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book (design) story #347

gustav freytag:
soll und haben

der bücherkreis gmbh, berlin, 1933
printer: lindenhaus-druckerei a.-g., berlin
size: 19 x 13 cm
designer: andreas niessen (jacket + cover)

this is probably the last book published by the socialist book club "der bücherkreis" before its closing down by the nazis in 1933. while after 1930 most bücherkreis books were designed by jan tschichold, andreas niessen (dates?) is credited for at least two 1933 book designs: this one and book 108.

note the slightly different cover designs in these two copies. in the version on the left the stripes extend to the back where niessen signed it. the impressum mentions a dustjacket, however i have never seen or heard of a copy with one (later correction: well, never say never ... see below!). the assymetric title page and typeface mix (with blackletter) are similar to some of tschichold's bücherkreis designs (see books 342 and 73).

the bücherkreis focussed on contemporary literature but according to the afterword in this book they planned to republish popular society-related novels such as "soll und haben" (debit and credit) by german writer gustav freytag (1816-1895). first published in 1855 and set in berlin, the book tells the story of "good and honest" bourgeois businessman anton wolfart ("welfare") amongst decadent nobles, and "greedy, immoral" jews. the book was a 1900s bestseller, but after ww2 its stereotypical description of jews were critisised as antisemitic.

never say never ... at last i found a copy with dustjacket.

the cloth cover of this copy is of a coarser quality.

the jacket is signed "an" for andreas niessen. on the spine the bücherkreis logo (designed by jan tschichold), on the back the usual publisher's book list.