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book (design) story #723

joseph gantner, max cetto:
die neue stadt / sonderheft zürich

richard weissbach, heidelberg / zürich, 1933
printer: buchdruckerei zur alten universität zürich
size: 31 x 22 cm
designer: (unknown)

"die neue stadt" (the new town) was a short-lived successor to "das neue frankfurt", an influential periodical on modern architecture in the 1920s. editor of both publications was the swiss art historian joseph gantner (1896-1988) who returned from frankfurt/main to switzerland when the nazis seized power in 1933.

the magazine is designed in new typography style, typeset in futura except for the main title which is in erbar-grotesk.

this "zürich special issue" features examples of recent modern buildings in zürich such as the neubühl housing estate ...

... aand the zetthaus.

below right a project for houses in the doldertal by alfred and emil roth which were finally built in another design.

there is also an article about the famous "wohnbedarf zürich" shop for modern furniture, with interior design by marcel breuer.

quite remarkable is this letter from a young german architect to propaganda minister dr. joseph goebbels, signed my max cetto (1903-1980): cetto expresses his hope that nazi germany would endorse a modernist architecture with flat roofs rather than the conservative architecture propagated by nazi ideologist paul schultze-naumburg.

as we know these hopes were in vain, and max cetto (like many prominent colleagues) left germany for america by 1938.

some of the ads are also designed in the modernist style of the time.