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book (design) story #494

walter mittelholzer, rené gouzy, arnold heim:
afrika flug

orell füssli verlag, zürich/leipzig, 1927
printer: art. institut orell füssli, zürich
size: 23 x 16 cm
photographer: walter mittelholzer, arnold heim
designer: walter roshardt (jacket)

walter mittelholzer (1894-1937) was a swiss aviation pioneer and photographer. his photos were published in several successful books, see also story 297. this 1928 book is about his epoch-making flight from zürich to south africa in 1926/27.

this softcover edition has a stunning photomontage jacket with asymmetric typography: the vertical type seems to visualise the fact that mittelholzer crossed the african continent from north to south.

this copy is unread with the pages not cut open at the top, ...

... however peeping at the impressum reveals the name of the jacket designer: walter roshardt (1897-1966) was a teacher at the kunstgewerbeschule zürich. see also his jacket design for book 187.

the cloth cover of the hardcover edition features a map of africa showing the expedition route and drawing of the aircraf, ...

... and also a vertical title.

the title page of the 1927 hardvover edition which sports red endpapers.

here a photo of the expedition team: rené gouzy (writer), arnold heim (geologist), walter mittelholzer (pilot) and hans hartmann (flight mechanic, in overall).

amazing photos!