Some Posters from the NGV presents and discusses a selection from an archive of posters created by and for the National Gallery of Victoria between 1963 and 1985. This book, the first of a new imprint from the NGV, intends to push outside the comfortable bounds of museum publishing and test new ways that an institution like the NGV can engage in adventurous and contemporary modes of publishing. Co-edited by myself and Megan Patty, with contributions by Elizabeth Glickfeld, Stuart Bertolotti-Bailey, James Langdon and Brad Haylock, it manages to be an archive of posters, a history of the gallery, and a discussion of graphic design in Australia during a key period of its professionalisation.

The simple idea that organises this book is the choice of a two-sided paper, made specifically for posters. The white (coated) side is for reproductions of the posters, and the blue (uncoated) side is for text, supporting images and discussion of those posters. This paper, though not made for handling, is surprisingly beautiful to touch. The slightly oversize format feels like a folio, and the flexible binding allows it to open flat, and lends the book an informality. The typography is structured but casual, using an almost anonymous Grotesque and Ionic combination that is present in many of the posters.

Notes

• 192pp book
• Printed on 115gsm Chantaffiche blue-back poster paper, Ota-bound and covered in Popset Shocking Pink by Lenoirschuring
• Type: Monotype Grotesque and Monotype Ionic
• Published by the National Gallery of Victoria