“Actualité littéraire”: a special issue featuring the mentors of Pierre Faucheux

In 1953, the publisher Bernard Gheerbrant and the graphic designer and typographer Pierre Faucheux launched the Club des libraires de France. Actualité littéraire, a monthly review published by the Club with a circulation of 60.000 copies, is designed in close association between the two men. At the end of 1956, Actualité littéraire devoted a double issue to the history of the book and the evolution of typography and illustration. Among the contributors, Jacques Haumont (“Typography in the book”) and Rober Bonfils (“Small history of the illustrated book”) are the mentors of Pierre Faucheux. The first, typographer, printer and publisher, honored the art of typography during the war; the second was his teacher at École Estienne. Philippe Schuwer is also present in the summary (“Manière de voir”), editor and graphic designer, he has supported book clubs since their appearance, but he is more reserved about the “uninterrupted delirium” which characterized certain creations. He believes that “The second phase of the evolution [of the clubs] will be placid and orderly” and it is in this spirit that Pierre Faucheux orients his achievements for the Club des libraires de France. Bernard Gheerbrant, in the important article he wrote, “Towards the total book”, synthesizes the typographical conceptions of Faucheux, to which he adheres and to which he undoubtedly contributed to the maturation.

[see “References” : Bernard Gheerbrant, “Vers le livre total”, Actualité littéraire, n ° 30-31, December 1956 – January 1957 ].

Faucheux himself gives a short contribution, “The freedom of regulatory traces”, showing, with supporting sketches, the good organization of the page that their judicious use allows. The “highlight” of the publication is a typographic interpretation by Willem Sandberg, the great Dutch graphic designer, of Robert Desnos’ poem, La Fourmi (The Ant).

Document : Archives Signes