In this presentation by Robert Elton Brooker III, co-author of Albert Kner: Artist, Icon, Legend — Discovering His Legacy in Industrial Design, you will learn about Albert Kner’s contribution to Art Deco industrial design.

Albert Kner (1899–1976) invented hundreds of things we encounter in our daily lives, such as the cardboard six pack and the flip top cigarette box. Yet his name is almost unknown. He started his life in Hungary in the book arts, having designed and typeset his first book at age 12. His artistic training was interrupted by World War I, where he suffered a paralyzing war injury that forced him to tape one eye shut in order to sleep. He did not enter the family printing business, a decision that saved his life, but also led to decades of artistic struggle as a designer of books, posters, packaging, stage sets, and furniture.

In 1940, with limited English, Albert emigrated to Chicago with his wife and two young children. Almost instantly he was hired as Design Director of the largest cardboard manufacturer in America. His charge: make cardboard beautiful.

Robert Elton Brooker III is a book collector, author, and businessperson who resides in Austin, Texas. His collecting interest centers around Hungarian bibliophile printing of the first half of the 20th century, in which the printed works of Kner Press, Nyugat Press, Amicus Press, Ma Press, Hellas Press, Sacellary Press, Hungaria Press, Lantos Press, and others figure prominently. Brooker’s latest book, Albert Kner: Discovering His Legacy in Industrial Design, was published by Corvina Books and the Club of Odd Volumes; it won the 2024 Special Prize by the Hungarian Book Publishers and Booksellers Association. A museum exhibit accompanying biography launched in April 2023 at the Kner Printing Museum in Hungary, and is currently on display in Boston.