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book (design) story #351

b. traven:
die weisse rose

büchergilde gutenberg, zürich, 1942
size: 24 x 16 cm
designer: richard paul lohse (jacket)

like the previous book this is a 1942 reissue of a b. traven (?-1969) classic published by the swiss büchergilde. the white rose was originally published by the berlin büchergilde in 1929. the novel describes life on a mexican farm called "la rosa blanca" and the dramatic changes when oil is found.

again richard paul lohse (1902-1988) designed a dustjacket for the reissue: here he employed his trademark montage style with overprinting pictures in different colours: brown oil rigs are pushing a delicate white (actually light grey) rose to the back. note one leaf trying to "push" to the front...

again the typeface is akzidenz-grotesk semibold. however in a later printing (above), a slightly different sans-serif was used...!

the book design is different from the 1929 edition; the typography is very similar to the previous book, the decorated initials are identical.