Metarmorphosen oder Der Goldne Esel

Established in 1985, the publisher Die Andere Bibliothek (“The Other Library”) has produced beautiful and intriguing German-language books, one publication every month.

The 400th publication, Apuleius’ Metarmorphosen oder Der Goldne Esel (“The Golden Ass” in English), is no exception. The book design is subtle and delicate yet elegantly reflects the quirkiness of this 1800 years old novel. It features Brandon Grotesque and JAF Lapture.

In an interview (in German) with the publisher, book designer Manja Hellpap shares some thoughts about her design and typeface selection:

In the book interior, the perspective effect of the book cover typography is repeated only in the chapter openings; apart from that, I have aimed to present the reader with the protagonist’s semi-ironic, semi-serious ascend and descend in the calmest possible manner.

For the body text I chose “Lapture” by Tim Ahrens (an interpretation of Albert Kapr’s “Leipziger Antiqua”). With its slightly fractured shapes as a silent reference to the ambivalence of the text, it was exactly right. The quiet illustrations accompany only the chapter entrances. At the end of the book the mill-wheel is at a stand-still; the donkey has done its duty.