Allgemeiner Führer by Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG (1930)
The cover doesn’t show any type. This is lettering, modeled after Futura. The weight is similar to the dreiviertelfett, but in that cut, Futura’s apexes aren’t pointed. Several glyphs – the narrow A in “Stahlwerke”, the oddly wide K in “Aktiengesellschaft” or the two S in the last line that are not quite identical – reveal that the letters were drawn by hand.
A beautifully produced Allgemeiner Führer or General Guide to the United Steelworks published in 1930. Printed at their own press, the cover and title pages exhibit a very modern and contemporary approach to the typography and design. The typefaces in use are two geometric sans serifs from the late 1920s: Paul Renner’s famous Futura, issued by the Bauer foundry in 1927, and the lesser known Berthold-Grotesk, first cast by the H. Berthold AG in 1928.
Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG had been formed in 1926 to create a major industrial conglomeration of German coal, iron, and steel producers and it included some famous concerns such as Thyssen AG, Phoenix AG für Bergbau und Hüttenbetrieb, Rheinische Stahlwerke, Rhein-Elbe-Union GmbH, Deutsch-Luxemburgische Bergwerks- und Hütten-AG, Bochumer Verein, and the Gelsenkirchener Bergwerks-AG. Several equally famous companies declined to join, most notably Krupps, Hoesch, and Mannesmann. In the post-war years the concern was broken up with several of the older concerns reappearing.
The title page is set entirely in caps from Berthold-Grotesk. The details where this typeface can easily be told from Futura include the M with a high center (there was an alternate with splayed legs, but still a high center), the G with a straight section at the bottom right, or the hook-shaped S.
The first pages of the guide have an image of the “Das Hauptverwaltungsgebäude der Abteilung Bergbau in Essen” – main administration building of the mining department in Essen. The opposite page is well laid out with the company’s logo and vignettes for the four main groups; Rheinelbe-Union, Thyssen-Gruppe, Phoenix-Gruppe, and the Rheinische Stahlwerke, featuring sans-serif lettering. The text describes the setting up of the VS in 1925/6, an attempt to bring consolidation within the vertically structured industries at a time of considerable political and financial turmoil. It’s set in Berthold-Grotesk. Heading and caption show two weights of Futura.
This double page spread shows a sample of the company’s blast furnace sites; Hochöfen der August Thyssen-Hütte in Duisburg-Hamborn; Hochöfen des Schalker Vereins in Gelsenkirchen; Hochöfen der Dortmunder Union, Dortmund; Hochöfen der Hütte Ruhrort-Meiderich in Duisburg-Ruhrort. The red lines as well as the page numbers feature Futura. Note its compact uppercase umlauts.
Set against a striking red background these images show scenes within the blast furnace areas of the works; Hoerder Verein in Dortmund–Hörde – “Probenahme am Hochofen” (Sampling at the blast furnace); “Masselbettzerkleinern – früher und jetzt” (Crushing ingot beds – then and now); “Ansetzen des Kübels am Hochofen” (Attaching the bucket to the blast furnace); “Koksseilbahn” (Coke cable car); “Hochofengicht” (Blast furnace gout); “Gasleitungen am Hochofen” (Gas pipes at the blast furnace); “Schlacken- und Eisenabfluss am Hochofen” (Slag and iron flow at the blast furnace).
For some reason, one of the seven captions is set in Berthold-Grotesk, while the others show Futura. Can you spot the odd one out?
