Bookbinding and Ideology

On the Print blog (3/10/17), Steven Heller wrote a piece titled "Normalized Letterheads":

By 1936 the Nazis were firmly in place in all aspects of government, society and culture. Gleichschaltung was the term for standardizing or normalizing the Nazi aberration. It meant that every aspect of the Third Reich followed the dictates of the ideological wing of the state and party. These innocent-looking letterheads, void of political references, were examples of that Gleichschaltung imposed on the design and printing industries.

This Gleichschaltung was applied uniformly across all media, trades, social organizations, ..., aligning and subordinating all to the dictates of the state in all regards. Indoctrination started in the schools, youth organizations, and trade schools that all apprentices attended. Der Buchbinderlehrling (The Bookbinding Apprentice) was the journal for apprentices with subjects included social studies, math, and science as they related to binding. This also included paper making, leather tanning and parchment making, cloth, and in-depth engineering of bookbinding machines. During its run from 1927-1943 one is struck by how insidiously this Gleichschaltung progressed in the years after 1933, with the apprentices thoroughly indoctrinated so that there was no longer any difference between the trade and ideology. In the same vein the teachers at the trade schools/art academies were required to be party members, especially if civil servants, joining either out of conviction or expedience in some sort of Faustian bargain...

Typography for book titles from Der Buchbinderlehrling, Vol. 9, Nr. 7, 1935.

While some of title designs may seem "innocent looking," this ideological aesthetic was applied not only to bindings, but also presentation materials, desk accessories, just about everything bookbinders made forcefully, with many examples in the trade literature of the time. Prominent among these was Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Under the pseudonym “Nicolli,” Ernst Collin wrote in Der Buchbinderlehrling what can best be described as a tragic review of 1933’s national bookbinding competition on Hitler’s Mein Kampf. He wrote that in binding this book the German bookbinding trade could demonstrate its commitment to Hitler and to taking on the challenges and demands that lay ahead. The trades, publishing, social organizations, and just about every other aspect of life were quickly brought to reflect the party line under “Gleichschaltung.” As a “servant” of the arts and crafts, bookbinding was given a special standing, and binding Mein Kampf in a dignified and appropriate manner was a way to demonstrate this standing. To demonstrate the new collective mindset, the names of none of the participants or winners were mentioned. Stating that this was not the place to describe individual bindings, he went on to write that given the nature and importance of the book it was clear that many of the bindings would include the black, white, and red of Imperial Germany and the Third Reich, with the swastika a key element. However, Ernst noted also that including these elements did not make for good design that would inspire and demonstrate respect. He concluded that the book could not become a playground for overwrought designs and gimmicks, challenging binders to think about and prepare themselves for increasing amounts of this kind of work. ([Nicolli]. “Ein Zeitgemäßer Wettbewerb.” Der Buchbinderlehrling, Vol. 7, Nr. 12, 1933. (167-168))

While no images from the 1933 bookbinding competition were found in Der Buchbinderlehrling, below two, one by an Martin Lehmann, an apprentice/student of Franz Weiße, and one by a master and one of the leading teachers of the day (Professors at art academies and trade schools), Hugo Wagner.

Martin Lehmann's apprentice/student binding on Mein Kampf.
From Der Buchbinderlehrling. Vol. 10, Nr. 6, 1937.
In the article the image accompanied he described his motivations and design choices a "flag red" leather for the  binding, white type, and black for the eagle, all based on the Nazi flag. About the eagle he wrote that it was based on the Luftwaffe insignia because it was more "dainty," yet aggressive and full of life, ready to take up the fight against all that is false...

Martin Lehmann with Franz Weiße
From Der Buchbinderlehrling. Vol. 11, Nr.11, 1938.

Binding by Hugo F. Wagner, Breslau, on the occasion of his 25th anniversary as a teacher.
From Der Buchbinderlehrling. Vol. 10, Nr. 12, 1937.

Bindings by Hugo Wagner from Vom Buchbinderlehrling zum Buchbindemeister (1941)

Otto Dorfner, Weimar, was another one of the leading teachers during this time, and will be featured in due time, also because he remained in the Soviet occupation zone (the DDR) after the war and continued working. One of Germany's greatest design binders, he studied under Paul Kersten, founded his school in Weimar, taught at the Bauhaus, and elsewhere, helped found the Meister der Einbandkunst... Below another binding on Mein Kampf by one of his students, Willi Fischer.

Binding by Dorfner student Willi Fischer on Mein Kampf.
From the Allgemeiner Anzeiger für Buchbindereien, Nr. 27, 1936.

Another teacher was Heinrich Lüers, Magdeburg, best known for Das Fachwissen des Buchbinders that appeared in several editions, including one postwar with a new introduction by his Gustav Moessner. It is very interesting to compare the editions, especially as the politically charged ones have been scrubbed out. Lüers also edited Vom Buchbinderlehrling zum Buchbindemeister (1941) for the Reichsinnungsverband des Buchbinderhandwerks (the national bookbinding guild), a pamphlet produced by the BDBI describing the trade and requirements designed to attract new apprentices and others. Like Lüer's book, this too was republished after the war in a sanitized edition. After all, why waste an otherwise significant text, and Das Fachwissen is one of the best of its genre and incredibly comprehensive.

Lüers concluded his pamphlet by stating that during the (still rather young) war, bookbinding had proven itself to a secure trade, and able to withstand any crisis and serve the German people. He ended with a quote by Hitler praising the German trades...

Below, Franz Weiße (Wiemeler's teacher), Erhard Klette, Otto Dorfner, and Hugo Wagner jurying the 1938 apprentice competition. Dorfner and Wagner appear to be wearing party insignia on cravat and lapel, and Klette was an influential publisher in the field, including the Archiv für Buchbinderei and the Jahrbuch der Einbandkunst.

Franz Weiße, Erhard Klette, Otto Dorfner, and Hugo Wagner jurying the 1938 apprentice competition.
From Der Buchbinderlehrling, Vol. 12, Nr. 5,1938.

See also this post about Frieda Thiersch's similar work during this period, "Hitler's Bookbinder." Her biography, Frieda Thiersch und ihre Handbuchbinderei (1968), by Fritz Krinitz mentions little and illustrates even less of her work from this period.

So, imagine if this scenario were to return... No, let's not go there.

Practicing and Teaching Endbands

For practicing and teaching endbands, I first started out with little sewn textblocks, then chopped up telephone books (remember those) or directories, then thought to myself "why not wrap a core in gauze/super and sandwich between two boards..." That worked great, but just preparing the things was a pain. Eventually discovered coroplast making things perfectly easy.

Donia's and my poster from the Guild of Book Workers' 2003
Standards of Excellence conference in Denver, CO.

For a book artist's take on this, and really what inspired me to keep them as a strip on the card, see this example by Susan Joy Share from the Guild of Book Workers' 100th anniversary exhibition. This was part of a series and I am glad to call one my own.

The images below were largely drawn from a poster I did with Donia Conn for the Guild of Book Workers' Standards conference. Our bibliography for endbands is at http://www.philobiblon.com/bibliography-endbands.shtml. My favorite sources are for great diagrams:

• Gast, Monica,  A History of Endbands Based on a Study by Karl Jäckel.  The New Bookbinder.  Vol. 3, pp. 42-58, 1983.
• Guiffrida, Barbara, Book Conservation Workshop Manual Part Three: Endbands.  The New Bookbinder.  Vol. 2, pp. 29-39, 1982.
• Jäckel, Karl, Alte Techniken des Buchbinderhandwerks in der modernen Schriftgutrestaurierung, 2: Das Kapital. [The Endband.] Bibliotheksforum Bayern. Vol. 3, pp. 207-219, 1975. 

Rodrigo Ortega (?) also has a very nicely presented gallery at http://www.artesdellibro.com.mx/encuadernacion/cabezadas.

Because it doesn't always have to be hand-sewn... Hand-made stuck on endbands can look great, especially on smaller/thinner books. Below an assortment all wrapped around 18/3 linen thread, a nice thickness. Materials include leather, cloth, and decorated papers...

Stuck-on endbands

For those teaching endband workshops or needing something bigger to conceptualize the process, I developed the demonstrator below with my brother who's a woodworker. Big dowl is 1" dia... Using thinner "climbers" rope in two colors. The idea came from workshop attendee who didn't want to get to close, he liked being in the back row, but still wanted to see. Normally not an enabler in those circumstances, but the idea was brilliant. Brother made three, I kept one, one for Donia, and I sent one to the one whose idea it was...

Getting teaching tool set up.

Core dropped on teaching tool.

Finished 2-core endband.

Endview of teaching tool.

For a wooden boards binding of an Icelandic saga, hand copied by the client. Textblock had originally been oversewn and library-bound. He decided he wanted something nicer... Made the clasps, too. The endband I first learned at the Centro del bel Libro in Ascona, CH after diagrams by Karl Jäckel.

Primary endband.

Braided leather added after covering.

The clasps I made.

Finished book in box.

Mehr W. Collin Einbände - More W. Collin Bindings

[English below]

Seit ich angefangen habe, den Spuren von Ernst und W. Collin nachzugehen und das Gefundene online zu teilen, erhalte und schätze ich Emails von Sammlern, Antiquaren und Bibliothekaren.  Sie bieten mir Anregungen, Hinweise, Bilder von Einbänden und üben Kritik.

Der Einband unten Die wahre Geschichte des Clavigo (Hamburg, 1774) wurde von W. Collin gebunden. Der Inhaber, Günter Trauzettel, ein Antiquar, schickte mir die Bilder mit der Frage, ob ich bei der Datierung helfen könnte. Der Pergamenteinband über Holzdeckel mit Spiegel und Vorsatz aus Seide ist vergoldet. Zudem hat der Einband einen Kopfgoldschnitt, ist zweiseitig unbeschnitten und dazu "schief eingebunden."

Es ist schwierig den Einband zu datieren. W. Collin wurde 1845 in Berlin etabliert. Der Einband selbst sieht anhand der eher weicheren/runden (nicht eckig) Einschlägen und Falz älter aus. Holzdeckel an einem Pergamenteinband aus dem späten 19./20. Jahrhundert sind eher ungewöhnlich, doch läßt sich das nicht leicht nachweisen - der Antiquar vermutet Holz wegen des Geräusches beim "Klopfen." Der Stempel lautet nicht "Hofbuchbinder",  nur W.Collin Berlin. Der gleiche Stempel befindet sich auch in der Bernsteinhexe und ist in meinem Einband von Les Poèmes Dorés (1920) auf Seite 23 von Die Collins zu finden, sowie unten bei W. Collin Mappe und Etikette.

Die wahre Geschichte des Clavigo (Hamburg, 1774)

Die wahre Geschichte des Clavigo (Hamburg, 1774)
Seidener Spiegel | Silk doublure

Die wahre Geschichte des Clavigo (Hamburg, 1774)
W. Collin Stempel | W. Collin stamp

 Ein Beispiel für einen W. Collin Einband in einer Bibliothekssammlung ist Die Geschichte der Berliner Buchbinder-Innung während zweier Jahrhunderte, 1882, aus den Beständen der Berliner Staatsbibliothek. W. Collin war Innungsmitglied, als die Berliner eine Zwangsinnung war.

Am anderen Ende des Spektrums sind die Einbanddecken, die W. Collin für Verlage herstellte. Verlagsdecken beschrieb ich in einem früheren Beitrag, und es überraschte mich, einen Hinweis für diese in der Kunstzeitschrift Pan von 1898 zu finden. Der Hinweis stammt aus Skizzen und Buchschmuck aus der Kunstzeitschrift Pan, 1898, und ist auf Seite 31 der PDF

Hinweis zu W. Collin Einbanddecken
Notice about W. Collin book covers

Unten der erwähnte Entwurf von Ludwig von Hofmann aus Skizzen und Buchschmuck aus der Kunstzeitschrift Pan, sowie die Decke an Pan aus den digitalen Sammlungen der Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg.

Pan: Entwurf von Hofmann
Pan: Design by Hoffman

Pan: Einbanddecke
Pan: Cover

W. Collin erhielt auch Aufträge für die Bibliothek von Harry Graf Kessler. Diese wurden nach Entwürfen von Henry van de Velde ausgeführt etwa um 1907, vor der Etablierung der Buchbindewerkstatt der Kunstgewerbeschule in Weimar. Die Einbände zählen jetzt zu den Beständen der Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek (HAAB) in Weimar, die 61 Titel im Katalog aufführt. Viele wurden in Leder oder Pergament mit bedruckten Papier/Leinwand bezogenen Deckeln eingebunden. Andere sind in ganz Leinwand oder englischem Buckram gebunden. (Insgesammt hat die HAAB  über 90 Einbände von W. Collin.)

So Sellinat und Simon-Ritz über die Einbaende von W. Collin in "Henry van de Velde als Buch- und Bibliotheksgestalter in Weimar," Imprimatur: ein Jahrbuch für Bücherfreunde. N.F. 23. 2013. München: Ges. der Bibliophilen. (S. 305-322):

"Die Qualität der Verlagsausgaben kann mit den auf Dauer und Solidität angelegten Einbänden nicht in jedem Fall wetteifern. So schützen zwölf Pergamenteinbände mit stabilen Deckeln eine Sammlung einzelner Schopenhauer-Titel aus Reclams Universal-Bibliothek um 1900. Eine tatsächliche Arbeits- und Reisebibliothek von »Taschenbüchern « nach dem Verständnis des 19. Jahrhunderts!"

Van de Velde entwarf auch Kesslers Wohnung und Bibliothek, welche beim Deutsches Dokumentationszentrum für Kunstgeschichte - BildarchivFoto Marburg betrachtet werden können.

Der Aufsatz ist auch sonst sehr interessant und wertvoll, was Buchgestaltung und Buchbinderei während dieser Zeit betrifft, besonders, wo es um Gebrauchseinbände geht. Leider ist er nicht online verfügbar, deshalb mein Dank an Herrn Sellinat, ihn mit mir zu teilen.

ENGLISH

One of the best things that has happened since I began sharing my work around Ernst Collin and W. Collin is that I have received increasing numbers of emails from collectors, antiquarians, and librarians sharing their bindings and information.

The binding below on Die wahre Geschichte des Clavigo (Hamburg, 1774) that was bound by W. Collin. Günter Trauzettel, an Antiquarian in Germany, shared the pictures asking whether I had any information that might help date it. The full vellum binding [over wooden boards] is gold tooled, is gilt on the top edge with the fore- and tail-edges uncut, and silk doublures and flyleaves. In addition, he noticed that the book was bound "crookedly." Looking at the image of the doublure one can also notice a "lump" in the silk hinge where it goes under the doublures at top and bottom.

Dating the book is difficult. W. Collin was established 1845 in Berlin. The binding itself looks older based on the less sharply define joints, corners, ... Wooden boards on a vellum binding of this time would be very unusual, but the dealer feels certain that they are wood based on a "knock test" - it sounds like wood. Unfortunately, there is no damage... that would allow a peek into the boards. The binder stamp does not mention "Hofbuchbinder..," just "W.Collin Berlin." The same stamp was also found on the Bernsteinhexe and my binding of Les Poèmes Dorés (1920) on page 21 of The Collins and at bottom of W. Collin Mappe und Etikette.

[Images 1-3]

An example of a W. Collin binding in a library collection is Die Geschichte der Berliner Buchbinder-Innung während zweier Jahrhunderte (The History of the Bookbinding Guild Berlin Over Two Centuries), 1882, comes from the Berlin State Library. W. Collin were on-again off-again members of the Guild, with membership in the Guild not always required (Zwangsinnung).

On the other end of the bookbinding spectrum, W. Collin also provided covers for periodicals. I described these in an earlier post, and was surprised to find mention of W. Collin providing these, in this case for the journal Pan. The mention was found in Skizzen und buchschmuck aus der kunstzeitschrift Pan, 1898, on page 31 of the PDF.

[Image 4]  

Below the cover design by Ludwig von Hofmann from Skizzen und buchschmuck aus der kunstzeitschrift Pan, with the actual cover from the Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg's digital collections.

[Image 5-6]

W. Collin was also responsible for binding many volumes designed by Henry van de Velde for the Library of Harry Graf Kessler. These were bound around 1907, before the establishment of the bookbinding workshop at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Weimar, 1907. They are now in the collection of the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek (HAAB) in Weimar with 61 titles recorded. The bindings for many of these are in leather or vellum with printed paper or linen sides. Others are bound in linen or English buckram. These "simpler" W. Collin bindings are described by Sellinat and Simon-Ritz as being closer to publishers bindings in quality, and indeed the textblocks in many cases are from Reclam's Universal Bibliothek and similar.

Van de Velde also designed Kessler's apartment and library. Images can be seen in the Deutsches Dokumentationszentrum für Kunstgeschichte - BildarchivFoto Marburg.From Frank Sellinat und Frank Simon-Ritz. "Henry van de Velde als Buch- und Bibliotheksgestalter in Weimar," Imprimatur: ein Jahrbuch für Bücherfreunde. N.F. 23. 2013. München: Ges. der Bibliophilen. (S. 305-322). The illustrated article also highly interesting and valuable for its treatment of book design and binding, especially for books meant to be used. The article is not available online, and I am thankful to Mr. Sellinat for sharing it with me.

Overall, the HAAB holds over 90 volumes bound by W. Collin.