‘Une page est une image.’ Tekst als beeld in Arts et Métiers Graphiques

Abstract

Arts et Métiers Graphiques (1927-1939) was a French graphic arts periodical published by type founder Charles Peignot. It tried to address all aspects of graphic design and of the art of the book in articles written by prominent art critics, graphic designers, book historians and literary authors. These contents were presented in a luxury way: on fine paper with an intricate page layout and multiple fonts, and with offset inserts serving as illustrations or samples of technical innovations such as color printing – all of which would please the bibliophile readership. Apart from advocating the renaissance of the beau livre and bibliophilia, Arts et Métiers Graphiques tried to redefine or adjust the traditional view on the literary text. A literary text was not only a thing to be read, it was also a visual and material object – hence the editors’ often exclusive focus on material aspects of the books they discussed. In doing so, they wanted to enlarge the scope of literary criticism to include these aspects. After a historical overview of the magazine and a discussion of the editors’ views on bibliophilism, this article aims to investigate the notion of the text as image in Arts et Métiers Graphiques.