Leo, Aleksandr Nikolaevich

Aleksandr Nikolaevich Leo was a Russian and Soviet book artist, type designer and graphic artist. For the majority of his life, Leo resided in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). From 1883 to 1887, he attended drawing classes at the RTO (Russian Technical Society) of St. Petersburg.

In the late 1880s, Leo worked for the lithographic partnership of Roman Golike and Artur Vil’borg, a position that afforded him knowledge in printing production. When the partnership was nationalized by the Soviets (and became the 15th State Typography), Aleksandr Leo designed its logo. Additionally, Leo designed the logo for the State Printing House of Petrograd (Royal Print Yard or, Pechatnyi dvor). Although various Russian sources cite that Leo designed the first coat of arms for the RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federated Republic) in 1918, research indicates no substantiated proof of this assertion.

While Aleksandr Leo designed posters, such as the one created for the May 1, 1921 Exhibition of the Petrograd Provincial Department of Education, the artist is chiefly recognized for his book covers and bookplates. Some book covers Leo designed are, "Eugene Onegin" (illustrations by Elena Petrovna Samokish-Sudkovskaia) (1918); "Book Binding: A Brief Summary of History and Technology” by Vladimir Ilyich Anisimov; “Colomba”, an 1840 novel by Prosper Mérimée translated into Russian in 1927, and “Portrait Painting in Russia in the 18th Century” by Erikh Feodorovich Hollerbakh. The artist also contributed to the design of "Praise to the Book", a 1917 work by Il’ia Aleksandrovich Shliapkin. Leo’s designs were singularly-featured in the 1927 monograph, “A.N. Leo”, distributed by the Leningrad Society of Bibliophiles.

Aleksandr Nikolaevich Leo died in 1943 during the German-led blockade of Leningrad.