Johannes Boehland

Biography

Type designer, book covers, trademarks, stamps, lettering. Born Johannes Ludwig Richard Boehland 16 April 1903 in Berlin-Schöneburg. 1920-26: studied at Berlin Staatliche Kunstgewerbemuseum and Vereinigte Staatsschulen für freie und angewandte Kunst, where his teachers included O.H.W. Hadank and B.E. Scherz, then with Emil Rudolf Weiss at the Staatliche Unterrichtsanstalt des Kunstgewerbemuseumsschule. 1926-9: designer at the Berlin State Porcelain Factory. 1929: taught at Berlin Städtische Kunstgewerbe- und Handwerkerschule. 1931-c39: taught at Berlin Meisterschule für Graphik und Buchgewerbe. 1932: created Olympia Bell. 1935: taught at the Berlin Höhere Graphischen Fachschule (Technical High School of Graphic Art); by 1937 he was also teaching at the Höhere Reichswerbeschule (College of Advertising) where he and the students of his lettering class received much publicity. 1945-8: taught at the Berlin Hochschule für Bildenden Künste. 1951: taught at Wiesbaden Werkkunstschule. 1953-64: illustrated books for numerous publishers. 1954: lecturer at Berlin Meisterschule. c1955-?: Designed the covers of the journal Archiv für Druck und Papier. 1935-64: designed for numerous publishers including Brockhaus, Engelhorn, Suhrkamp. Designed the typeface Balzac (1951, Stempel). Died 5 September 1964 in Berlin.

Writings by

  • ‘Steiner-Prag’ (50th birthday), Gg, Feb. 1931, p. 69
  • Fraktur, Berlin/Leipzig: Heintze & Blanckertz, c1937
  • ‘Grundzüge in der neuen Schrift- und Buchkunst’, Das Buchgewerbe, 1947, v. 12, pp. 310-11, 313
  • ‘The limitless field of writing’ (lettering), AfDuP, 1956, pp. 115-18
  • ‘Eric Gill. Meister der Schriftkunst’, AfDuP, 1961, pp. 355-8
  • ‘Schriftschreiben/Schriftzeichnen/Satzschrift’, AfDuP, 1965, 1, pp. 79-114.

Writings about

  • 1925-37: work shown in Heinrich Wieynck, ‘Schreibkunst’, Gg, 1925, v. 1, pp. 49-76
  • H.K. Frenzel, ‘German posters of 1927’, Gg, 1928, v. 2, pp. 31-59
  • Traugott Schalcher, ‘Johannes Boehland / Werbegraphiker, Buchgraphiker’, Gg, 1929, v. 4, pp. 19-26
  • Eberhard Hölscher, ‘Porcelain and commercial art’, Gg, 1929, v. 12, pp. 34-40
  • ‘Competition for a cover design for the “Gebrauchsgraphik”’, Gg, June 1931, pp. 50-57
  • Julius Zeitler, ‘Ausstellung Goethe in der Schriftkunst’, DzS, Jan. 1933, pp. 5-11, esp. p. 10
  • E. Hölscher, ‘Johannes Boehland’, Exlibris, 1933, pp. 37-41
  • Julius Zeitler, ‘Frakturausstellung in Schriftmuseum Rudolf Blanckertz (Berlin)’, AfB, Jan. 1934, pp. 23-4
  • E. Hölscher, ‘Der Graphiker Johannes Boehland’, Philobiblon, June 1934, supplement
  • ‘H.B.’, report on Philobiblon’s supplement devoted to JB, AfB, July 1934, p. 421
  • Walter von Zur Westen, ‘Die Schrift in der Gelegenheitsgraphik’, DzS, July 1934, pp. 7-23, esp. pp. 19, 21
  • Martin Kautzsch, ‘Neue kirchliche Graphik am Wendepunkt’, DzS, Jan. 1935, pp. 2-9
  • ‘Packets’, Gg, Sept. 1935, pp. 44-7 (work of Boehland’s students at the Berlin Höheren Graphischen Fachschule)
  • H.K. Frenzel, ‘The Xith Olympiad, Berlin, 1936. Sporting and advertising graphic art’, Gg, July 1936, pp. 2-17 (esp. p. 7 (design for the Olympic Bell)
  • E. Hölscher, ‘Lettering in connection with the Olympic Games of 1936’, DzS, July, pp. 35-45
  • E. Hölscher, ‘Johannes Boehland’, Gg, Aug. 1937, pp. 2-9
  • Walter Hofmann, ‘Artist and printing composition’ (letterheads), AfB, Oct. 1937, pp. 386-98, esp. p. 396
  • 1938-present: ‘Schule der Reichshauptstadt für das graphische Gewerbe – Schriftklasse Johannes Boehland’ (lettering class), DzS, April 1938, pp. 2-15
  • Franz Hönig, ‘Der Maler, Graphiker und Lehrer Johannes Boehland’, AfB, April 1938, pp. 123-8 (review of Schriftmuseum exhibition)
  • ‘Ausstellung Johannes Boehland’, Deutscher Drucker, May 1938, p. 386
  • Fritz Hellwag, Johannes Boehland. (monograph), Berlin/Leipzig: Heintze & Blanckertz, 1938
  • note on Johannes Boehland (monograph), AfB, Dec. 1938, p. 538
  • ‘Johannes Boehland’ (report of an exhibition), Die Weltkunst, 14 May 1939, p. 2
  • AfB, 1939, p. 639 (Olympics logo, 1936)
  • Bruno Werner, ‘Architekturzeichnungen von Johannes Boehland’, DzS, July 1941
  • E. Hölscher, ‘Zur Gestaltung der Antiqua mit Beispielen Hiero Rhode, Johannes Boehland und Hans Kühne’, DzS, Oct. 1942
  • showing of Balzac, Gg, Feb. 1952, p. 58
  • HS, 1952, pp. 76, 82
  • note and showing of Balzac, Graphische Woche, 20 April 1953, p. 234
  • E. Hölscher, ‘Time-tables for German omnibuses’, Gg, Oct. 1954, pp. 46-7
  • Fritz Genzmer, ‘The creative work of contemporary lettering artists. Johannes Boehland’, AfDuP, 1956, 2, pp. 119-48
  • AfDuP, 1956, 2, covers iii and iv (lettering)
  • ‘Das Alphabet des Monats’ (Balzac), TM/SGM, Feb. 1957, pp. 70-71
  • A. Sandtner, ‘Johannes Boehland – Schrift und Graphik’, Graphik, v. 10, 1957, pp. 30-33
  • GKS, 1963, p. 255
  • ‘Johannes Boehland im Gutenberg-Museum’, AfDuP, 1963/4, p. 436
  • ‘Johannes Boehland’ (obituary), AfDuP, 1964/3, p. 328
  • memorial section (photo, sketches, lettered text), AfDuP, 1965/1, pp. 79-114 (photo p. 79)
  • Pfäfflin, 1986
  • AKL, 1996
  • FOS, 1998.

Exhibitions

  • Schriftmuseum Blanckertz, Berlin, Nov. 1933-Feb. 1934 and 1938
  • Galerie Heyde, Berlin, 1939
  • Berlin, 1959
  • Mainz, 1963
  • Wiesbaden, 1965.