Hermann Virl

Biography

Illustrations, packaging, set designs, logos, posters, wood engravings. Born 22 June 1903 in Munich. First studied at the Munich Kunstgewerbeschule: his teachers included F.H. Ehmcke. 1926-31: taught at the Kassel Kunstgewerbe- und Fachschule. 1931-44: taught at the Meisterschule für Deutschlands Buchdrucker (Master School for German Printers), Munich. Wounded during military service, he had to give up teaching. Designer of official documents: shares, bonds, securities. He and Max Bittrof designed first postwar German banknotes. Died 2 August 1958 in Munich.

Writings by

  • ‘Packungen und Etiketten’, Gg, no. 1, 1926[25?], pp. 37-50
  • Typographische Lehrbriefe, Stuttgart: Otto Blersch, 1948
  • ‘Anmeldung von Warenzeichen’ (registration of trademarks
  • by HV?), Graphik, 1950, p. 332.

Writings about

  • ‘Gelegenheitsgraphik’ (New Year cards, etc.), Die Bücherstube, 1924, pp. 97-160, esp. pp. 148, 149
  • F.H. Ehmcke, ‘Das Gebrauchsexlibris’, Die Bücherstube, 1924, pp. 328-338 (HV: see also pp. 339, 343, 346)
  • Hanns Scheller, ‘München und Reklame’, Die Reklame, May 1925, pp. 450-63
  • DdW, 1927
  • Richard Braungart, ‘Hermann Virl’, Exlibris, Nov. 1928, pp. 65-70
  • Das Zelt, 1/2, 1928 (special no.)
  • ‘Das politische Plakat’, Gg, April 1930, pp. 73-7
  • ‘Competition for a cover design for the “Gebrauchsgraphik”’, Gg, June 1931, pp. 50-57
  • Eberhard Hölscher, article on wine labels, Gg, April 1933, pp. 2-25, esp. pp. 7, 10, 11, 22, 24
  • review of HV’s Typographische Lehrbriefe, in SGM, Dec. 1948, p. 515
  • E. Hölscher, ‘Hermann Virl’, Gg, May 1950, pp. 2-16
  • E. Hölscher, ‘Advertising art in post-war Germany’, Graphis 34, 1951, pp. 58-79, esp. pp. 59, 74
  • E. Hölscher, ‘Propaganda of banking houses’, Gg, July 1954, pp. 28-31
  • Anton Sailer, ‘Professor Hermann Virl’, Graphik, 1958, 9, p. 47 (obituary)
  • Franz Hermann Wills, ‘Hermann Virl’ (obituary), Graphis 83, 1959, pp. 266-9
  • E. Hölscher, Gg, Jan. 1959, pp. 14-21 (Gg covers)
  • ‘Hermann Virl’, Graphik 8, 1961, pp. 4-7
  • Hermann Virl, Munich: Schmidberger, 1961 (contributions from F.H. Ehmcke, Georg Trump)
  • note on Hermann Virl, in Graphis 95, 1961, p. 256
  • Vollmer, 1961
  • Horst Stobbe, ‘Die Gesellschaft der Münchner Bucherfreunde, 1919-31’, Imprimatur, 1972, pp. 45-72, esp. p. 51 (cover for 1924 German woodcuts exh., 1924)
  • Philipp Luidl (ed.), Hermann Virl, Munich: Typographische Gesellschaft, 1979?
  • Philipp Luidl, ‘Type in book design’, novum, Dec. 1980, pp. 44-7.

Exhibitions

  • Kunstgewerbemuseum, Zurich, 1973.