Martin Andersch

Biography

Lettering, book design, jackets, trademarks. Born 18 November 1921 in Munich. Trained in art and lettering in Munich and Hamburg, studying briefly with Anna Simons at the Munich Akademie für angewandte Kunst, and with Meier-Thur at the Hamburg Hochschule für bildenden Künste. From 1941: military service. From 1950: freelance ; worked in book design and lettering arts in Hamburg for numerous publishers. 1957-9: taught lettering at the Meisterschule für Mode, Hamburg. 1962-88: taught book design and lettering at the Hamburg Werkkunstschule (later Fachhochschule). 1989: designed covers of the journal Philobiblon. Died 22 November 1992 in Hamburg.

Writings by

  • ‘Schreiben’, Philobiblon, 1984, pp. 314-15
  • Spuren, Zeichen, Buchstaben: Über das Schreiben von Schrift, das Experimentieren mit Alphabeten und das Interpretieren von Texten, Ravensburg: Maier, 1988 (Symbols, Signs, Letters, New York: Design Press, 1989)
  • ‘Petits fours und frühe Bibliophilie’, Philobiblon, 1989, pp. 324-5 (on the design of the 1989 Philobiblon covers)
  • Manual, Geschriebene Interpretation poetischer Texte, Leipzig: E.A. Seemann, 1991.

Writings about

  • Eberhard Hölscher, ‘Martin Andersch, Hamburg’, Gebrauchsgraphik (International Advertising Art), Berlin: Phönix Illustrationsdruck und Verlag GmbH (later: ‘Gebrauchsgraphik’ Druck und Verlag GmbH), 1933-71. Published from Munich from 1950., April 1951, pp. 44-9
  • E. Hölscher, ‘Advertising art in post-war Germany’, Graphis 34, 1951, pp. 58-79
  • Georgianna Greenwood, review of Spuren, Zeichen, Buchstaben…, in Fine Print, Jan. 1989, pp. 15-17
  • note on MA, Philobiblon, 1989, pp. 330-31
    • review of MA’s Symbols, Signs, Letters, in Calligraphy Review, 1990, v. 8, no. 1, pp. 10-15.
  • Hans Kuh, ‘Martin Andersch, Hamburg’, Gebrauchsgraphik (International Advertising Art), Berlin: Phönix Illustrationsdruck und Verlag GmbH (later: ‘Gebrauchsgraphik’ Druck und Verlag GmbH), 1933-71. Published from Munich from 1950., June 1961, pp. 36-43 (book jackets)
  • Hans A. Halbey, ‘Book-jackets as an advertising medium’, Gebrauchsgraphik (International Advertising Art), Berlin: Phönix Illustrationsdruck und Verlag GmbH (later: ‘Gebrauchsgraphik’ Druck und Verlag GmbH), 1933-71. Published from Munich from 1950., Aug. 1959, pp. 10-19
  • Erich Pfeiffer-Belli, The advertising book-jacket’, Gebrauchsgraphik (International Advertising Art), Berlin: Phönix Illustrationsdruck und Verlag GmbH (later: ‘Gebrauchsgraphik’ Druck und Verlag GmbH), 1933-71. Published from Munich from 1950., Sept. 1960, pp. 8-17
  • Friedrich Friedl, Nicolaus Ott, Bernard Stein, Typography – when/who/how, Cologne: Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, 1998., 1998