great coffee table book, and informative too.

The Art Deco Poster  by William W. Crouse, Introduction by Alistair Duncan is published by Thames and Hudson, 2013. 313 pp., 340 colour & 27 mono illus, £35.00. ISBN: 978-0-500-51704-8