Designs from the Vienna Workshop Book of Postcards

The Wiener Werkstätte, or the Vienna Workshop, thrived as an artists’ cooperative, creating everyday objects with an emphasis on quality design. Taking inspiration from the Vienna Secession, the group was founded in 1903 by architect Josef Hoffmann, designer and painter Koloman Moser, and patron Fritz Waerndorfer.

As with the English Arts and Crafts movement, emphasis was placed on reconnecting the artist with the craftsman. The principles of Gesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art, were embedded in the group’s founding. Over the decades, the workshop grew into a community of artisans who designed and produced furniture, textiles, apparel, porcelain, glass, postcards, and other useful but highly decorative objects for Vienna’s well-to-do.

Finances had always been a problem. After World War I, they became dire. Austria’s society and economy had changed, with both artists and the wealthy patrons who had supported the workshop leaving the country. The Wiener Werkstätte declared bankruptcy in 1926 and finally closed in 1932. Despite this, the workshop’s influence is held up today as integral to the development of twentieth-century design.

Pomegranate’s books of postcards contain up to thirty top-quality reproductions bound together in a handy, artful collection. Easy to remove and produced on heavy card stock, these stunning postcards are a delight to the sender and receiver. Postcards are oversized and may require additional postage.