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book (design) story #522

betty smith:
ein baum wächst in brooklyn

büchergilde gutenberg, zürich, 1947
printer: genossenschaftsdruckerei zürich
size: ?? x ?? cm
designer: richard paul lohse (attributed)

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american writer betty smith (1896-1972), born elisabeth wehner, was the daughter of poor german immigrants living in brooklyn, new york. her autobiographical novel "a tree grows in brooklyn" made her famous in 1943. two years later it was made into an oscar-winning film by elia kazan.

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this german first edition was published by the swiss büchergilde gutenberg in 1947.

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although no book designer is credited, ...

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... i have the impression that it could have been by richard paul lohse (1902-1987) who was involved in the design of around 100 büchergilde book from the late 1930s to the early 1950s: the photographic jacket with asymmetric title and no author's name is common with lohse, also the inner title in separate lines. but i am not sure.

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note this typographic detail: the bold page numbers are aligned with the paragraph indents.

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