Leipziger Messemännchen
The Leipziger Messemännchen (short Messemännchen ) was the mascot of the Leipziger Messe in the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
The figure
The fair man represents a traveling salesman with an oversized head in the shape of a globe . The yellowish globe head symbolizes worldwide trade . In the right corner of the mouth there is a mostly white pipe . In his left hand the little man holds a briefcase with the inscription “Leipziger Messe” as a symbolic travel destination. It is wearing a blue suit and to a blue hat, on white the double-M emblazoned that as Signet goes back to the introduction of the sample fair in 1895 and since 1917 the logo is the Leipzig Trade Fair. The colors blue and yellow represent the colors of the city of Leipzig .
history
The fair man's father was GDR art award winner Gerhard Behrendt , who also created the little sandman . The symbol figure premiered at the Leipzig autumn fair in 1964. The figure promoted the world-famous fair for over 30 years. By the end of the GDR it was produced over 400,000 times in sizes between 16 centimeters and 1.60 meters.
On his 40th birthday in 2004, the fair man was revived as a mascot at the request of exhibitors and the general public. It was published in a print run of 10,000 for the Auto Mobil International trade fair : “It is intended to advertise our public trade fairs and, as a figure of identification, show the closeness between the trade fair and the population.” The trade fair company emphasized that it was the only one that traditionally had its own mascot. By the 50th birthday in 2014, over 30,000 units had been sold. For this anniversary, LVZ-Post issued a stamp with the fair man as a motif.
Web links
| - picture gallery |
- The Leipziger Messemännchen on giftkorb-laden.de
- Leipziger Messemännchen on the website of the GDR Museum Berlin
Individual evidence
- ↑ Marion van der Kraat: comeback. Leipziger "Messemännchen" celebrates its 40th birthday. In: Lausitzer Rundschau . November 13, 2004, accessed September 13, 2017 .
- ^ The Leipziger Messemännchen celebrates his 50th this October. In: Focus . October 2, 2014, accessed September 2, 2017 .
- ↑ Trade fair men get their own stamp for their 50th birthday. On: leipziger-messe.de. September 11, 2014, accessed October 3, 2018.