A book design project for Artmonsky Arts, in collaboration with David Preston Studio. Austin Cooper, Master of the Poster is one of many design history books written by Ruth Artmonsky for Artmonsky Arts. As with most of the previous titles, such as Drawn to Drink, the book is in a landscape format small enough to comfortably hold in your hands while you read. The books have been described by Eye magazine as being ‘models of modesty and readability’ in a time when many graphic design books have become ‘costly mega-productions, perhaps more flipped through than read’ (Eye 93). Austin Cooper, Master of the Poster can be purchased here.

About Austin Cooper
Austin Cooper was by chance of birth a Canadian but built his career as a commercial artist in London. Art-educated in Wales and Scotland, he became, in the inter-war years, one of the most highly-respected poster artists in the United Kingdom – one of L.N.E.R’s ‘elite’ five, his name comparable to that of McKnight Kauffer for work for London Transport, and a contributor to Post Office posters for some ten years. He was to become the Principal of the distinguished Reimann School for its short life in London just prior to WWII. He then virtually disappeared from the commercial art world, leading a reclusive life in a frustrated attempt to build a belated career as a ‘fine’ artist. His ‘Making a Poster’ book is as valid in its advice now as when it was written in 1938.