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MW Editions is publishing 820 Ebony/Jet, a 240-page book documenting the former Johnson Publishing Company headquarters at 820 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Photographer Barbara Karant’s images, alongside archival material and former employees’ recollections, preserve the building’s distinctive interiors and its place in Black media and design history.
MW Editions is publishing 820 Ebony/Jet: Visions of the Johnson Publishing Company, an American Icon, a new book documenting the interiors of the former Ebony and Jet headquarters at 820 South Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The 240-page monograph brings together photographer Barbara Karant’s images of the largely intact, now-empty offices with archival photographs and former employees’ recollections, preserving a record of a building created for one of the country’s most influential Black-owned media companies.
Karant began photographing the abandoned headquarters in 2013, a year after Johnson Publishing Company left the building, and continued through 2018. Her images focus on the interiors’ geometric wallpaper, mirrored surfaces, patterned carpets and colorful finishes. The book includes 142 color photographs and eight black-and-white images, according to the report by Design Milk.
The publication also includes documentary images of the original interiors and Ebony’s in-house photo studio, as well as Richard Hunt’s lobby sculpture, Expansive Construction (1972). Recollections from former employees add first-person accounts of working in the building. A foreword by artist Deborah Willis and essays by Aaron Bryant, Cheryl Finley, Carla Williams, Jon Ott, Brenna Wynn Greer and E. James West accompany the photographs.
Design Milk reports that the book is scheduled to be available Oct. 13 for $65. It is published by MW Editions. The source does not state a release year or provide further details about where it will be sold.
A Record of Black Media Design
The book documents more than a striking set of offices: it preserves the physical setting of a company whose magazines helped shape how Black American life and culture were documented and seen. Ebony and Jet were major publications, and the headquarters gave Johnson Publishing Company’s cultural presence a permanent address in downtown Chicago.
Because the company left in 2012 and Karant photographed the interiors after they had been emptied, the images record design features that might otherwise be difficult to experience or study. The former employees’ recollections and archival material add human and historical context to photographs of rooms without their original daily activity. Together, those elements make the book a record of both workplace design and media history, rather than a catalogue of decorative details alone.
photography books interior design history
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How the Headquarters Took Shape
The headquarters was completed in 1972. Publisher John H. Johnson commissioned architect John Moutoussamy after facing resistance from real estate agents and bankers wary of financing a Black-owned company, according to Design Milk. The report describes Moutoussamy as the first Black architect to design a downtown Chicago high-rise. The exterior, clad in travertine marble, contrasted with the expressive rooms inside.
Designers Arthur Elrod and William Raiser gave each of the building’s 11 floors a distinct combination of color and pattern. The report describes a cafeteria with orange, purple and gold chevrons, and a cream-and-honey office for company co-founder Eunice Johnson that incorporated pieces from the couple’s art collection. Much of the interior design reportedly remained unchanged until the company departed in 2012. Karant’s later photographs capture what remained after the furnishings and daily activity were gone.
Release Details Still Missing
The source gives an Oct. 13 release date and a $65 price but does not identify the year, specify retailers or explain whether the date applies to all markets. It also does not provide information about the building’s current condition or access, so the photographs should not be taken as a description of its present state. The report identifies people and artists connected to the book but does not include direct quotations from them; no statements are presented here as quotes.
Publication on October 13
The next stated milestone is the book’s scheduled publication on Oct. 13 through MW Editions, at a listed price of $65. The source provides no later events, distribution schedule or additional release information. Readers seeking current availability will need to check with the publisher or booksellers.
Key Questions
What is the new book about?
820 Ebony/Jet: Visions of the Johnson Publishing Company, an American Icon documents the former Chicago headquarters of Johnson Publishing Company, which published Ebony and Jet. It combines Barbara Karant’s photographs with archival material and former employees’ recollections.
Who photographed the building?
Barbara Karant photographed the empty headquarters from 2013 through 2018, according to Design Milk. She focused on the surviving interior patterns, surfaces and architectural details.
What is included in the book?
The 240-page book contains 142 color and eight black-and-white images, documentary photographs, employee recollections and essays by several contributors. It also includes images of Richard Hunt’s 1972 lobby sculpture.
When will the book be available, and what does it cost?
The source lists an Oct. 13 release date and a price of $65, but does not specify the year or where the book will be sold.
Why is the former headquarters historically significant?
The building housed Johnson Publishing Company, a major Black-owned media company whose Ebony and Jet magazines documented Black American life and culture. Its interiors also represent a distinctive design chapter in the company’s history.
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