Book designer Michael Russem welcomed Ticknorites for a private tour of two new exhibits at Katherine Small Gallery. “Bernard Shaw: Covered” investigated how great designers of the twentieth century approached designing his work and includes covers by Jan Tschichold, Hermann Zapf, Seymour Chwast, Leonard Baskin, and others. A second exhibit showcased collages by John Gall, creative director for the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, who oversees the design of hundreds of book covers each year.
Michael Russem is the proprietor of Katherine Small Gallery in Somerville. Called “small but mighty” by the Boston Globe, it opened in 2018 to encourage affordable collecting as a way for graphic designers and students of design to learn about the history of their field. In addition to exhibits, one will find for sale a selection of new, used, and rare books and magazines about graphic design, typography, and printed ephemera from publishers all over the world.
Our visit included ample time for browsing and shopping.