A Collection of Japanese Ephemera from the 1930s and 1940s
Beyond being mere artefacts of design, these examples encapsulate the dynamic changes Japan was undergoing during this period. The design output of this era not only served commercial purposes but also became a powerful medium for expressing these societal shifts.
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One of my standout collected pieces is Erberto Carboni’s Crociere 1937 “Italia” Brochure, created for the Societa di Navigazione’s 1937 cruise schedule.
In my previous article about the design work produced for Insituto di Tella, I touched upon the artists Juan Carlos Distéfano, Ruben Fontana and Juan Andralis. After further research, I found a suite of other designs they had produced, including exhibition posters, concert programmes and record sleeves.
Little is known about the designer Günther Heil. he established his graphic studio in Berlin and designed many advertisements for 8mm and 16mm film distributor Bruno Schmidt in the 1960s. These were created in the same era as the film distributor Atlas Films was sending films to art-house theatres and were hiring designers Hans Hillmann, Hans Michel, Günther Kieser, Wolfgang Schmidt and Karl Oskar Blase.