Pencil Points Reader: Selected Readings from a Journal for the Drafting Room, 1920-1943

A new volume in our Classic Reprint Series

The first issue of the legendary architecture journal Pencil Points appeared in 1920 as "a journal for the drafting room." Born out of The Architectural Review, and merged with Progressive Architecture in 1943, Pencil Points became the leading voice in architectural and graphic design when modernism flourished, introducing key players from America and Europe. It also established the agenda in architectural theory: multivolume pieces by John Harbeson, Talbot Hamlin, Hugh Ferris, and others dealt with major issues that are still relevant today-architectural education and practice, small-house design and portable housing, city planning, and the influence (or not) of modernism. Items like George Nelson's series of reports from Europe in the early 1930s, H. Van Buren Magonigle's diatribes against modernism, and a glossary of Ecole des Beaux-Arts terms sit side-by-side with the best architectural drawings and photographs of the 20th century.

Pencil Points Reader re-publishes the most important essays from the journal's 23 years, arranged chronologically, and offers an insider's introduction by John Dixon, the former executive editor of Progressive Architecture.

Pencil Points Reader is a prized collector's edition and an essential addition to any architectural library.

George E. Hartman is a founder and principal of Hartman Cox Architects. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Jan Cigliano is an architectural historian and author of several books including Private Washington. She lives in Washington, D.C.