October 4, 2009

BLICKFANG - The Eye-Catching Covers of Weimar Berlin


Illus. and design by Oskar Garvens, book cover, Germany, 1925
Illus. and design by Oskar Garvens, book cover, Germany, 1925
Click covers for larger versions


Photomontage by John Heartfield, book cover, Germany, 1927
Photomontage by John Heartfield, book cover, Germany, 1927


Illus. and design by Frans Masreel, book cover, Germany, 1925
Illus. and design by Frans Masreel, book cover, Germany, 1925


Illus. by "NB," book cover, Germany, 1932
Illus. by "NB," book cover, Germany, 1932


Poster design by Alex Keil, featuring book cover, Germany, 1930
Poster design by Alex Keil, featuring book cover, Germany, 1930


Book cover by Franz Peffer, using publisher logo of Karl Schulpig, Germany, 1929
Book cover by Franz Peffer, using publisher logo of Karl Schulpig, Germany, 1929


Design by A. K. Hemberger, book cover, Germany, 1930
Design by A. K. Hemberger, book cover, Germany, 1930


Design by Lucian Bernhard and Fritz Rosen, book cover, Germany, 1929
Design by Lucian Bernhard and Fritz Rosen, book cover, Germany, 1929


Illus. and design by Hans Bellmer, book cover, Germany, 1925
Illus. and design by Hans Bellmer, book cover, Germany, 1925


Illus. and design by "N," book cover, Germany, 1928
Illus. and design by "N," book cover, Germany, 1928


Illus. and cover design by George Grosz, for his own book, Germany, 1923
Illus. and cover design by George Grosz, for his own book, Germany, 1923


Illus. and design by Anna Lesznai, book cover, Germany, 1925
Illus. and design by Anna Lesznai, book cover, Germany, 1925


Design by Hans Th. Hoyer ("HH"), book cover, Germany, 1926
Design by Hans Th. Hoyer ("HH"), book cover, Germany, 1926


Raoul Hausmann, book cover (by Hausmann), Germany, 1921
Raoul Hausmann, book cover (by Hausmann), Germany, 1921


Graphic and design by Adrien Turel, book cover (by Turel), Germany, 1931
Graphic and design by Adrien Turel, book cover, Germany, 1931


Joachim Karsch, book cover, Germany, 1933
Joachim Karsch, book cover, Germany, 1933


Illus. by R.C.R., book cover by George Salter, German edition of Difficult Death, 1930
Illus. by "R.C.R.," book cover by George Salter, German edition of Difficult Death, 1930
One of my favorite books


Hannah Hoch, book cover, Germany, 1920
Hannah Hoch, book cover, Germany, 1920


collage by a five-year-old, book cover, Germany, 1933
collage by a five-year-old, book cover, Germany, 1933


Tom (Martha G.) Seidmann-Freud, book cover, Germany, 1923
Tom (Martha G.) Seidmann-Freud, book cover, Germany, 1923


Tom (Martha G.) Seidmann-Freud, book cover, Germany, 1924
Tom (Martha G.) Seidmann-Freud, book cover, Germany, 1924


Russian-language Tolstoy book published in Germany, 1923, cover by Wassilij N. Masjutin
Russian-language Tolstoy book published in Germany, 1923, cover by Wassilij N. Masjutin


Max Graeser, book cover, Germany, 1925
Max Graeser, book cover, Germany, 1925


Ringelnatz, book cover, Germany, 1924
Ringelnatz, book cover, Germany, 1924


Heinz Fuchs, poster, Germany, 1919
Heinz Fuchs, poster, Germany, 1919

I feature here twenty-five book covers and posters from the out-of-print book Blickfang: Bucheinbände und Schutzumschläge Berliner Verlage 1919 - 1933 (Holstein, 2005), ISBN 9783000147869.

This massive book features a thousand images, and it was not easy to select only twenty-five. Graphic design titans like Jan Tschichold, George Salter, Herbert Bayer, and Herbert Matter rub shoulders with Hans Bellmer, John Heartfield, Hanna Hoch, and a gaggle of Expressionists and Dadaists. It's an overwhelming visual feast summed up by new favorite German word "Blickfang": "eye catcher."

Previously:

--Japanese book covers 1 & 2
--Slovak book covers 1 & 2
--Polish book covers 1 & 2
--Indian book covers 1 & 2

13 comments:

Amy@AQ-V said...

Good gosh, these are amazing! And happy also for the German lesson... I suggest we start a #Blickfang movement on Twitter. :~)

Chris Kearin said...

You might be interested in the monograph on Malik Verlag, the publisher of Sinclair's Der industriebaron shown above. It reproduces a number of covers, only in black-and-white but it's still a useful reference. There's a relatively inexpensive copy here:

http://www.rarebookstore.net/cgi-bin/schuyler/1180

Otherwise, the full title is The Malik-Verlag 1916-1947 Berlin Prague New York. It was compiled and edited by James Fraser, the former head librarian at Fairleigh Dickinson, and published by Goethe House in 1984.

Defifee said...

Wow my parents own a copy of "Der Industriebaron". I only looked at the cover but never read it:) Thank you for reminding me!

Jacob Covey said...

YOU ARE KILLING ME.

PIGNOUF said...

Astounding ! ...:)

La sortijera said...

Nice work! Love your blog, always amazing illustration and great designs. Greetings from Buenos Aires.

Kickcan and Conkers said...

Wunderschon! a real feast for the eyes - you always find such amazing things.

Tom Cunliffe said...

I enjoyed looking at those. The cover of Simon Mawer's The Glass Room seems to show some influence from one or two of these covers. See http://www.littlebrown.co.uk/Title/9781408700778

creaturagirl said...

thanks so much for putting all these gorgeous things up!

JRSM said...

Absolutely amazing! I have to get hold of this Blickfang book, though I can't find it anywhere, even second-hand.

Tulip Press said...

Phenomenal!

Lowell said...

A friend just hipped me to your site. Looks great. Maybe you'd like to see mine at http://www.buythecover.com

Laura@popdesign said...

I can't believe I had missed this post... das ist sehr uebsch!