Visitekaartje van boekhandel en antiquariaat Das Graphische Kabinett van Israel Ber Neumann te Berlijn en Baden-Baden before 1925

This is a business card for a bookshop in Berlin and Baden-Baden, made by Franz Peffer. Look at how he’s constructed the image, pressing the ink to paper, pushing and pulling. I imagine Peffer, head down, carefully carving the image into a block, thinking about the impression it will make. The whole composition feels really dynamic, with that hectic energy of the modern metropolis. I love the details: the tiny figures milling around the shop, the shelves overflowing with books. Peffer’s really captured the vibe of a bustling bookshop, a place of knowledge, culture, and commerce. It is like a precursor to someone like Philip Guston, another image maker known for his illustrative paintings and prints. You can tell he’s having fun with the lettering too, mixing different fonts and sizes to create a visually interesting design. It’s not just a business card, it’s a work of art.