Jakob Hegner

Biography

Designer, publisher, translator. Austrian of Jewish origin who became Roman Catholic. Born 25 February 1882 in Vienna. Principally a publisher who designed his own books. 1912: started his own publishing firm: Hellerauer Verlag Jakob Hegner. 1918: founded his printing firm, the high standards of which would make the firm famous throughout Germany. 1933: publications director at Oskar Brandsletter Book Press, Leipzig. 1936: left Germany for Vienna where he founded ‘Thomas Verlag Jakob Hegner’. 1938: emigrated to England. 1946: left England, worked for a while with Mondadori in Italy, and finally returned to Germany, resuming his publishing career (in Cologne). Died 24 September 1962 in Lugano where he had spent his last years.

‘The idea of a type of book designed for a clearly defined type of reader was created by Jakob Hegner, who interpreted in his own way the Werkbund principle that content and form must be in full harmony.’ (Schauer, 1966, p. 131)

Writings about

  • Martin Beheim-Schwarzbach, ‘Geist und Werk des Verlags Jakob Hegner’, Imprimatur, 1932, pp. 38-48 (includes bibliography)
  • Fritz Homeyer, ‘Germany’, in ‘A survey of the making of books in recent years’, The Dolphin, 1933, pp. 264-88, esp. pp. 272, 279, 285
  • Wirklichkeit und Wahrheit..Einblick in die Arbeit des Verlags Jakob Hegner, Leipzig, 1937
  • Georg Kurt Schauer, ‘Gedenken, Gruss und Dank’, Imprimatur, 1956/7, p. 199
  • Georg Kurt Schauer, Rückschau und Ausblick. Jakob Hegner zum achtzigsten Geburtstag, Cologne and Olten: Verlag Jakob Hegner, 1962 (repr. in GKS, Von den Herbergen des Geistes, Krefeld: Scherpe, 1976)
  • GKS, 1963, pp. 29-30, 236
  • G.K. Schauer, ‘The Art of the Book in Germany…’, in Book Typography 1815-1965, (Kenneth Day, ed.)., London: Ernest Benn Ltd, 1966
    • Bertold Hack, ‘Lambert Schneider, Verleger und Verlag’, Imprimatur, Band VI, 1969, pp. 203-19
  • GKS, 1978
  • G.K. Schauer, ‘Gegenwart und Zukunft unserer Buchkultur’, Philobiblon, March 1978, pp. 6-18
  • RK, 1990
    • ‘Der Verleger Jakob Hegner’ (75th birthday), Archiv für Druck und Papier, 1955-65; then Archiv für Drucktechnik, 1965-7; then Druck, 1968-73. , 1957, v. 1, p. 96
  • Ernst Fischer and others, Buchgestaltung im Exil 1933-1950. Eine Ausstellung des Deutschen Exilarchivs 1933-1945 Der Deutschen Bibliothek. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2003. Very comprehensive. , 2003, biog.: pp. 167-8.
    • Karl Salzmann, ‘Jakob Hegner, the translator, publisher and printer’, Archiv für Druck und Papier, 1955-65; then Archiv für Drucktechnik, 1965-7; then Druck, 1968-73. , 1956, v. 2, pp. 188-92
  • Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie, Munich, London, New Providence: K.G. Saur 1995- (from 1997: Munich only)., 1996