wiedler.ch

book (design) story #272

max oederlin:
marsch im jura 1916/17

grethlein & co, zürich + leipzig, 1930
printer: rossberg'sche buchdruckerei, leipzig
size: 19 x 12 cm
designer: max bill (jacket + cover)

max oederlin (1888-1957) wrote these book abot swiss army life during ww2 in 1930. it seems to have been his only book (apart from his dissertation). kurt tucholsky reviewed the book – finding it totally unimportant however "irresistibly funny" because "its author didn't realise how ridiculous those manoeuvres were compared to the real war".

it is shown here because it is one of the earliest book designs by max bill (1908-1994). the green cloth cover and grey endpapers seem to reflect the book's army theme. the writing set in a narrow uppercase sans-serif is printed in green, too. note how the words are arranged like blocks – bill often put lots of space between words, see e.g. stories 130 and 202.

there is an exlibris-style label signed by the autor saying that this copy was presented by the schillerstiftung, a swiss foundation that supports promising authors and works.

according to the impressum "bill–zürich" designed the cover and also the dustjacket – unfortunately missing on this copy, but ...

... i finally found one with jacket: ...

... a somewhat mysterious looking photo negative showing a group of soldiers on horseback, with typography like on the cover.