Portfolio Magazine, Issue 2 (Summer 1950)

Designed for the graphic arts, Portfolio was a visionary magazine edited by George Rosenthal and Frank Zachary and art-directed by Alexey Brodovitch. Published from 1950–1951, it lasted only three issues due to Brodovitch’s insistence on excluding advertisements in favor of pure art and design. Today, Portfolio is regarded as a masterpiece of graphic design, and this second issue featuring a Charles Eames-designed cover and 14-page profile on Charles and Ray Eames, showcasing their work in furniture, art, Case Study Houses, wartime designs, and kite-making, is the most sought after by collectors. [MORE] Also includes an 8-page exploration of creative typography and calligraphy, including works by Guillaume Apollinaire, Pierre Reverdy (with illustrations by Pablo Picasso), and Wu Chang-Shih, full-color plates featuring Rufino Tamayo, Henry Moore, Morris Graves, and Ben Shahn, a 6-page pull-out capturing the Philadelphia Mummers Parade with over 30 photographs by Sol Mednick, Ben Rose, and Philadelphia School of Art students, an e mbossed cover, bound-in wallpaper sample, fold-out sections, and the highest-quality printing available in 1950.