Die erste Polka, Hanser Verlag edition

Gesh Ortega is one of my favorite forgotten phototypes, now mostly unknown because it never made the jump to digital. I dig the subtle, balanced layout of this cover: almost centered, but adjusted where necessary to avoid clashing lines. This appears to be a one-off title from the long-lived Hanser, but it follows the publisher’s series of books with covers that were lettered with a similarly groovy (though not quite to this extent), flared serif.

Klaus Detjen, credited for the jacket and interior design, was a professor until 2009 at the Muthesius Academy of Arts in Kiel, where he taught many who went on to become successful designers. He was awarded the Gutenberg Prize last year, citing his contributions in education and his recent books of experimental typography, Typographische Bibliothek.