TL;DR — Bradley: His Book (1896) was Will Bradley’s own magazine — written, designed, illustrated and printed by him at his Wayside Press. Its covers are among the purest expressions of American Art Nouveau, and the whole enterprise made Bradley a one-man argument for the artist as complete maker of the printed page. This deep dive looks at the magazine, the press, and Bradley’s total design.
By Found Poster · Published October 2026
An artist’s own magazine
Most poster artists worked to a client’s brief. Bradley: His Book was different — Bradley’s own periodical, where he controlled everything from the type and ornament to the paper and presswork. The covers, in his flowing black-and-cream manner, are Art Nouveau design without compromise, and they show what he could do when the only client was himself.
The Wayside Press
In 1895 Bradley founded the Wayside Press in Springfield, Massachusetts, and Bradley: His Book followed in 1896. The venture put him in the lineage of William Morris’s Kelmscott Press and the Arts and Crafts revival of fine printing — the idea that a book or magazine should be a unified work of art, designed as a whole rather than assembled from stock parts.
That total control is the point. For the fuller story of Bradley’s career and his Chap-Book posters, see the earlier deep dive; here the interest is the artist as his own publisher.
Total design, from type to ornament
What makes Bradley: His Book remarkable is its unity. The lettering, borders, initials, illustrations and layout are all Bradley’s, all speaking the same ornamental language, so every page reads as one designed object. It is an early and influential example of what would later be called total graphic design — and it looks, even now, astonishingly assured for the work of a self-taught printer still in his twenties.
Where it belongs
A Bradley: His Book cover suits a design studio, a specialty coffee bar, a bookshop or a barber shop — rooms with a graphic, design-literate character. In black and cream it adds structure and sophistication without a colour to coordinate, and it carries a real piece of the history of modern graphic design on its surface.
Bradley’s Wayside Press covers and Chap-Book posters are catalogued individually in our archive, restored for printing. Browse Will Bradley →
Frequently asked questions
What was Bradley: His Book?
Will Bradley’s own magazine (1896), written, designed and printed by him at his Wayside Press — among the purest examples of American Art Nouveau design.
What was the Wayside Press?
Bradley’s fine-printing press in Springfield, Massachusetts, founded 1895, in the tradition of William Morris’s Kelmscott Press and the Arts and Crafts revival.
Who was Will Bradley?
The leading designer of the 1890s American poster movement — see the deep dive on his Chap-Book poster for the full account.
Further reading
- Bradley’s Chap-Book poster — the fuller account
- The Chap-Book and the little-magazine poster (scheduled in this series)
- Clarence P. Hornung (ed.), Will Bradley: His Graphic Art (Dover, 1974)
Found Poster restores Belle Époque and Art Nouveau posters from museum archives into archival-quality files you print yourself. Browse the archive · How to print & frame.
