Tschichold’s Working Copy from a Pivotal Time in his Career

Basel: Les Editions Holbein, 1946. 460 by 330mm (18 by 13 inches). Portfolio in original glassine wraps. [4] leaves (introduction), 10 loosely inserted color lithographs of proofs.

Inserted:

Single sheet galley proof and 5‑sheet marked proof of the introductory text, all with Jan Tschichold’s stamp and handwritten typesetting instructions; 27 proofs of the color lithographs (one also with notes). Also typesetting instructions by Willy Rotzler (2 leaves ​“Manuscript for page 8”); a letter (carbon) from Rotzler to Sir Kenneth Clark, The National Gallery, London, with a handwritten note on the back in French about Toulouse-Lautrec.

Together With the Spanish Edition:

Basel: Les Editions Holbein, 1952. 460 by 330mm (18 by 13 inches). Portfolio in original glassine wraps. [1], [5] leaves (introduction), 10 loosely inserted color lithographs.

This is the working copy of the original publication on ten selected posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. With numerous and significant handwritten typesetting instructions by Jan Tschichold and Willy Rotzler. The cover of the French introduction was dated and signed by Rotzler December 8, 1945.

Jan Tschichold (1902–1974) was a German calligrapher, typographer, and book designer. He played a significant role in the development of 20th century graphic design. In 1946, the year of this publication, Tschichold published ​‘Die Massverhältnisse der Buchseite, des Schriftfeldes und der Ränder’, which was an early attempt to set forth his theories on the proportions of the book page, type area, and margins—some of his thoughts on the subject can be seen in his layout notes in these early proofs.

1946 marked a sea change in Tschichold’s design philosophy from modernism to a more classical approach. A few months after these notes were made, Penguin Books hired Tschichold to implement a consistent style across all Penguin publications. This further marked a departure from Tschichold’s earlier work, exemplified in Die neue Typographie.

Willy Rotzler (1917–1994) was a Swiss art critic, and in 1945 was active as an editor at the Basler Kunstverlag [art publishing house]. Rotzler would later hold the position of conservator at the Kunstgewerbe Museum Zürich and go on to publish many works on the art and artists of the twentieth century.