ing from basic form and proportion -when applied to our field produced
the new typography. In Germany it was principally Willi Baumeister. Walter
Dexel. Johannes Molzahn. Kurt Schwitters. and a few others who by 1922
had made the New Tyoography a reality.
Among the important publications of this time I must mention the Dada
publications of George Grosz. Heartf1eld. Huelsenbeck. and the periodical
Merz. published by Kurt Schwitters in Hannover. which in its 11th number
contamed "Theses on Typography." The book Staatilches Bauhaus 1919 bis
1923 (The Bauhaus 1919 to 1923) contamed an article on "The New
Typography" by L. Moholy-Nagy, who had in the meantime jo1ned the
Bauhaus and who in the follow1ng years contnbuted a great deal to the
clarification of typographic questions.
The A. Z., Anzeigen-Zeitschrift zur pflege wirkungsvoller lnsert!Onsreklame,
Reut!mgen in 1ts 1ssue no. 2/3. November-December 1925. published an
article on the new typography by Willi Baumeister•
Walter Dexel expressed his views in detail in the Frankfurter Zeitung on 5
February 1927, in an article "What IS the new Typography?"
In Holland. Thea van Doesburg's periodical De Stlj/ had already by 1916
published articles on typography and was itself designed in a style com
pletely free of ornament. The postcard illustrated on p. 59 shows clearly the
a1ms of its designer: to produce a pure typographic style using only type,
space. and colour. The period1cal Mecano. published by Doesburg in 1921,
was also an example of the New Typography.
Among Russian art1sts the first name to mention is El Liss1tzky. whose work
in our field was pre-eminent. With the poet Erenburg 1n 1922 in Berlin, he
published the three-language periodical Gegenstand. whose influence was
very strong in Russia. Our illustration shows two characteristic pages from
it. Another important work of his was Mayakowsky's book of poems Dlja
Go/ossa (For reading aloud). also published in 1923 in Berlin. It was meant
to be a book for reading aloud. if the spirit moved one. The l1ttle book had
a finger-index on 1ts fore-edge, like an index file. showing the titles of the
poems. If one wanted to read a poem. one put a finger at the right place in
the index and immediately found the poem without having to consult a list
of contents (which of course was not included. since it was contained in
the index). Each poem is preceded by a title-page contaming a typographic
- Ment1on must also be made of an exper1ment by the pa1nter Johannes ltten. who 1n a magaz1ne
Uwp1a (1JJe1mar. 1 922) produced WSymbol1st-tyaography He attempted by means of cho1ce of
ty:Je and arrangement to make the type Illustrate the text and g1ve Y1sual express10n to 1ts feel
mg Adm1tted!y th1s has noth1ng to do w1th the a1ms of the new typography. but It remams.
because of 1ts contemoorary s•gnlf1cance. a valuable document of the b1rth of our times
