TYPOGRAPHISCHE MITTEILUNGEN,
SONDERHEFT ELEMENTARE TYPOGRAPHIE
Jan Tschichold
Jan Tschichold: TYPOGRAPHISCHE MITTEILUNGEN, SONDERHEFT ELEMENTARE TYPOGRAPHIE. Mainz: H. Schmidt, 1986. First edition thus [reprint of Oktoberheft 1925 edition with new prefaces by Olaf Leu and Friedrich Friedl]. Text in German. Slim quarto. Thick French folded wrappers. 36 pp. Illustrations in two colors throughout. Wrappers very lightly rubbed. A nearly fine copy.
9.25 x 12.25 softcover reprint of the October 1925 issue of the printing trade journal Typographische Mitteilungen, guest-edited by Jan Tschichold, for which he designed a twenty-four-page Sonderheft (special issue) insert entitled 'elementare typographie.'
Features important contributions and compositions by Tschichold ("Die neue Gestaltung,"), Natan Altman, Otto Bamberger, Herbert Bayer, Max Burchartz, El Lissitzky, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Farkas Molnar, Johannes Molzahn, Kurt Schwitters, and Mart Stam. Tschichold is listed as "Ivan" Tschichold on the title-page, and "Iwan" Tschichold at the head of his text.
"Two years after the 1923 Bauhaus exhibition, Tschichold was invited to serve as guest editor for the October 1925 issue of the printing trade journal Typographische Mitteilungen, for which he designed a twenty-four-page Sonderheft (special issue) insert entitled 'elementare typographie.' Originally intended as a Bauhaus special edition, this issue of typographische mitteilungen (the name of the journal being set in lowercase letters on this occasion) was entirely devoted to 'Die neue Typographie'. . . . Printed in red and black, the Sonderheft helped to clarify, demonstrate, and display the principles of the New Typography for professional printers, typesetters, and typographers. In addition to Tschichold's own typography, it presented work by the avant-garde designers Max Burchartz, Johannes Molzahn, Schwitters, Moholy-Nagy, Lissitzky, Bayer, and the Swiss poster designer Otto Baumberger. These images were accompanied by Tschichold's own articulate comments and observations.
"Other texts included 'typo-photo' by Moholy-Nagy; 'die reklame' (advertising) by Lissitzky and the Dutch architect, urban planner and chair designer Mart Stam; and 'elementare gesichtpunkte' (Elementary Perspectives) by the Russian painter, sculptor, typographer and teacher Natan Altman . . . . Although Tschichold was fully aware of van Doesburg and De Stijl, it is notable that he omitted this Dutch group. Lissitzky was delighted to have been included, and this helped to solidify the friendship between him and Tschichold.
"Since most German typography was still symmetrical, with medieval Textura being the most popular typeface, 'elementare typographie' caused a senseation and engendered much enthusiasm and controversy among a wide audience. At the age of twenty-three, Tschichold had become the leading spokesman and guiding force of what would be known as the New Typography. . . . 'My dear Tschichold, bravo, bravo,' Lissitzky responded from Moscow in a letter dated October 22, 1925. 'With all my heart I congratulate you on the beautiful brochure "elementare typographie." To me it is a physical pleasure to hold a publication of such quality in my hands, fingers, eyes. All my nerve antennae extend and the whole motor speeds up. And in the end this is what counts -- to overcome inertia.' It was also well received at the Bauhaus by Moholy-Nagy and Gropius" [Alston W. Purvis, in Jong].
Herbert Spencer notes that 'In this publication, Tschichold introduced the typographic work of Lissitzky to a wide audience of practical printers for the first time."