wiedler.ch

book (design) story #545

michail iljin:
fünf jahre die die welt verändern

malik-verlag, berlin, 1932
printer: oscar brandstetter, leipzig
size: ?? x ?? cm
designer: john heartfield

mikhail iljin (also spelt "ilin" or "il'in") is a pseudonym of russian writer ilia iakovlevich marshak (1895-1953). this is the german edition of his book about the ussr's first five-year plan (1928-1932) to boost its economy and industrial production.

a classic photomontage jacket by john heartfield (1891-1968), who was responsible for the look of most of the malik-verlag books. note the red number 5 curling around a factory's transmission wheel, and happy socialist kids on the rear panel.

in this book heartfield is not only credited for the cover and jacket, but for the "buchgestaltung" (book design), ...

... which probably means the photo direction. inside, the malik editions didn't care about modernist typography.

the photos ridicule america's capitalist production, and emphasise the seriousness of the soviet way.

the captions below say: this is what socialism does to workers! worker students in the auditorium of their factory. / this is what capitalism does to workers! freezing unemployed workers in paris are waiting for a bowl of soup.