wiedler.ch

book (design) story #606

kurt georg schauer:
kleine geschichte des deutschen buchumschlages

karl robert langewiesche, königstein im taunus, around 1962
printer: j.f. steinkopf, stuttgart; karl thiemig, münchen
size: 26 x 18 cm
designer: ruth gerhardt (jacket), helmut dornauf (co-design jacket)

georg kurt schauer (1899–1984) was a prominent publisher , book dealer and co-founder of the stiftung buchkunst, a german organisation promoting good book design, e.g. through the international competition "best designed books from all over the world".

this "short history of the german book jacket" was published in 1962, ... 32: .

... with a jacket design credited to ruth gerhardt and helmut dornauf (more info?).

looking at the spreads we notice that schauer mostly presents jackets with "traditional" hand-drawn illustrations rather than photo(montage); top left a reproduction of georg salter's famous jacket for döblin's "berlin alexanderplatz".

there are only one or two examples which reveal a moderate "new typography" or "swiss style" influence.

this copy came with a few interesting magazine articles laid in, ...

... e.g. one by curt tillmann from 1933 about collecting book jackets, with original samples designed by john heartfield and georg salter bound in.