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book (design) story #171

henri guilbeaux:
lenin

verlag die schmiede, berlin, 1923
printer: ohlenrothsche buchdruckerei, georg richters, erfurt
size: 19 x 12 cm
designer: georg salter

this early lenin biography by french socialist henri guilbeaux (1884-1938) was published in 1923 when wladimir iljitsch was still alive. striking and unusual for the time is the cover design of this book: the word "lenin" is painted across the board in clumsy red letters – like a huge graffiti on a whitewashed wall. note how the first and last letters touch the edges.

the berlin-based publishing house "die schmiede" was run by julius salter. most of the book covers and jackets were designed by julius' brother georg salter (1897-1967) who also worked as a stage designer.

the book contains several interesting documents and photos about lenin's years in switzerland – the famous zimmerwald conference (1915), and the role of swiss socialists such as robert grimm and fritz platten (right of lenin in the picture above). below the farewell letter to the swiss workers lenin wrote in march 1917 just before he left zürich on that famous train.