“The Inland Printer,” a leading graphic arts journal of its time, devoted the cover of its January, 1898 issue, and several interior pages, to the art of Beatrice Tonnesen. The magazine, which described itself as “a technical journal devoted to the art of printing,” was based in Chicago. In researching the publication, I came across the website MagazineArt.org, which describes its impact as follows:
The magazine was an extremely important influence in popularizing Art Nouveau and a general improvement in the artistic quality and design of printed materials in the United States, beginning in the 1890’s.
(Actually, I found other online references to its existence ranging from 1883 to 1974.)
In an article titled “Photography for Advertising Uses,” the editors opined that the time had come for professional photographers to try new ideas and to “throw more art into (their) calling.” And they hailed Beatrice Tonnesen’s recent introduction of photographic art into advertising as an example of just such an achievement. To demonstrate their point, they included illustrations and half-tones of several of her art photos, as well as several of her advertising suggestions – sample ads built around photographs created for commercial purposes. I’ve found examples of Tonnesen’s art photos, as well as ads run by the Tonnesen Sisters touting their own advertising work, in other issues of “The Inland Printer.” But, I’ve never found such an extensive presentation of her advertising art. I feel very lucky to have been able to acquire this issue, and am happy to be able to share its feature story and the very rare images that accompany it, via the slideshow at right. (Note: For easier reading of the feature story, see the reprinted text below.)
Copyright 2013 Lois Emerson
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