wiedler.ch

book (design) story #258

heinrich hauser:
ein mann lernt fliegen

s. fischer verlag, berlin, 1930
printer: oscar brandstetter, abteilung jakob hegner, leipzig
size: 19 x 13 cm
designer: georg salter (jacket + cover)

heinrich hauser (1901-1955) was a german writer, photographer, sailor, farmer, and globetrotter. his adventurous life spurred numerous successful books. he left germany in 1938 for the u.s.a. and returned in 1948.

in this book hauser writes about his training to become a pilot.

georg salter (1897-1967) signed the jacket and also designed the cover, according to the impressum. the jacket features one of salter's rare photomontages. salter mostly used hand-drawn lettering – here he employed a stencil-style serif for a modernist touch. due to his jewish background, the nazis put an end to his successful career in germany, and in 1934 he emigrated to the states.

some of the photographs in this 1933 book show swastikas on tailplanes, revealing the new zeitgeist. the author dedicated the book to hermann göring, the newly appointed "reichsluftfahrtsminister" (minister for air travel).