A Woman to Know: Margaret Armstrong
She started a vogue for making the book covers themselves artistic and distinctive. — Margaret's brother Hamilton, describing his sister's unique design aesthetic
(image via The New York Public Library)
Margaret's work is what Pinterest design dreams are made of: in the 1920s and 30s, she worked in New York City as a designer, illustrator and custom book binder. She was also a botanist, and her Art Nouveau-inspired style combined typography with floral design for an aesthetic all her own (Seriously, I recommend you go on a Pinterest binge). In her 20-year career, Margaret designed more than 300 book covers, and she'd occasionally sign a small "MA" on her designs. You can see it on the cover below, just to the right of the center line.
(image via The Library of Congress)
Add to your library list:
Field Book of Western Wild Flowers (Margaret Armstrong)
The Origins of Graphic Design in America (Ellen Mazur Thomson)
Margaret Armstrong and American Trade Book Bindings (Charles Gullans)
Read more:
Printed Flower Gardens: The Book Binding of Margaret Neilson Armstrong (Rare Book School)
Margaret Armstrong Binding Collection (The Library of Congress)
Summer of archives: Gorgeous historical book covers (Digital Public Library of America)
A selection of American decorated book bindings (Thomas J. Watson Library)
Artwork of Margaret Armstrong (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
American Bound: Watson's Rare Trade Book Bindings (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Margaret Armstrong (University of Rochester)
Margaret Armstrong Decorative Book Binding (Boston Book Company)
Margaret Armstrong and Graphic Arts (Princeton University)
American Decorated Book Bindings and Their Designers (Rochester Institute of Technology)
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