Imre Reiner

Biography

Wood engraving, book design, type design. Hungarian-born, but spent much of his creative life in Germany. Born 18 August 1900 in Versec (Werschetz, now Vršak). 1920: went to Germany; studied in Frankfurt a.M. 1921-2, 1925-7: studied under F.H. Ernst Schneidler at the Stuttgart Akademie. 1922-5: an unsuccessful emigration to New York and Chicago: returned to Stuttgart to resume studying with Prof. Schneidler. 1927-30: freelance in Stuttgart 1930: worked in Paris. 1931: moved to Ruvigliana, near Lugano, Switzerland. 1937-9: worked at Monotype in England. 1942-3: worked at book-printer Benno Schwabe & Co., Basle, Switzerland. 1950: worked briefly at UNESCO, Paris. From 1952: typographic adviser for Schwabe, Switzerland. 1965: designer-contributor to Ideeller Wettbewerb für Buchgestalter zu Werken von William Shakespeare, part of Leipzig’s International Book Arts exhibition. Designed numerous typefaces 1929-68, including Meridian (1929, Klingspor), Gotika (1933, Bauer), Corvinus (1932-5, Bauer), Symphony (1938, Bauer), Floride (1939, Deberney et Peignot), Matura (1938, Monotype), Stradivarius (1945, Bauer), Mustang (1956, Stempel), Bazar (1956, Stempel); London Script (1957, Stephenson Blake); Mercurius (1957, Monotype); Pepita (1959, Monotype). Reiner’s woodcuts illustrated over 40 books including many produced by Schneidler’s Juniperus Press, Gotthard de Beauclair’s Trajanus-Presse, Insel Verlag and Hanser-Pressendrucke. Several of his own books were written with his designer-wife Hedwig Reiner-Bauer (d. 1980). He was an honorary member of the Florence Academy, and the Double Crown Club, London. Died 21 August 1987 in Castagnola, Lugano.

Writings by

  • ‘Typography in Advertising’, Art and Industry, 1937, v. 23, pp. 205-16
  • ‘An autobiographical fragment’ (tr. E. Loescher), Typography 6, Summer 1938, pp. 7-15
  • Initialen, Basle: Schwabe, 1942
  • Typo-Graphik/Studien und Versuche, and the English ed., Modern and Historical Typography/An illustrated guide, St Gallen: Zollikofer, 1944 (2nd ed. 1946, 3rd ed. 1948)
  • ‘Purposeful packing’ (historical labels), Graphis 1/2, 1944, pp. 29-42
  • Das Buch der Werkzeichen, St Gallen: Zollikofer, 1945
  • Modern and Historical Typography, St Gallen: Zollikofer, and New York: Paul A. Struck, 1946 (2nd ed.
  • 1st U.S. ed.)
  • Monogramme (Monograms), St Gallen: Zollikofer, and London: Publix, 1947
  • Holzschnitt-Holzstich (Woodcut/Wood-engraving), St Gallen: Zollikofer, 1947
  • Grafika, Modern Design for Advertising and Printing, St Gallen: Zollikofer, and London: Swiss Book Depot, 1947
  • Handbuch für Schriften, St Gallen: Zollikofer, 1947
  • Alphabete (Alphabets) (with Hedwig Reiner), St Gallen: Zollikofer, and London: Publix, 1947
  • Schrift im Buch (Lettering in Book Art) (with Hedwig Reiner), St Gallen: Zollikofer, 1948
  • ‘The Visual Qualities of Corvinus and Symphony’, Print, vol. vi, no. 1, 1948, pp. 4-12
  • ‘On types and ornaments’, Graphis 25, 1949, pp. 35-42, 87-9
  • Wunsch und Gestaltung, St Gallen: Zollikofer, 1949
  • Typo-Graphik/Studien und Versuche (Modern and Historical Typography), St Gallen: Zollikofer, 1948-50
  • ‘Der Buchumschlag’ (The book jacket), SGM, July 1951, pp. 269-74 (from Typo-Graphik, v. II)
  • ‘Bildhafte Buchstaben’ (Pictorial alphabets), TM/SGM, Oct. 1952 (supplement), pp. 483-90
  • ‘Rot und Schwartz’, Der Polygraph, 1 Feb. 1953, supplement
  • Garten im Herbst (with Paul Appel), Ars librorum, (date?)

Writings about

  • 1930-50: Philobiblon, v. 9, 1930 (Klingspor ad for Meridian)
  • Das Kunstblatt, Jan. 1930, p. 6 (painting)
  • Konrad Friedrich Bauer, ‘Bericht über neue Schriften’, Imprimatur, 1931, pp. 65-85, esp. p. 85 (Meridian)
  • Eberhard Holscher, ‘Imre Reiner. Designer and Typographer’, Commercial Art and Industry, 1934, XVII, pp. 242-6
  • ‘Corvinus, die neue Antiqua’, Deutscher Drucker, Dec. 1935, p. 60
  • Frederick A. Horn, ‘Gutenberg on his metal’, Commercial Art and Industry, 1936, XX, pp. 72-3
  • Robert Harling, ‘Typefounders and their publicity’, Commercial Art and Industry, 1936, XX, pp. 141-6
  • Robert Harling, ‘Bauer. Frankfurt-on-Main’, Art and Industry, 1936, v. 21, pp. 49-53
  • ‘A Brief History of the Bauer Type Foundry’, Typography, Spring 1938, pp. 18-27 (tr. E. Loescher)
  • note on IR’s Initialen, in Graphis 1/2, 1944, pp. 105-6
  • Manuel Gasser, ‘Imre Reiner’, Graphis 13, 1946, pp. 2-11, 112
  • Pierre Gauchat, review of IR’s Das Buch der Werkzeichen, in Graphis 14, 1946, pp. 279-80
  • Toni del Renzio, ‘The wood-engravings of Imre Reiner’, Signature, March 1947, pp. 33-42, inc. writings, books illustrated by IR
  • Lynton Lamb, review of Grafika, Signature 4, 1947, pp. 53-4
  • Fritz Genzmer, ‘Ein Schweizer Grafiker und sein Buch. Gedanken zu Imre Reiners Buch “Typo-Graphik”, Studien und Versuche’, Das Buchgewerbe, Jan. 1948, pp. 5-12
  • review of I. and H. Reiner’s Schrift im Buch, in SGM, April 1948, p. 183
  • Print, 1948, no. 4 (cover)
  • 1951-present: showing of Reiner Script, Gg, July 1952, p. 54
  • HS, 1952, p. 42
  • Paul Standard, ‘The restoration of calligraphy’, Graphis 50, 1953, pp. 428-43, 492-4
  • Imre Reiner, Chicago: Society of Typographic Arts, 1954
  • Bertold Hack, ‘Imre Reiner – ein Buchkünstler unserer Zeit’, Imprimatur, 1954/55, pp. 86-122 plus 8-page inset
  • showing of Reiner Black, Gg, March 1956, p. 54
  • Remigius Netzer, ‘Imre Reiner, Lugano’, Gg, March 1957, pp. 2-9
  • showing of Mustang, Gg, Dec. 1957, p. 56
  • showing of Mercurius, Gg, Nov. 1958, p. 62
  • J.J. Meyer, ‘Menus and wine lists for the hotels of the British Transport Commission’, Gg, Feb. 1960, pp. 2-13
  • Timothy Simon, ‘Pepita’, Motif 4, March 1960, p. 99
  • brief biography, Graphis 89, 1960, p. 182, and cover
  • GKS, 1962
  • GKS, 1963, pp. 32, 256-7
  • WM, 1966
  • Imre Reiner. Livres, gravures, techniques mixtes (exh. cat.), Geneva: Galerie ACB, 1972 (list of exhs.)
  • Hans Peter Willberg, Imre Reiner. Die Ziffernbilder, Stuttgart, 1975
  • H.P. Willberg, ‘Imre Reiner – Die Holzstich-Illustrationen’, Illustration 63, Aug. 1975, pp. 43-8
  • GKS, 1978
  • H.P. Willberg, ‘Imre Reiner – ein unbekannter Buchkünstler?’, Philobiblon, May 1980, pp. 125-47 (excellent list of Reiner’s typefaces, writings)
  • Margaret Prasthofer, ‘Imre Reiner – a retrospective’, The Scribe, Spring 1984, pp. 11, 12
  • ‘nico’, ‘Die Schrift wird zum Bild’, Der Polygraph 9-85, 5 May 1985, pp. 670, 672
  • Pfäfflin, 1986
  • SC, 1987
  • Christian Scheffler, ‘Imre Reiner’, Calligraphy Review, v. 8, no. 1, 1990, pp. 25-9, 46-7
  • E. Fitzbauer, ‘Illustratoren in der Insel-Bücherei: Imre Reiner’, Insel-Bücherei Mitteilungen für Freunde, no. 5, 1992
  • HAH, 1991
  • JH/PP, 1989
  • note on centenary, Illustration 63, 2/2000, p. 75
  • Hans Peter Willberg, ‘Wie sie stechen’ (woodcuts), Imprimatur, Band XVII, 2002, pp. 236-7
  • Benezit, 2006 (includes auction records, 1988, 1990).

Exhibitions

  • Galerie Schaller, Stuttgart, 1922, 1968
  • Galerie am Friedrichsplatz, Stuttgart, 1925
  • Reckenderfhaus, Berlin, 1929
  • Galerie Zak, Paris, 1930
  • Galerie Beyeler, Basle, 1944
  • Print Club, Philadelphia, 1949
  • Galerie Hauswedell, Hamburg, 1951
  • Klingspor Museum, Offenbach a.M., 1955
  • Civic Center, San Francisco, 1962
  • Galerie ACB, Geneva, 1972
  • Royal Institute of British Architects, London, 1983
  • Klingspor Museum, Offenbach a.M., 1985
  • University Library, Bern, 1993
  • University Library, Basle, 1993.

Collections

  • Klingspor Museum, Offenbach a.M.