Bauhausdruck: Publicity Materials for Fagus, 1925–1926

Herbert Bayer’s brochure for Fagus Schhaftmodelle as reproduced in Jan Tschichold, Die Neue Typographie (The New Typography) (Berlin: Verlag des Bildungsverbandes der deutschen Buchdrucker, 1928), pp. 158–159.
Lithograph, 8 1/4 x 12” (21 x 30.4 cm), open

Between 1911 and 1925, Walter Gropius and Adolf Meyer completed three phases of building for the Fagus-Werke, or Fagus shoe factory, at Alfeld on the Leine River (near Hannover). During the third and final phase, the firm engaged the Bauhaus advertising workshop, under the leadership of Herbert Bayer, to design publicity materials. These included a set of standard-sized (DIN A5), hole-punched brochures describing the manufacturing elements Fagus produced, and standard-sized (DIN A6) calling cards for its representatives. Initially designed by Bayer and then executed by other members of the workshop, these were among the first products of the newly functional Bauhaus printing facility (Bauhausdruck) in Dessau.

For historic photographs of the Fagus-Werke building, now a UNESCO site, see the online collection of the Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin (search term “Fagus”).

Herbert Bayer (American, born Austria. 1900–1985)
Front and back of Fagus brochure (K 9):
Schhaftmodelle (shaft form [for boot legs]), 1925–1926
Letterpress, 5 3/4 x 16 1/2” (14.9 x 42 cm; DIN 476 A5), unfolded

Bauhaus advertising workshop (after Herbert Bayer)
Front and back of Fagus brochure (K 11):
Stanzmesser (punching tool), 1925–1926
Letterpress, 5 3/4 x 16 1/2” (14.9 x 42 cm; DIN 476 A5), unfolded

Bauhaus advertising workshop (after Herbert Bayer)
Front and back of Fagus brochure (K65 S1):
Hirnholz-Stanzklötze (wooden punching blocks) and
Zuschneidebretter (cutting boards), 1925–1926
Letterpress, 5 3/4 x 16 1/2” (14.6 x 42 cm; DIN A5), unfolded

Bauhaus advertising workshop (after Herbert Bayer)
Front and back of Fagus postcard (D 34):
Besuchanzeige (calling card) Albert Fesing, 1925–1926
Letterpress, 3 3/4 x 5 5/16” (9.5 x 13.5 cm; D6)

Bauhaus advertising workshop (after Herbert Bayer)
Front and back of Fagus postcard (127 D6):
Besuchanzeige (calling card) Albert Fesing, 1925–1926
Letterpress, 3 7/8 x 5 3/8“ (9.5 x 13.2 cm; D6)

April 30, 2024