Die bestrafte Zeit by Henry Jaeger (Herbig)

In Die bestrafte Zeit, Henry Jaeger (1927–2000) deals with his experiences in jail: In 1956, he was sentenced to twelve years in prison with penal servitude for joint robbery. In his cell, he began secretly writing a novel, using a pencil stub and toilet paper. Jaeger smuggled the pages out and managed to find a publisher for the book. Die Festung (“The Fortress”) was published in 1962, while the author was still doing time. It became a bestseller and was translated into 17 languages and adapted for the screen.

“The punished time” is Jaeger’s third novel, published in 1964, after he was pardoned and paroled. His account of life in prison, including depictions of abuse by the guards, led to a public discussion about the penal system in West Germany. This edition from 1987 is by F.A. Herbig Verlagsbuchhandlung. The uncredited jacket design uses Windsor Elongated. Tightly spaced and partly overlapping, the condensed letterforms appear to echo the the confinement of detention, with heavy underlines as bars.