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book (design) story #743

jacques mortane:
das neue deutschland

orell füssli verlag, zürich / leipzig, 1928
printer: art. institut orell füssli, zürich
size: 20 x 13 cm
designer: walter cyliax (jacket, attributed)

in the late 1920s the zürich orell füssli company was among the more innovative publishers regarding book and jacket design, using new typography and photomontage in some of their publications.

this 1928 book comes with a photomontage jacket by an uncredited designer. looking at its somewhat "chaotic" style i attribute it to walter cyliax (1899-1945). compare it e.g. to story 201.

french writer and journalist jacques mortane (born jacques romanet, 1883-1939) published mainly on aviation and ww1.

his book "the new germany" is a rather favourable portrait of france's old war enemy; mortane expresses his hope that the two big european nations have a future in peace together ...

aristide briand (1862-1932), a leading french politician and winner of the nobel peace price, contributed the foreword. the translation and introductury text is by peter supf (1886-1961), a german writer and ww1 fighter pilot. later supf published heroic aviation books compatible with the nazi regime, while mortane's book was banned in the third reich ...

the sections cover politics, economy, technology, architecture, arts and sports.

included is also a short text by walter gropius on the bauhaus, which is featured in a photograph, ...

... and the jacket's back features bauhausmeister oskar schlemmer's "triadic ballet" dancing across a modernist teapot, next to flat-roofed houses.