wiedler.ch

book (design) story #168

françois villon:
balladen

gustav kiepenheuer verlag a.g., berlin, 1930
printer: offizin haag-drugulin ag., leipzig
size: 21 x 14 cm
designer: georg salter

françois villon (1431-??) is one of the greatest french poets. not many pieces of literature from the middle ages have remained as popular today as the works of this poet who spent some time in prison for theft and murder. bertold brecht (1898-1956) included german versions of some villon ballads in his 1928 "dreigroschenoper" (the threepenny opera) – however without crediting their translator, k. l. ammer (i.e. karl anton klammer, 1879-1959). brecht lost a court case about that matter, and in return he wrote a sonet for this reedition of klammer's villon verses. the sonet which ironically refers to his pirating of the poems is also printed on the rear panel of the dustjacket, designed by georg salter (1897-1967, see previous story).

again, salter's design is not in a "modernist" style, but its eye-catching advertising approach is truly modern. the hand-drawn typographical front panel sports some of villon's most famous verses in a medieval-stye script on red banners. the lines at the bottom are from the ballade par laquelle villon crye mercy à chacun where he says about the policemen (in an english translation by peter dean):

i hope they get their ribs well-bruised
with hefty mallet, heads to bow,
with lead shot knocked about and used.
i must of all ask pardon now.

the book was printed by the renowned haag-drugulin company in leipzig. the typography is not modernist; but the venetian old style typeface is a good match for a 15th-century poet.

below on the right the famous four lines that villon wrote when he was condemned to death (also featured on the jacket). the translation by peter dean:

I'm frankie, a fact which gets me down,
born near paris, in pontoise town,
whose neck from noose and stretched rope's height
will measure the weight of his arse's flight.
.