Feb 20 at 10:30 AM - Sale 2695 -
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Sale 2695 - Lot 266

Estimate: $ 2,500 - $ 3,500

FRITZ KAHN (1888-1968)

DER MENSCH ALS INDUSTRIEPALAST. Poster with 5 bound volumes. 1926.

37½x19 inches, 95¼x48¼ cm. Fricke & Co., Stuttgart.
Condition varies, generally A-. Poster with foxing in image; creases along sharp folds. Paper. Books with minor fading and wear to covers.

Dr. Fritz Kahn was an Orthodox Jewish gynecologist in Berlin, who published popular illustrated books including The Cell and The Jews as a Race and Cultural People. In his books and articles, he "visualized the structure and function of the human body in a very unique way" (http://www.fritz-kahn.com). This poster of The Human as Industrial Palace is exemplary of one of his conceptual designs, presenting a playful but instructive comparison between industrialism and anatomy, and elevating the traditional medical diagram into 20th century graphic design. When the Nazis took power, Kahn's books were banned and publicly burned, and Kahn left Germany for Palestine and then the U.S., with the help of his friend Albert Einstein. While some of his works were translated into English, without the resources to produce new books, Kahn fell into obscurity. His innovative designs were still influential to future artists, and the first exhibition of his works, Fritz Kahn - Maschine Mensch, opened in Berlin in 2010 and featured this mechanical image.

Includes the full poster, and five bound volumes of Das Leben des Menschen (The Life of Man, 1922-1931). Images available upon request.
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