Heine_Schwitters Futura

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Design History Society 'Futura' without a Future: Kurt Schwitters' Typography for Hanover Town Council, 1929-1934 Author(s): Werner Heine and Annette Haxton Source: Journal of Design History, Vol. 7, No. 2 (1994), pp. 127-140 Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of Design History Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1316081 . Accessed: 12/10/2011 13:37 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Oxford University Press and Design History Society are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Design History. http://www.jstor.org

Transcript of Heine_Schwitters Futura

Page 1: Heine_Schwitters Futura

Design History Society

'Futura' without a Future: Kurt Schwitters' Typography for Hanover Town Council, 1929-1934Author(s): Werner Heine and Annette HaxtonSource: Journal of Design History, Vol. 7, No. 2 (1994), pp. 127-140Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of Design History SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1316081 .Accessed: 12/10/2011 13:37

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

Oxford University Press and Design History Society are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve andextend access to Journal of Design History.

http://www.jstor.org

Page 2: Heine_Schwitters Futura

Werner Heine

'Futura' without a Future: Kurt Schwitters'

Typography for Hanover Town Council,

1929-1934

This article provides an account of the typographic work of Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948), carried out for Hanover Town Council (Stadtverwaltung) between 1929 and 1934, and places these designs in the wider context of the standardization movement of the late Weimar period in Germany. While the experimental and avant-garde collage and sculptural activities of Kurt Schwitters of the early 1920s are established areas of interest in the history of art, it is perhaps less well known that he went on to execute typo- graphic designs for mainstream design clients in the late 1920S and early 1930s.1 Schwitters was one of the most prominent artists to work for cultural patrons, architects, industrialists, as well as for city authorities at the time, providing them with designs informed by avant-garde principles of composition and incorporating progressive responses to new business systems. His work inevitably raises the

larger question of the perceived political significance of typographical layout during the first years of the Third Reich.

Born into a middle-class family in Hanover in 1887, Kurt Schwitters maintained close connections with his home town throughout his life. Although he travelled widely, in pursuit of advertising contracts, Dada events or Merz productions and to see friends or patrons at the centre of avant-garde activities, he always returned to Hanover [1]. By the early 19205 he was part of a small group of non-conformist artists, writers, and publishers who made the town, along with Berlin and Munich, an early centre of activity for the Modern Movement for a time.2

However, the intellectual and spiritual climate of Hanover was characterized by a nationalistic-conser- vative bourgeoisie, whose administrative repre- sentative was the guelfic lawyer Dr Arthur Menge.3 Following his election to the post of Lord Mayor in 1925 Menge took his place at the head of Hanover's Town Council [2]. On assuming office he could rely on a well-established administrative machine whose structure and personnel had scarcely changed since

the end of the Prussian monarchy in 1918. However, with the evolution of the Weimar Republic to a modern welfare state, municipal responsibilities grew substantially and led to a rapid expansion of the local authorities of large towns and cities.

In order to cope with its increased statutory activities, the German Congress of Municipal Authorities implemented measures to rationalize office technology and organization in local admini- stration. The German Institute for Economy in Public Administration (Deutsches Institut fur Wirtschaft- lichkeit in der 6ffentlichen Verwaltung) was given the task of collating theories and systems for structuring public administration along economic lines and of conveying these to the state, regional, and municipal authorities. The benefits gained from rationalization in industry and commerce were also assessed for their usefulness for public administra- tion.4 One prominent council official, Textor, recom- mended in a report that the main task of office reform should be to study the individual admini- strative work processes, in order to provide suitable technical aids, equipment, and facilities for those carrying out the work, 'which, by means of manual or machine mechanization simplify and reduce the work-load'.5 The solution to coping with the book- keeping and correspondence of a large local author- ity such as Hanover's, was the so-called loose-leaf filing system, developed by rationalization experts. This system facilitated teamwork and shared access to files; and its elements could be easily sorted, amended, and rearranged. The application of carbon copying, particularly for typewriting, was seen as the most significant step towards office rationalization, because processes which had previously been carried out separately could now be combined. A prerequisite of carbon copying was the use of pre- printed forms and for this reason the office reformers suggested an 'Extensive standardization of all cor- respondence through the use of relevant pre-printed material'.6 These standardized forms conformed

Journal of Design History Vol. 7 No. 2 ? 1994 The Design History Society 127

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^MM/f-s 98

MERZ 20 KURT SCHWITTERS

'u S(:': n,' rs..... : eW;ild.iuusnsio J 5 -

KATALOG I Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948), Merz and Dada artist from Hanover. Photograph by Genia Jonas, used as a title illus- tration for the Journal Merz 20 in 1927 (Schwitters' Workregister no. 44) (Sprengel Museum, Hanover)

- "~~ ,;i.. ,'. ':.;;'11~"' ''Q

...,^w:{'g .

Workregister no. 44) (Sprengel Museum, Hanover)

with the format developed by the German Industrial Standards committee, DIN (Deutsche Industrie Normen),7 and led the way to the standardization of official and commercial records. Indeed, they formed the foundation for the standardization of the whole office machine.

At first the suggestions made by the office reformers met with little response in Hanover: non- standard formats continued to be used. In January 1927, in a circular to all municipal departments, the authorities displayed their conservative attitudes. 'The use of the German typeface [Fraktur] serves to

preserve the German identity; German print must therefore ... be used at all times.'8 The tone was one of unmistakable emotional nationalism, with little

encouragement for the modern-minded designers to

express their ideas. The latter believed the use of Fraktur to be old-fashioned and reactionary. With its

lozenge shapes and flourishes it was not in keeping with the new, structured mode of expression. The

representatives of modern typography were com- mitted to the principles of clarity and purity.9

Just a year later the administration began gradu- ally to change the folio size to the DIN format recom- mended by the standards committee. Thus an

important requirement of the modernization called for by the experts in the German Congress of

Municipal Authorities was achieved. But a further

year went by (in which time a Department for Office

.2 New Town Hall in Hanover, ,i \ .

't 'f

, opened in 191g3. Seat of the t ; Town Council. Photograph : . . taken in 1931

x i'" . :-~" P:;~::i,'.. , , , ~". :T~~~'. ~ '.'j ; L ~

128 Werner Heine

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Organization, led by Adolf Klapproth von Halle, had been set up) before an order for the complete re-

designing of all stationery and forms used by Hanover Town Council was given. Ludwig Damm (1880-1958), head of building conservation, was in overall charge of the allocation of these design contracts. He worked under Karl Elkart, the chief of the Town Planning Office. Ludwig Damm, as a member of the German 'Werkbund', the industrial association which promoted industrial products through collaboration between designers and indus- try,'1 was in contact with Hanover's abstract artists, led by Karl Buchheister.ll It would appear to have been Damm who in January 1929 gave the Merz

advertising agency (Merz Werbezentrale), a one-man band run by the artist and designer Kurt Schwitters, the contract to update the town's forms and writing paper [3].12

Schwitters had the difficult task of giving a uniform character and distinctive appearance to the diverse official documents, which included writing paper, envelopes, forms and brochures, tickets, posters, and newspaper advertisements. In solving this problem he applied his principle of uniformity. In an article for the trade journal Papierzeitung, Schwitters stressed that the first step towards uniformity of appearance was to select a suitable typeface.13 The next task was to give all official documents 'a logical structure'. In order to achieve this it was necessary to 'ensure that the content is concise and unambiguous' to maintain uniformity but not regimentation. The aim was 'to make like things appear alike, but to make different things distinguishable from one another and similar things resemble each other'.14

Commissioning a typographer from the inter- nationally recognized 'Ring Neue Werbegestalter' (Circle of New Advertising Designers)15 marked a significant departure from the traditional use of

Fraktur. At Schwitters' suggestion the Town Plan- ning Office, responsible for overseeing the contract, agreed on the use of a modern Grotesque typeface. 'Futura' was chosen, a face designed and cut by Paul Renner for the Bauer foundry in Frankfurt-on-Main from 1926 to 1928. Futura was favoured by many modern typographers because of its clarity; Schwit- ters praised it highly and was fascinated by its expressive qualities:

Its merits: constructive and precise in expression, clear and exact forms, even run, unadorned, elegant, lively, classic- ally simple, noble, well-proportioned, abstract strength, neutral, great calm of appearance, lively drop-capitals, multi-facetted, easy to read, contrast of individual letters, concise, precise, taut, full of character, technical, intelli- gent, despite the clean style of the typewriter; therefore suggestive.16

A further step towards uniformity suggested by Schwitters was the use of the town's clover leaf symbol as a motif on all stationery. This triangular, stylized design was later superseded by a similar one designed by Wilhelm Metzig [4].

The redesigning of the letterhead was of particular significance because of the changes being brought about by the office rationalization programme, particularly the introduction of the typewriter. All municipal departments received stationery in standard DIN formats (A4 and A5) which had recurring design elements. A vertical line on the left- hand side separated the margin from the writing area. A line at right angles to this in the top third of the page served to emphasize the sender's address details; this line extended to the right-hand side of the page where it terminated in the clover leaf motif. The clover leaf served as a recurring aid to instant identification, particularly in non-municipal con- texts. A uniform line therefore optically dominated the division of the page and, by separating the

- -- A * 3 Advertisement for the Merz WE R B E-G E STALTU N G Advertising Agency with company logo, and the publicity comment: 'Kurt Schwitters designs the stationery for

KURT SCHWITTERS Hanover Town Council', 1929

WALDHAUSENSTRASSE 5 FERNRUF 82746 (Schwitters' Workregister no. 51c) KURT SCHWITTERS GESTALTET DIE DRUCK- SACHEN DER STADT HANNOVER

Kurt Schwitters' Typography for Hanover Town Council, 1929-1934 129

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' V 4 The clover leaf as Hanover Town motif, 1929-30. Kurt Schwitters' design (left) was later replaced by a similar one designed by Wilhelm Metzig (cf. Schwitters' Workregister no. 158)

sender's details from the text, served to divide and classify the information. The space for the sender was small, the details being restricted to name, street, room, phone, and sometimes Post Office account numbers, and would only be extended on special request. For emphasis the department name was printed in large letters. A preprinted date line

and a space for the sender's reference completed the design [5-7].

In a circular dated 14 January 1930 municipal departments were asked to submit requests for

stationery in Schwitters' format.l7 Schwitters would then prepare the design with the details in the allo- cated space. Special requests were required for stationery not conforming to standard DIN sizes. The individual letterheads were then passed to the municipal printing works or, if they could not take on the work, to other printers within Hanover. This led to unforeseen problems caused by the increasing number of letterheads and by the length of print run, which often exceeded several thousand. Many printers, especially smaller ones, did not possess Futura, and were forced to acquire it in order to remain competitive. As late as 1933, with the world economic crisis at its height, the councillor Ludwig Dornke complained of the hardship and economic

5 DIN A4 writing paper for the Council, 1930, type- MAGISTRAT DER HAUPTSTADT HANNOVER face in Futura (cf. Schwitters' Workregister no. 181) Abteilung:

Geschiftszeichen:

(i An.on is. Angob der Abeiklng und de GeC- liden $ unbdingt drfor1H't.)

Hannover, den 193

130 Werner Heine

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STADTAMT FUR LEIBESUBUNGEN Neues Rathaus, Trammplatz 2, 1.

Femrruf 50361 -

Nebenonschlu6: Gesdaffszimmer 387, Stadtturnrat 599

I HANNOVER, den 19_ 6 DIN A4 writing paper for the Physical Training Department, edition from 1931, typeface in Futura (cf. Schwitters' Workregister no. 178)

94. 31. 100ooo.

distortion caused by the use of Futura,l8 because it required new stocks of type and was considered to require more space on the page for setting. However, the Department for Office Organization had already agreed to the use of other Grotesque faces 'to enable printers who do not own Futura to compete for work'.19 And so between 1929 and 1934 some 1oo

differing letterheads were produced for the Council, for both internal and external communication, in runs of between 1,ooo and 1o,ooo copies.

Even forms used predominantly inter-depart- mentally were designed by Schwitters [8-o1]. In these documents, such as forms and charts, he paid particular attention to the line as a structural element:

For lines which are to be written on I normally select [solid lines], rather than the dotted lines previously used. For charts I would normally make the outside line thinner than the inside ones, as it is more important to separate the items within the chart from one another than it is to demarcate the chart on the page. I emphasise the left-hand

demarcation line less than the closing line instead of con- centrating on symmetry as was previously the case. This demonstrates that functionality is more important than ornamentation. For the same reason the text is pushed over to the right, as the margin should be clear and the rest of the text area fully utilised.2'

On the recurring theme of uniformity, Schwitters said: 'Often a form is composed of many individual elements which resist unity, in these cases the aim is to establish connections between them, arranging them so that each sentence starts appropriately or by separating them by lines.'21 Schwitters followed strictly his principle of communicating clearly when designing municipal forms. The opening sentence of his programme text stated that forms were an example of a 'structured document' and essential information should therefore be expressed clearly and without ambiguity.22

By contrast, work for the municipal theatres and the opera house offered greater scope for typo- graphic experimentation. From 1929 onwards all

Kurt Sclhwitters' Typography for Hanover Town Council, 1929-1934 131

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STXDTISCHE NORMAL-ZEIT HANNOVER Prinzenstra. e 5

rruf 3 340 u26945 7 DIN A4 writing paper for the Town Department responsible for ensuring the

Telegramm>Adresse: NORMALZEIT HANNOVER standard time of clocks on Bankkonto: STADTSPARKASSE NORMAL-ZEIS public buildings and in Postscheckkonto: 33390 HANNOVER *U,.S...CS mia

.... squares, 1929, typeface in HANNOVER, den

__ 193 0 Futura. Hitherto unknown

/ , variant with green overprint (cf. Schwitters' Workregister

Andas no. 183)

Stadtbauamt Abt. I z.H. des Herrn Stadtbauamtmann Krumbach,

hier .

Bei Durchsicht userer Biicher stellen wir fest, dass

unsere Bechnung vom 28.12.29 iber s 600.-- (Miete fur Wetter-

saule fur 1930) und vom 22.1.30 iiber ? 147.90 (Uhr Krapeke und

Aegidientorplatz Lampen ausgewechselt) zus. also A 747.9bnoch nicht beglichen ist. Wir bitten hoflich um Ueberweisung bis

spatestens 30. dMl., dsmit wir zum Jahresschluse Ihr Konto sas-

gleichen kSnnen.

529 29. ;O

programmes, posters, handbills, and tickets were designed by Schwitters. He emphasized their pro- motional nature and regarded attracting attention as a design challenge. When designing advertising for season tickets he used bold right angles as colourful and eye-catching design elements on handbills and

posters. On other occasions he spread type elements theatrically across the page [11-12]. In programme posters he used a bold display face that he had designed himself [13-141. With economical use of

type and careful use of white space he attempted to direct the onlooker's eye to the essential information.

The total number of designs completed by Kurt Schwitters for Hanover Town Council is unknown but is believed to run to several hundred. Each year, until June 1932, the contract between artist and the Council was renewed,23 reason enough for Schwit- ters to describe himself as 'the artistic adviser to Hanover Town Council' for publicity purposes.24 As early as the autumn of 1929, however, the Council

132 Werner Heine

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VOM ANTRAGSTELLER AUSZUFULLEN: SCHULE KLASSE 1. Famlllenname und Vorname des Kindes, fur das die Freistelle beantragt wird: NAME NAME_

2. Schule: Kase:- VERTRAULICHI Gegen Rickgabe an den Herrn Direktor - die Frau Direktarin - de

3. Name des Vaters: -I h ebe mit dem Ersuchen um Aulerung durch Ausfullen des folgenden (auch anzugeben, wenn 4. Beruf des Vaters: - derVater gestorben it) Vordruckes.

5. Alter des Vaters: --___ . Jahre. HANNOVER, den _193- DER MAGISTRAT

6. Vorname der Mutter:- | ( a .., w.n V.

(nur ausfallen, wenn 7. Alter der Mutter: .-_.. Jahre: derVatergestorbenist)

8. Angaben uber alle Kinder des Unterhaltspflichtigen: Fur erwachene Kinder VON DER SCHULE AUSZUFULLEN:

NAME 4ch.l. KIM. Beruf :ee - Ne

ule Kie Au An den Magistrat der Hauptstadt Hannover zurOck.

a 1 . D- Schiier- besucht zurzeit die Klasse

b - . .- 2. Die FOhrung ist_ ..-.....

d- --3. Die Leistungen sind_ --..-..

4. Was spricht sonst for oder gegen den Antrag? __ -____ 9. Ist im letzten Jahre eine Schulgeldfreistelle beantragt oder bewilligt worden? .

10. Sind im letzten Jahre Unterstitzungen (Beihilfen) irgend welCher Art bewilligt, oder sind sie for die

Zukunft beantragt warden? .. -.-

11. Einkommens- und Verm6gensverhaltnisse: R 5. Der ntrag wird von der Shule empfohlen

a) Monatseinkommen des Antragstellers (auch Unterstitzungen, Renten u. a.) . . .nichtempfohln IDa Zuteffende u untr eichen.)

b) Verm6gen des Antragstellers .. . . . ............... HANNOVER, den 193

c) Haben andere Familienmitglieder (z. B. die Ehefrau) Einkommen oder Verm6gen? D . DER DIREKTOR DIE DIREKTORIN

d) In welcher H6he? -- ---

Geholt oder Lohn einschl. Kinderbeihilfen und sonstige Zulagen sind ohne Abzug (also brutto) anzugeben und durch eine Bescheinigung des Arbeitgebers zu belegen. Nebeneinnohmen sind besonders aufzufihren Antragsteller in freien Berufen, GeschdfBsinhober usw. haben grundsitzlich den letzten Einkommensteuerbescheid des Finanzamts mit einzureichen. Raum fir besondere Bemerkungen siehe Selte 4. Zur Sitzung - des Schulausschusses fr die h6heren Schulen - des Ausschusses fOr die mittleren Schulen.

HANNOVER, de193HANNOVER, den 193- D M

HANNOVER, den ... 193 ' I.V -. V.

Name, Beruf BESCHLUSS - des Schulausschusses fr die h6heren Schulen - desAusschusses fr die mittleren Schulen

Wohnung des Antragstellers:- ._-__-_ _ _ _ . vom _- 193: ganze Freistelle vom 1. 193_-ab. halbe Freistelle Abschlog

8 Application form for an award for school fees exemption, 1931 (cf. Schwitters' Workregister no. 216)

9 Payment reminder from

MAHN ZETTEL the Town Treasury (cf. MAHNA L * Schwitters' Workregister no. 183)

Herr T ___

- --aa N r.

wird hierdurch aufgefordert, das ruckstandige

Schulgeld iE f '. '-//J. - f. - - /LRM --

und auferdem Gebihren und Porto _RM1 ,f" binnen 3 Tagen an die Stadthauptkasse, Trammplatz Nr. 2, Zimmer 77, Schalter III, unter Vorlegung dieses Mahnzettels einzuzahlen, widrigenfalls ohne weiteres zur Pfandung oder zu den sonst Oblichen Zwangsmitteln geschritten wird.

Hannover, den ,, / / 1934

Die Stadtkammerei Gericke

Obigen Rickstand mit Gebihren - ___ RM- 4 erhalten. Hannover, den / 193 Sadaupa

Stadthauptkasse

Zahlungsm5gllchkelten: 1l. auf Reichsbankgirokonto der Stadtk6mmerei Hannover, Bei der Zahlung oder 2. auf Postscheckkonto 15 der Stadthauptkasse, berweisung anzugeben. 3. auf Konto der Stadtkammerei bei alien Amtsstellen der Stadtsparkasse und der

Sparkasse der Kapitalversicherungsanstalt, d / 4. in bar an der Kasse werktaglich von 9 bis 13 Uhr. 12.30.2000.

Kurt Schwitters' Typography for Hanover Town Council, 1929-1934 133

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o1 The Hanover Business School's report form, before 1933, a hitherto unknown design by Schwitters

ST D T I SCH E (Werner Heine Collection)

HANDELSLEHRANSTALTEN HANNOVER

ABSCHLUSSZEUGNIS KAUFMXNNISCHE BERUFSSCHULE

gb. am ^ 19;

zu n L, Krie .4-s

hat vom- A 93- bWs , i9f

die Kaufmannische Berufsschule der

Hauptstadt Hannover, Abtellung II,

besucht und Ist nach Madgabe der Lestungen nicht mehr berulchupflichtig.

had attracted ideologically motivated criticism from conservative typography and language societies for awarding Schwitters the contract. In a letter to the Council the Association for German Typography (Bund fur deutsche Schrift) expressed 'grave doubts' about the decision to use only 'Roman faces' (i.e. Grotesque or Antiqua) rather than the traditional Fraktur:

We are aware that the current slogans such as 'new functionalism', 'rationalization', 'simplification', etc. influ- ence artistic movements. But this should not lead to the overthrow of old, well-established cultural values, such as German script, without the substitution of other values.25

It was implied that Schwitters had influenced the Council in order to 'acquire a well-paid job' for him- self.26

But the artistically aware and modern-minded public of Hanover had recognized the worth of Schwitters' work early on. Alexander Dorner, curator of the 'Provinzialmuseum' at the time and an active supporter of Expressionism and Constructiv- ism, displayed preprinted council forms in his Abstract Gallery, with its interior designed by El

Lissitzky.27 He presented them as a noteworthy example in a revolving display case under the title 'The effect of abstract art on everyday life'. 'The new

printed matter ... displays principles of composition drawn from abstract art in typographic form,'

explained an accompanying text. 'With the purpose and content of the document determining the

arrangement of black and white space on the page, clearer and more powerful compositions are auto-

matically produced.'28 With this kind of comparison

134 Werner Heine

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A BO N N EM EN T S KEIN Zei.erust .beim Kf der Kota

S KEIN Wortenn anderAbendkosse

0 Se KEIN Wehodln des Piat es, sondern 24 mol der gleidc

?3 Sie koge Plt-z O die Hfte der Kssen KEIN Zwang, sondern freie Wahi der Paotzgattung -er

shenprei,e zbenz/e . KEIN Zweifen und Oberlegen, sondern engste Verbindung

: r nen ^ mit dem Spielplan

e DAZU Vorzugsrechte bei besonderenVernestaltungen, zum 2 O E Baispiel bei Gestspielen.,

O0 \ und obendrein in bequemen Raten?

_also: Z .......... .. -- - - - 0 - --00 u | s *0 ;

STADTISCHE BOHNEN HANNOVER SPIELZEIT 1930/31

11-12 Advertising for season tickets for Hanover's muni- cipal theatres, 1930 (cf. Schwitters' Workregister no. 273)

between art and commercial design, Dorner anti-

cipated the thinking prevalent in modern-day museums.

In another instance, the Hanover Kestner Gesell- schaft, a society for modem art founded in 1916 as a reaction to the conservative Kunstverein (Art Society), presented Schwitters' designs in its pro- gramme of exhibitions. The Town Council was

praised for its courageous decision to implement the

changes, and its foresight was commended to other towns.29 Also, in the special exhibition room of the small 'Museum of Mass Produced Goods', estab- lished by the Pelikan Company's Gunther-Wagner Foundation, Schwitters' designs were exhibited alongside documents dating from the Middle Ages. One critic remarked on 'the strange contrast with the clear and convenient modem department papers'.30

As if that were not enough, Schwitters' example was to exert further influence. Other town admini- strations were already showing interest as potential clients. Following his work for the Dammerstock

housing scheme in Karlsruhe in 1929,31 Schwitters redesigned several municipal documents for the provincial capital of Baden. On i6 August 1932, Hanover Council decided to display a collection of Schwitters' stationery at the Modern Advertising and Office Technology Exhibition (Ausstellung fur neu- zeitliche Werbung und Burotechnik) in Stuttgart.32

Kurt Schwitters' Typography for Hanover Town Council, 1929-1934 135

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13 Programme poster for the - - -* - - municipal theatres, 1932. Title line

i - I n the display face designed by Schwitters (cf. Schwitters' Workregister no. 272)

PfERNHRUS SIHRUSPIELHRU5g 6Sonir., Irt ,I flprron1m nmTr KHn?. Orkb rtm-rnlirl4 1?, iq IhnE Bm,

,,, , ih n und 1RO lnrD

HA4D el und se D1 5 hE1HU SHRU5PIEIHRU5 ld ht

19' o D oi*U f .- Dif-tg denSa Deae.g ber1132 20, uh,^. - : K ...... "onze ,-- -,

" "" 1

rl - tS'' *" . Hannlr Hlmmlahrt

20 , I . -i FRL RFF BRREEt l INCHT -20r 20 UK, t-to~*,.;---..-,.-

.... ,....-..-.--...

20u-

Falstaff Din- Bargeld lacht 2!0 u, .'giy ~d l We 20h Whnc>- .e , I ,,, o ^r,""

MDie Fle?dermaus c : D. l . hr o- Dw,,l, I ' -ei ---tl verl-r.ne To hter 19 2f1S.

r'1" c r - .- 2oUb

De 0Mi ster Wu USber d, iee Kra3Mf

20___ __ __ __ __.__ __ g._t- O I 20u ; *"U-hL

^ ManonLescaut --^^ , - D-Irl0-*- Toher

___20 u_. t__ _.__,_ ______C___ _ S .> .^ . 20 Ulh, -

a ;

te'""eL und Or:ael "" - 9"Jl. 1A bhndw -1 h

aen und Po..-..n I

Bargeld laoht Die Puppent ee '=-^

Der Zarewlltsch dia bete und blligste Art des Thaaterbesucha Der Mann, den es nicht gibt

DasMchen Als WelhnachtsgeschenI Morgenk aus dem - e utschenheft s goldenen Westen ein Gutscheinhett -

unsI -

tr r Au * ll wom 4. bl- 241, 2D glrku?ten Heft* wird sln Br8arer Prebirachtses gew hrt Erd?hr

"' ..- . I -.. Th d.tkn n (.1. n d .n

. r

The designs attracted a great deal of attention, not least from the Stuttgart authorities. Schwitters even feared that Stuttgart had plans to copy the designs for themselves.33

The high regard for Schwitters' successful designs had yet to reach its apex. In January 1933 Council official Klapproth v. Halle informed the councillors that the town intended to provide the 'Werkbund' with a collection of its documents for exhibition at their master class. The 'Werkbund' wished to display pieces from the selection at the international Trien- nale, the Exhibition for Modern Decorative Art, Industrial Design and Architecture in Milan.34

Shortly afterwards Council employees had the

opportunity to convince themselves of the attractive

appearance and clarity of their Council's stationery at an exhibition in the Town Hall bar.35

However, the brief dawn of the Modern Move- ment was about to come to an abrupt end for the Town Council. After 30 January 1933 the National Socialists in Germany began not only to pursue political opponents but also to repress artistic

development. Although the conservative administra- tion of Arthur Menge survived the political upheaval almost untouched, it decided to pay its respects to

the rising National Socialist rule and the German Zeitgeist. Almost exactly one year to the day after

receiving public tributes the stationery, recently praised as modern and clearly laid out, was to lose its characteristic appearance. On 14 June 1933 a circular

signed by Menge decreed the end of Futura. Headed 'Use of German Script' it was almost identical to the edict of 1927: 'At a time of rising national spirit great value is once again being placed on our printed matter as an example of German essence. It is not

Antiqua but Gothic lettering (Fraktur) which is most

fitting for this purpose.'36 It would seem that even local authority stationery formed part of the German

identity. Schwitters, whose contract was originally limited

to the end of March 1933, was re-engaged as Chief

Graphic Designer to the Council. He found himself forced to replace the once prized Futura with a traditional black-letter type [151. This, and other

changes in municipal stationery arising from the Prussian Local Authority Constitution Bill, occupied Schwitters well into 1934.37 However, Menge's official order did not prevent the existing versions

remaining in use until they were used up, well after 1933. Thrift was a virtue 'befitting the German

136 Werner Heine

Page 12: Heine_Schwitters Futura

* 14 Hanover municipal theatres, play ER and rehearsal timetable, 1932. Title

ALPIIECH.E.. .U. H E' Schwitters, initialled bottom right: Spiel- und Peobenplan yoe d5 bs laf. Jung

de .1in

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.p.........pr.n 'Typography Kurt Schwitters, S-, O>.. ...t .. Hannover'. Hitherto unknown design

^.. ... .. ...... . O(Werner Heine Collection) II -i---pnI

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character' and should be part of daily administrative

practice. In keeping with the inconsistencies of National

Socialist policies, Adolf Hitler, in a secret circular from 1941, described the Fraktur typeface as a 'Schwabacher Jewish letter' and prohibited its use in official documents.38 Shortly afterwards a circular distributed in the Town Council ordered the gradual conversion of office signs to Antiqua, which was

proclaimed the German standard type.39 It was ironic that the stationery, once praised for its use of Futura

and then changed merely for the sake of 'German essence', was once again changed, during wartime. From 1941 department names and addresses were set in Antiqua [16].

And so all three variations-Futura, Fraktur, and

Antiqua-survived the Third Reich in administrative records, thus proving their creator's motto: you just never know.

WERNER HEINE

Stadtarchiv Hanover

Kurt Schwitters' Typography for Hanover Town Council, 1929-1934 137

Page 13: Heine_Schwitters Futura

5ftabtaim four ?eibe^butnen unu 3unub fle eg Xt"U RiaUM, Tm4m* 2 Sanruf 5 031

Xtenanfrdu: Gtaumrnrat 599 unb 809, c0edft4dimmtr 369 unb 382

"w-i 15 DIN A4 writing paper for the Physical Training I n .aw,

ben __-- - 193 Department, edition from 1934, typeface now in Fraktur (cf. [6])

16 The Lord Mayor's writing paper, 1943,

Der Oberbiirgermeister der Hauptstadt Hannover typeface in Antiqua

Geschfiftszeichen:

Bei Antworten ist Angabe des Geochiftsseichens unh.dingt rfordlerlieh.

Hannover, den 194

43. 100000. FI0360

138 Werner Heine

Page 14: Heine_Schwitters Futura

Notes

This article was first published as 'Der kurze Fruihling der Moderne oder Futura ohne Zukunft: Kurt Schwitters' typographische Arbeiten fuir die Stadtverwaltung Han- nover 1929-34' in V. Rattemeyer & D. Helms (eds.), Kurt Schwitters: Typographie und Werbegestaltung, exhibition catalogue, Wiesbaden Museum, 1990, pp. 92-7.

1 In January 1937, the year of the Degenerate Art (Entartete Kunst) Exhibition in Munich, which included a selection of Schwitters' collages and assemblages, he left for Lysaker, Norway. Schwitters stayed there until the German occupation of Norway in 1940, when he left for England where he was sent to a succession of internment camps before becoming established in London and eventually at Elterwater near Ambleside.

For a monograph treatment of Kurt Schwitters, see John Elderfield, Kurt Schwitters, Thames & Hudson in association with the Museum of Modern Art New York, London and New York, 1985. At the time of this exhibition and publication, Schwitters' advertising work claimed attention in an article, Maud Lavin, 'Advertising Utopia: Schwitters as commerical designer', in Art in America, October 1985, pp. 134-9.

2 See Adelheid v. Saldern (ed.), Stadt und Moderne: Han- nover in der Weimarer Republik, Hamburg, 1989, pp. 7- 30; the catalogue, Die Zwanziger Jahre in Hannover, Hanover, 1962, is still a good summary of artistic activities in the 1920s. There is also a wealth of material in Wieland Schmied, Wegbereiter zur modernen Kunst: 50 Jahre Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hanover, 1966.

3 Menge was member of the Deutsch-Hannoversche Partei, a political party which had been founded by people who wanted to re-establish the former Kingdom of Hannover or at least separate the territory of Nieder- sachsen (Lower Saxony) from the Prussian State. His election as Oberbirgermeister was supported by a conservative parliamentary group which called itself the 'Ordnungsblock' (Coalition for Order).

4 Gerhard Enders, Archivverwaltungslehre, Berlin (DDR), 1968, 3rd edn., p. 66.

5 Magistratsrat Textor: Biirotechnische und -organisator- ische Rationalisierungsmassnahmen in der Kommunal- verwaltung, in Biroreformen in einzelnen Verwaltungen, Berlin, 1927 (= DIWIV Documents Series, vol. 2), p. 54.

6 The catchword 'Rationalisation' in Handworterbuch der Staatswissenschaften, supplementary volume, Jena, 1929, 4th edn., p. 799.

7 There is no exact date for the introduction of DIN formats. After the First World War there had been discussions about standardization within German industry and a second enlarged recommendation for the A4 format (DIN format 476) is dated July 1925. See

Richard Kiencke, DIN-Format und Vordrucke, Berlin, 1926.

8 Hanover Town Archives, Decrees and Circulars con-

cerning office and service functions, file II, no. 6: language conservation, German script.

9 Jan Tschichold, Die Neue Typographie: Ein Handbuch fur zeitgemiiss Schaffende, Berlin, 1928, p. 76.

10 See the German Werkbund, Register of Members at the End of April 1928, Berlin, 1928, p. 30.

ii On 2 March 1930, on the occasion of a lecture and social evening, Ludwig Damm gave an illustrated talk on the subject of advertising as a challenge for munici- pal architecture. Kurt Schwitters designed the invita- tion cards. Reproduction in Carola Schelle, in collaboration with Maria Haldenwanger and Werner Heine, 'Workregister' (of typographic designs by Kurt Schwitters), in Typographie kann unter Umstiinden Kunst sein: Kurt Schwitters: Typografie und Werbegestaltung exhibition catalogue, Landesmuseum Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, 1990, p. 194 (no. 139), currently quoted as Schwitters' Workregister no. ...; for Hanover's abstract artists cf. Katalog die Abstrakten Hannover: Inter- nationale Avantgarde 1927-1935, published by the

Sprengel Museum Hanover, 1987. 12 Unfortunately nothing is known either about the

history of the contract, or about the contract itself. The start of the design work can be dated by a circular of 10 January 1931 which reads: 'For the last two years the forms have been redesigned by the graphic artist Schwitters' (emphasized in the original), Hanover Town Archives, Magistratsverfigungen, vol. 3.

13 Kurt Schwitters, 'Uber die einheitliche Gestaltung von Drucksachen', in Papierzeitung, no. 55, Berlin, 1930, pp. 1436-40. This is the only coherent statement by Kurt Schwitters about his work for Hanover Town Council, published in a 'Journal for papermaking and wholesale, for paper-processing and trade, for book trade, printing trade, cardboard packaging, bookbind- ing'. The article is printed as a facsimile in Typografie kann unter Umstiinden Kunst sein: Kurt Schwitters, op. cit., pp. 187-9.

14 Schwitters, 'Ober die einheitliche Gestaltung .', op.cit., p. 1436.

15 See Typographie kann unter Umstiinden Kunst sein: Ring 'neue wlerbegestalter': Die Amsterdamer Ausstellung 1931, exhibition catalogue, Wiesbaden Landesmuseum, Wiesbaden, 1990, as well as Ring 'neue werbegestalter' 1928-1933: Ein Uberlick exhibition catalogue, Sprengel Museum, Hanover, 1990; these also include bio- bibliographic particulars.

16 Kurt Schwitters, 'Die neue Gestaltung in der Typografie', Hanover c. 1930, p. 13 (= Kurt Schwitters'

Workregister no. 55) (printed in bold in the original),

Kurt Schwitters' Typography for Hanover Town Council, 1929-1934 139

Page 15: Heine_Schwitters Futura

entirely reprinted in Typografie kann unter Umstiinden Kunst sein, Kurt Schwitters, op. cit., pp. 78-86.

17 Hanover Town Archives, Council Decrees, vol. 3. 18 Hanover Town Archives, Minutes of the Council Meet-

ings 1933, p. 480 (Meeting of 31 January 1933). 19 Schwitters, 'Uber die einheitliche Gestaltung .. .', op.

cit., p. 1439. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid. 22 Schwitters, 'Die neue Gestaltung ...', op. cit., p. 8. 23 Hanover Town Archives, Council circular of 20 June

1932, HR II F 1 no. i.

24 Heinz & Bodo Rasch (eds.), Gefesselter Blick, Stuttgart, 1930, p. 88.

25 Hanover Town Archives, HR 16 no. 750. 26 Ibid.

27 See Monika Flacke-Knoch, Museumskonzeption in der Weimarer Republik: Die Titigkeit Alexander Dorners im Provinzialmuseum Hannover, Marburg, 1985, p. 70.

28 Accompanying text in the display case of the recon- structed Abstract Gallery, in the Sprengel Museum, Hanover.

29 Kestner-Gesellschaft Hannover, Otto Gleichmann, cata-

logue of the 121st exhibition, 2-26 June 1932, p. 2.

30 Wilhelm Frerking in Hannoversches Tageblatt, no. 154, 4 June 1932 (3rd supplement, p. 14); further reports of the exhibition in Hannoverscher Kurier, no. 252, 1 June 1932 (supplement), as well as nos. 254/55 of 3 June

1932 (supplement). 31 Schwitters' Workregister nos. 112-19.

32 Hanover Town Archives, Minutes of the Council Meet-

ings 1932, p. 197 (Meeting of 16 August 1932). 33 In a letter to Bodo Rasch dated 24 January 1933, Helma

Schwitters wrote of her husband Kurt's misgivings: 'He does not think it right that some of the Council's stationery should have been photographed, and fears that he will encounter difficulties with the town [Hanover] as a result; at any rate, he believes the

stationery should not have been photographed without

prior agreement. He personally would raise objections in any case, if Stuttgart simply adopted the format of the town stationery.' Private property of Bodo Rasch, Leinfelden.

34 Hanover Town Archives, Minutes of the Council Meet-

ings 1933, p. 457 (Meeting of 17 January 1933). 35 Ibid., p. 481 (Meeting of 31 January 1933). 36 Hanover Town Archives, Presseamt. Council Decrees,

vol. IX.

37 On 21 October 1934 in a letter to Robert and Ella

Michel, Schwitters announced that he was still design- ing stationery for the municipal authorities; see Kurt Schwitters Almanac No. 7, Hanover, 1988, p. 49.

38 Otto Thomae, Die Propaganda-Maschinerie: Bildende Kunst und Offentlichkeitsarbeit im Dritten Reich, Berlin (West), 1978, p. 184.

39 Hanover Town Archives, Town News Office. Lord

Mayor's Decrees, i January 1941-31 December 1941, the 'Circular of 2 May and 18 June'.

Translated by Annette Haxton.

140 Werner Heine