a design pioneer

First US edition of this scarce Isotype title by graphic design pioneer Marie Neurath (1898-1986). Most of the Isotype children's books were first published by Max Parrish in London and then by Lothrop, Lee & Shepard in New York, but we cannot find any record of a Parrish edition of this title, so the US edition may be the first.

Neurath, along with her husband Otto and their colleague Gerd Arntz, was one of the founders of Isotype, a simplified visual method for conveying complex information. First developed in the 1920s, Isotype 'helped establish some of the core principles of graphic design' and its legacy 'can be seen everywhere from newspapers and textbooks to signage, transit maps, interfaces, and emojis' (Inglis, 'Meet Marie Neurath', AIGA Eye on Design, September 17, 2019).

Neurath was 'a remarkable practitioner' who 'researched, calculated, and co-designed nearly every Isotype ever created, from the early days in Vienna in 1925 all the way to when she retired in 1971' (Forrest, 'The Missing Legacy of Marie Neurath', Medium, January 20, 2020). Marie continued the work of Isotype after Otto's death in 1945 and became known for the series of children's books she published over the next twenty years, 'an ideal place to put Isotype's methods into practice' (Inglis).

First US edition, first impression; 4to; colour illustrations throughout, contents very faintly toned; original red boards, titles and radio transmitter design to upper board in black, a little rubbed at the extremities, very good condition; 36pp.