DIE GESHELLSCHAFT books collection, Peter Behrens 1906

I'm very proud to announce that this book is the proof of my good eye for design... or maybe just a coincidence?

Today it's Carlos's birthday and as it happens since I'm a long term unemployed man, I've managed to find antique gifts at budget prices... (he knows that, so I can make it public), and in the last year or so books with Jugendstil/Art Nouveau/Arts and Crafts covers seem to fit perfectly with my requirements.

this cover I loved at once and even I doubted a bit about getting it or not (an anonymous design is ok, but I wanted to give him something else... ) I think I made the decission as soon as I saw it (love-at-first-sight style). There was no much information about it where I found it, although had I researched a little bit (and in the right direction, of course) I would have found out who the designer was: no other than Peter Behrens!!!

So when Carlos opened this present and liked it I felt glad, but when suddenly he shouted "But it was designed by Peter Behrens, here says so!" I became more than happy, both for him and for my excellent taste and eye for design :) Although, as i pointed out at the begining, I think it was just a coincidence, an amazing coincidence!!!

The collection was designed in 1906 and this book, volume No. 22 in the collection, was published in 1908.

On pc.3 you can see the part of the text where it says that the design was made by Behrens (actually the complete text says: "Einband- und Vorsatz-zeichnung sind von Peter Behrens", cover and interiors designed by P.B.) but you can see another name under it: Hermann Kirchmayr, the full text being "Die Initialen seichnete H.K.", and that means that the amazing Initial that starts the text was design by Hermann Kirchmayr. I haven't found out too much about him, but at least I run into a PDf of a 1900 issue of the German magazine INNERDEKORATION where they talk about him and show some pics of embroidered hangings. I should read the text but cannot speak German and the text is too complicated for me to type and translate online...

On pic. 4 you can see the page of the catalogue published for the exhibition Peter Behrens und Nürnberg that took place in the germanisches Nationalmuseum between September and November in 1980 where they talk about this design. By it there are two smaples of Behrens' graphic work. One of them, the famous and iconic AEG poster from 1907, that shares the same dotting style of this covers.