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book (design) story #312

hans liniger:
saja, tuan

büchergilde gutenberg, zürich, 1943
printer: conzett & huber, zürich
size: 24 x 17 cm
designer: richard paul lohse

from 1938 trough 1954 richard paul lohse (1902-1988) was involved in the design of around a hundred books published by the büchergilde gutenberg in zürich.

the striking dustjacket photomontage shows a "wayang kulit" (javanese shadow theatre puppet) dancing above an aerial view of the krakatau volcano island. the jacket's "exotic" colour scheme - a blueish green and olive - can also be found in some of lohse's abstract paintings.

this travel report is by hans liniger who worked for an oil company in indonesia, then a dutch colony. he mentions in the forword that the book describes a "world that is definitely gone" since he finished the book just before the japanese invasion in ww2 . the title "saja, tuan" is malay for "yes, sir" - the native's standard answer to the colonists...

the title spread is typical for lohse's büchergilde designs employing photo and asymmetric typography. most of the photographs in the book are by liniger, some by gotthard schuh (credited in the impressum). the last page contains a glossary of malayan words used in the book.