Cranach press

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The Cranach-Presse was a bibliophile publisher founded by Harry Graf Kessler in Weimar in 1913 .

history

In 1913 the German diplomat, art collector, patron, writer and publicist Harry Graf Kessler founded the Cranach press, in which a total of 68 prints (including samples) had been produced by 1931. The workshops were located in Weimarer Kurthstraße 1a (today Bauhausstraße) until 1928, and from 1928 to 1931 in Kohlstraße 2 (today Ernst-Kohl-Straße). During the First World War, Kessler, who was drafted into military service, asked his friend, the founder of the Weimar School of Applied Arts, Henry van de Velde , to lead the press during his absence. From 1914 to 1916 several editions were made under van de Velde's supervision. Good connections to Insel-Verlag were particularly helpful in distributing the prints. In the 1930s, the inventory of the press with original printing blocks, pamphlets, etc. came to Potsdam, where it was later lost during the bombing in World War II.

Editions

Of the nearly seventy expenditures are Eclogen Virgil with woodcuts by Aristide Maillol (published in 1926), Shakespeare's Hamlet in the translation of Gerhart Hauptmann with woodcuts by Edward Gordon Craig (published 1929) and the output of the Song of Songs of Solomon with wood engravings by Eric Gill from the year 1931 deserves special mention. The high standards of the Cranach press can be seen, among other things, in the fact that only fonts, graphics and papers were used that were specially made for the press. In addition, we worked with well-known illustrators, in addition to the named z. B. also George Grosz or Marcus Behmer . For the special editions, the Weimar master bookbinder Professor Otto Dorfner made the bindings according to Kessler's specifications. A specific feature of the Cranach press are the political writings, smaller commercial prints and the editions known as "war prints", which mostly had a less bibliophile character. These include a. Theodor Däubler's Hymne to Venice (published 1916), Wieland Herzfeldes Sulamith (published 1917) using a cover design by George Grosz and Albert Verwey's poems (published 1917).

Exhibitions

  • 2013/2014 Weimar, Duchess Anna Amalia Library: " 100 Years of the Cranach Press. Book Art from Weimar "
  • 2007/2008 Berlin, Bröhan Museum: "Homage to Harry Graf Kessler"
  • 2003 Neues Museum, Klassik Stiftung Weimar: "The book as a work of art. Harry Graf Kessler's Cranach press"
  • 1999 Burgk Castle Museum / Thuringia
  • 1988 German Literature Archive Marbach

literature

  • 100 years of the Cranach press. Book art from Weimar. Edited by Hans Zimmermann on behalf of the Klassik Stiftung Weimar / Duchess Anna Amalia Library. Editing: Claudia Kleinbub, Johannes Mangei and Frank Sellinat. Berlin: Meissners 2013. ISBN 978-3-87527-121-8 (book trade edition), ISBN 978-3-87527-122-5 (library edition)
  • The book as a work of art: Count Harry Kessler's Cranach press. Edited by John Dieter Brinks. 2nd edition Laubach [u. a.]: Triton, 2005
  • Count Kessler's Cranach press in Weimar. A collection that includes all parchment prints and special editions / [Antiquariat Heribert Tenschert]. With a preliminary remark by Renate Müller-Krumbach. Rotthalmünster: Tenschert, 1994
  • Weber, Klaus: Henry van de Velde. The book art work. Freiburg im Breisgau: Rombach, 1994

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A comprehensive review of the exhibition can be found in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: Hubert Spiegel: The most beautiful books in the world , in: FAZ, June 26, 2014, page 17