Signet Designs for the Magyar Iparművészeti Társulat (Hungarian Applied Arts Association)

The Hungarian Applied Arts Association published a competition announcement in January of 1903 in the pages of Magyar Iparművészet (Hungarian Applied Arts):
“COMPETITION. The Hungarian Applied Arts Association announces the following competition from financing provided by The Honorable Hungarian Royal Minister of Commerce: 1. Design an artistic symbol (vignette) containing the M. I. T. monogram, which can be used on stationery, membership stamps, and periodicals, or in other words on any printed material of the association. It is desirable that this symbol should clearly and simply express the association’s sphere of operations.” Henrik Darilek made a total of twelve signet designs on five separate sheets for the above competition. The artist tried out the letters in various arrangements based on the model of jewelers’ maker’s marks with monograms. Darilek sometimes placed the letters above one another, sometimes alongside one another. He also employed a variety of stylized floral elements to link them together. The hammer motif also appears as a symbol of technical work on a few drafts, providing a kind of backbone to the design. The March issue of Magyar Iparművészet informed its readers that a total of 186 entries had been submitted from 78 entrants, but the commission did not award the 300 korona prize. Darilek’s signets probably would have hit the mark, but the artist did not fulfill one important condition. The deadline for submissions to the competition was the 15th of March, while the dates of III/19 and III/20 can be seen on the drawings, so his works arrived too late.