Active Literature:
Jan Tschichold and New Typography
Christopher Burke

Jan Tschichold (1902–1974) is considered by many to be the most influential typographer of the twentieth century. A leading voice of the modernist movement, Tschichold oversaw the redesign of the Penguin and Pelican paperbacks in the late 1940s and devised for them a standardized set of typographic rules. The classical type designs of his late career qualify him as perhaps the first typographic postmodernist. Active Literature, an in-depth study of Jan Tschichold's modernist period, is based on extensive archival research that uncovered a wealth of new photographs of his design work. Author Christopher Burke presents a full portrait of the designer's career and puts into context Tschichold's own account of his life and work.


Christopher Burke is a type designer, typographer, and the author of Paul Renner (1998).
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Editorial Reviews

The New York Times Book Review :
"...not the first, but decidedly the most thorough biography published to date and sets in stone Tschicholds enormous contribution." (October 26, 2008)

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