Stanisław Lem paperback series, Volk und Welt
This paperback series of novels and stories by Polish science fiction writer Stanisław Lem (1921–2006) was published by Volk und Welt in (East) Berlin between 1980 and 1982.
All titles as well as the author’s first name are set white on black in Data 70, Bob Newman’s typographic interpretation of the MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) aesthetic for Letraset. Such angular letterforms with abruptly thickened vertical elements emerged in the mid 1960s and early 1970s and quickly became a signifier for computers and futuristic technology in general.
For each volume, cover designer Klaus Krüger rendered the word “Lem” in another catchy display face. There’s Stop (customized with a stenciled L and a square-cut M), Black Line (tight-and-touching, with white lines), New Zelek (with an elongated bottom bar on E), Motter Ombra (in alternating glyph colors, with the L scaled to x-height), Countdown (with a custom L and counterspaces filled in blue), and Lucky.
The publisher’s zigzag logo (VUW for Volk und Welt) was designed by Klaus Wittkugel.
Sterntagebücher, 1980. 2nd edition 1982. First published as Dzienniki gwiazdowe (The Star Diaries) in 1957.
Eden / Die Maske, 1980. First published in 1959 as Eden / in 1976 as Maska.
Der Schnupfen / Test, 1980. First published in 1975 as Katar (The Chain of Chance) / in 1959 as Test (The Test).
Der Unbesiegbare / Die Jagd, 1980. 2nd edition 1982. First published as Niezwyciężony (The Invincible) in 1964 / as Polowanie (The Hunt) in 1965.
Der Planet des Todes, 1980. 2nd edition 1982. First published as Astronauci (The Astronauts) in 1951.
Gast im Weltraum, 1980. Translated by Rudolf Pabel. First published in ca. 1955 as Obłok Magellana (The Magellanic Cloud).
1 Comment on “Stanisław Lem paperback series, Volk und Welt”
So much awesomeness—what a fascinating and cool group of book covers!