wiedler.ch

book (design) story #416

hans schwarz:
ritt durch frankreich

eugen rentsch verlag, erlenbach-zürich / leipzig, 1934
printer: buchdruckerei winterthur
size: ?? x ?? cm
designer: walter cyliax, jacket + cover

in this book from 1934, hans schwarz (1895-1965, see www.hans-schwarz.ch) describes his ride on horseback through france. he visits many historical sites and entertains the reader with interesting stories from the past.

the book is featured for its striking dustjacket design by walter cyliax (1899-1945). the photomontage combines a photo of the author on his horse "arbalète" with an informative map showing their route. the asymmetric typography with bold roman italics and stencil script is typically modernist.

the book came with a leaflet laid in featuring new publications of the eugen rentsch verlag. the asymmetric layout and typeface mix with ruled boxes reminds of tschichold's designs of the time. the leaflet was printed by fretz, zürich – the company cyliax worked for at the time, so he probably supervised its design.

the typography of the inner pages is more traditional, with nice gravure-printed photographs.