Joseph Low – Bach/ Finn Videro

This a much more simple illustration still with rough rich textured line strokes. Most of his covers were two colored, overprinted. I love how this one created thick outline from the overprint.

About Joseph Low:
Joseph Low Article on New York Times
Joseph Low Wikipedia

Design: Joseph Low   |   Year: 1953   |   Photos: Javier García

Product Info:
Haydn Society Album Covers, 1953
Copyright 1953 by the Haydn Society, Inc.
Boston Massachusetts
Cover Design by Joseph Low

Joseph Low – Bach, Buxtehiude

This cover features a cleaner illustration that looks more like cut out paper contrasted with rough rich textured background lines. There are some lines that look like scratches or pen scribbles on the surface but it’s actually part of the illustration.

Design: Joseph Low   |   Year: 1953   |   Photos: Javier García

About Joseph Low:
Joseph Low Article on New York Times
Joseph Low Wikipedia

Product Info:
Haydn Society Album Covers, 1953
Copyright 1953 by the Haydn Society, Inc.
Boston Massachusetts
Cover Design by Joseph Low

Joseph Low – Bach / Finn Videro 2

low_bach-variations_2.jpg

low_bach-variations_3.jpg

I will be posting a series of classical records from the Haydn Society/ Boston that I’ve been collecting. My last post from these series will be a surprise (I hope). It’s a record cover that blew me away.

I could not find much information on the design part of the Haydn Society but they seem to have hired top of the line designers for their record covers.

Joseph Low was an Illustrator who made cover illustrations for The New Yorker and is mostly know from the awards of his book “Mice Twice.” He also illustrated over a dozen children books, book jackets and record covers. I will be posting a few of the record covers here.

His style is very expressive, rich in texture and playful. He used a lot of rough brush strokes and wood and linoleum cuts. The bricks on the image above were probably either linoleum or wood cuts I think which added a very cool texture.

I also love the typography and how it interacts with the background.

Design: Joseph Low   |   Year: 1954   |   Photos: Javier García

About:
Joseph Low Article on New York Times
Joseph Low Wikipedia

Product Info:
Haydn Society Album Covers, 1954
Copyright 1954 by the Haydn Society, Inc.
Boston Massachusetts
Cover Design by Joseph Low

Alvin Lustig’s Vivaldi Album Cover

lustig_vivaldi_2.jpg

lustig_vivaldi_3.jpg

This is an awesome album cover of the Italian eighteenth-century composer Antonio Vivaldi that I was able to find from the amazing American Modern Design Pioneer, Alvin Lustig. It’s a bit dusty with a couple stains but considering its age its understandable. I was immediately drawn to it for its shapes, then I saw the printed signature and immediately payed for it at an old stack of records from an antique store.

I love the rhythm and the relationship between the backgroung and typography arrangements. The color is amazing. Not sure if this was originally printed on a white paper but the aged tone gives it a nice touch.

Design: Alvin Lustig   |   Year: 1952   |   Photos: Javier García

Product Info:
Haydn Society Album Covers, 1952
Copyright 1953 by the Haydn Society, Inc.
Boston Massachusetts
Cover Design by Alvin Lustig