Josua Leander Gampp

Biography

Woodcuts, book artist. Born 26 August 1889 in Hohenfels-Buch, Landkreis Waldshut, Bavaria. 1909-11: studied at the Karlsruhe Akademie der bildenden Künste under Hans Thoma, then at the Munich Academy under Walter Georgi. From 1913: studied book arts and decorative painting at the Berlin Kunstgewerbeschule; his teachers included Emil Rudolf Weiss and Emil Orlik. From 1915: a Meisterschüler of E.R. Weiss. 1915-18: military service, in the infantry on the western front. 1918: freelanced; settled in Bergedorf, later in Karlsruhe. From 1921: illustrated children’s books and works for many publishers including Diederichs, Insel, Cassirer, Bärenreiter. From 1923: illustrated for the journal Das Kinderland, and others. 1933-45: taught woodcut class at the Karlsruhe Kunstschule, then at the Leipzig Akademie für graphische Künste und Buchgewerbe where he was head of the masterclass for woodcutting, illustration, book design and lettering. 1937: awarded Gold Medal at the World Exhibition in Paris. By 1950: teaching at the Karlsruhe Akademie der bildenden Künste; representative of the Baden section, Bundes Deutscher Gebrauchsgraphiker (BDG). Lived in Karlsruhe until his death on 8 December 1969.

Writings by

  • ‘Der Holzschneider Josua Leander Gampp über sich und seiner Arbeit’, Das Innere Reich (Munich journal), April 1936, pp. 72-80;

Writings about

  • Emil Utitz-Rostock, ‘Über decorative Kunst’, DKuD, March 1919, pp. 312-26
  • ‘Hans Thoma über Josua L. Gampp’, DKuD, March 1919, p. 327
  • J.A. Beringer, ‘Josua Leander Gampp und seine Gebrauchskunst’, Exlibris, Dec. 1930, pp. 43-56
  • Karl Klingspor, ‘Meine Büchersammlung’, Philobiblon, 1930, pp. 230-32, 233, 235, 237, 239
  • Martin Kautzsch, ‘Neue kirchliche Graphik am Wendepunkt’, DzS, Jan. 1935, pp. 2-9
  • Otto Lerche, ‘Das deutsche evangelische Gesangbuch’, AfB, Aug. 1935, pp. 415-31
  • Richard Schupe, ‘Druck und Schmuck des evangelischen Gesangbuches’, AfB, Aug. 1935, pp. 451-5
  • Paul Pfund, ‘German advertising art 1936’, Gg, March 1936, p. 52
  • Hermann Claudius, ‘Josua Leander Gampp’ (poem), Das Innere Reich, April 1936, p. 81
  • Georg Belwe, ‘Written and printed script’, AfB, 1937, pp. 21-7, esp. p. 24
  • Hanna Rohde, ‘The artist and the family’, AfB, Jan. 1938, pp. 11-18
  • Traugott Schalcher, ‘Private prints [press] of the Klingspor Typefoundry’, Gg, June 1938, pp. 46-53
  • Walter Hofmann, ‘Der Wegbereiter schöner Schriften: Dr Karl Klingspor’, AfB, Nov. 1938, pp. 429-78 (inset includes 1 p. of JLG’s work)
  • Hildegard Heyne, ‘Josua Leander Gampp – Persönlichkeit und Werk’, AfB, 1938, pp. 483-7 plus supplement pp. 488-98, also p. 371
  • Walter Hofmann, ‘Die Entwicklung der Deutschen Werbegraphik’, AfB, 1939, p. 647 (calendar)
  • Julius Rodenberg, ‘Die Hausdrucke und Kalender’ (Klingspor’s in-house productions and calendars), In der Schmiede der Schrift, Berlin: Büchergilde Gutenberg, 1940, pp. 134-52
  • Wilhelm Hermann Lange, ‘Josua Leander Gampp, Schüler Hans Thomas und E.R. Weiss’, Der Druckspiegel, 1950, 5, pp. 38-9
  • Vollmer, 1955
  • BDE, 1966
  • Eugen Rombach, Josua Leander Gampp – Leben und Werk, Waldshut: Landkreis Waldshut, 1968
  • Peter Strasser, ed., Klingspor-Museum, Offenbach a.M.: Freunde des Klingspor-Museums, 1990
  • MGD, 1992 (bibliography)
  • Jerry Kelly, ‘Klingspor calendars’, Matrix, Winter 2003, pp. 148-54, AKL, 2006.

Exhibitions

  • Hessische Gewerbemuseum, Darmstadt, 1929
  • Landesbibliothek, Karlsruhe, 1968
  • Bad Pyrmont, 1991/2.

Collections

  • Staatsgalerie, Karlsruhe
  • Klingspor Museum, Offenbach a.M.