Although he was never a member of the Bauhaus movement himself, the Leipzig-born typographer and book designer Jan Tschichold (1902–1974) is regarded as one of the major champions of functional typography. His drafts are graphic design classics. In its temporary exhibition, the German Museum of Books and Writing at the German National Library in Leipzig draws on Tschichold’s extensive estate, which it acquired as a donation in 2015.

To mark the Bauhaus anniversary in 2019 and with around 200 selected objects, the exhibition leads visitors through the biography of this once-in-a-century typographer, whose life was shaped by numerous ruptures and fresh starts, not least through having to go into exile. This “zig-zag” through a century of typography examines Tschichold’s famous works from the 1920s within the wider context of his life’s work – from his early days as a sign painter in Leipzig through the “New Typography” era and the redesign of the Penguin books to his creation of corporate designs for major companies.

The fact that the “New Typography” created within the Bauhaus sphere – which first brought Tschichold to public attention – represents only one facet of his oeuvre also casts a new light on 100 years of critical engagement with Bauhaus. Although Tschichold’s oft-quoted 1925 treatise “elementary typography” certainly had a century-defining impact that was also key to the typographical work done at the Bauhaus, one cannot do justice to either the critical reception of Bauhaus or to Tschichold himself by regarding this creative period in isolation. Instead, it is the contradictory nature of his discrete work phases and the heterogeneity of his typographical solutions that make Tschichold one of the great luminaries in the history of 20th-century typography. In this regard, the exhibition also constitutes a historiographical position that runs counter to the myth of the dominance of Bauhaus.

The exhibition was made possible by the exceedingly generous donation from Jan Tschichold’s heirs, who presented the artist’s extensive legacy of work to the German Museum of Books and Writing in 2015. The study-like nature of the documents, which were provided to the museum in 176 crates (some of them very large), allow us to “glance over the shoulder” of this once-in-a-century typographer. This helps meet the general interest in the history of typography that has arisen as a result of the lightning-fast changes in writing and reading wrought by the digital environment. The legacy provides insights into every creative period and milestone of Tschichold’s typographical work – starting with his first sketch books from when he was 16, through to numerous typography designs, studies for book covers and works relating to the “New Typography”, and including his educational writings and work for the corporate designs of major companies.

The exhibition is organised in cooperation with the University of Erfurt.

Wallstein Verlag has published a volume accompanying the exhibition; this can be purchased at the Museum for € 24. The City of Leipzig has also installed a memorial plaque in Tschichold’s honour at Schorlemmer Straße 8 – one of the houses he lived in during the 1920s.

A project funded by the German Research Foundation provides free global access online to the legacy of the typographer Jan Tschichold. More

DNB, Daniela Lang

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A look into the exhibition „Jan Tschichold – a once-in-a-century typographer?“

Pagination

: Blick in die Ausstellung …