Weihnachten im Liede
This edition is set in Erbar-Mediäval lichtfett (1922) and Genzsch-Antiqua (1906–1910). It was printed by J.G. Oncken Nachf., G.m.b.H., Kassel, probably in the 1920s. The ad on the back cover mentions two of Polak’s pudding brands, “Mändelchen” and “Dreimühlen”.
Weihnachten im Liede is the title of a booklet with Christmas carols, produced as promotional gift by the German subsidiary of A.J. Polak, a manufacturer of custard powder, in Weener/Ems, East Frisia. There were at least four editions, each with a different cover typography.
Abraham Josef Polak founded the host company in Groningen, The Netherlands, in 1899. His uncle, Calmer Polak Gzn., had moved there in 1866 to trade in “colonial goods” and liquors, and became best known for his lemonade sirup brand “Ranja”. To distinguish the two entrepreneurs, uncle Calmer (1840–1922) was popularly called the “wet” Polak, while nephew Abraham (d. 1924) was known as the “dry” one. [De verhalen van Groningen, Joods Amsterdam] Kantoor Groningen:
During the Second World War, the German occupiers introduced the “ordinance of expulsion of Jews from the business world” which meant the end for the Polak family, since they were of Jewish origin. While they were being deported to Auschwitz to be murdered, the factory kept running under a German manager.
In the course of this “Aryanization”, Wiard Popkes, former director of the factory in Weener, not only usurped the German subsidiary, he also became the new owner of the parent company in the occupied Netherlands—much to the chagrin of the managers of German industry giant Dr. Oetker, who had hoped to take over the Dutch competitor themselves. [Dr. Oetker und der Nationalsozialismus]
The factory in Groningen had to close down in 1963, the one in Weener held out until the 1990s. The famous brand name “Polaks Mändelchen-Pudding” was acquired by RUF in Quakenbrück in 1993 and is continued to the present day.
This edition (1940s?) uses Nordland, a cursive with blackletter elements. The typeface was first cast by Trennert in 1935, based on drawings by Heinz Beck. The back cover is lettered.
Another edition printed on cheap paper (1950s?), featuring the same illustration, but another 1930s script typeface: This is Reporter, designed by Carlos Winkow and issued by the Norddeutsche Schriftgießerei in 1938. The font contained a number of ligatures. This setting uses ch and en (but not ei).
According to eichwaelder.de, this edition might have been issued in the 1960s. The serifless roman is Colonia, designed by Walter Ferdinand Kemper and released by Ludwig & Mayer in 1938.
