wiedler.ch

book (design) story #534

jonny gerd rieger:
feuer im osten

büchergilde gutenberg, prag/wien/zürich, 1935
printer: buchdruckerei volksstimme, st. gallen
size: 22 x 14 cm
designer: emil zbinden

look at this stunning dustjacket of a büchergilde zürich book with the title "fire in the east" written in fiery red, flame-like letters. the photomontage shows an aerial view of a smoke-ridden battlefield(?) with a huge buddha statue holding an armed vehicle in its hands!

more flames around the vertical spine title which seems to emulate the oriental script on the cover, ...

... while green bamboo trees and mount fuji on the end papers are also in tune with the far-eastern theme.

no designer is credited, however i feel it could well be by emil zbinden (1908-1991) who also designed this büchergilde book by the same author, which sports an ad for "feuer im osten" on its back. (in the meantime i was able to verify this, it is indeed by zbinden).

the book by berlin-born vagabond and author jonny gerd rieger (1908-1985) is inspired by his travels to china and japan where he witnessed the growing crisis provoked by imperialist japan.

when it was first published in 1935 with the half title page still sporting "bürchergilde gutenberg prag wien zürich", the author chose the pseudonym of "wolf harten" – i think he briefly lived in switzerland at that time and probably didn't have a work permit.

this later printing makes no mention of the büchergilde subsidiaries in vienna and prague which were closed down after the nazis' invasion in 1938 and 1939 respectively, and since rieger had left switzerland it was no problem now to print his real name; the same jacket could be used – it did not mention any author's name.