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Object Timeline

1959

  • Work on this object began.

1993

  • We acquired this object.

2013

2024

  • You found it!

Book Cover, The Main Stream of Music and Other Essays

This is a Book cover. It was designed by Elaine Lustig Cohen. It is dated 1959 and we acquired it in 1993. Its medium is offset lithograph on paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.

Elaine Lustig Cohen was married to Alvin Lustig from 1948 to 1955. She managed her husband’s studio, serving as a secretary, production assistant, and draftsperson—the “office slave,” as she recalls. As Lustig lost his eyesight to diabetes, he relied on his wife to execute his concepts. Following Lustig’s death, Cohen established her own design practice. Her book covers shown here use abstract structural elements, expressive typography, and conceptual photographs to richly interpret the books’ contents.

This object was donated by Tamar Cohen. It is credited Gift of Tamar Cohen and Dave Slatoff.

Its dimensions are

H x W: 18.3 x 11.1 cm (7 3/16 x 4 3/8 in.)

It is inscribed

Printed in white, lower left: elaine lustig; at top: DONALD FRANCIS TOVEY; at center right: The Main Stream / of Music and / Other Essays; at bottom: MERIDIAN BOOKS M 74 $1.45 Canada $1.60

Cite this object as

Book Cover, The Main Stream of Music and Other Essays; Designed by Elaine Lustig Cohen (American, 1927–2016); USA; offset lithograph on paper; H x W: 18.3 x 11.1 cm (7 3/16 x 4 3/8 in.); Gift of Tamar Cohen and Dave Slatoff; 1993-31-19

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18645139/ |title=Book Cover, The Main Stream of Music and Other Essays |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=25 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>