Auction 87 - Jewish and Israeli Art, History and Culture
Including: sketches by Ze'ev Raban and Bezalel items, hildren's books, avant-garde books, rare ladino periodicals, and more
Poster Designed by Otto Arpke – Advertisement for the Mediterranean Cruises of Hamburg-America Line – 1930s
Opening: $700
Sold for: $4,750
Including buyer's premium
"HAPAG Mittelmeer- und Orientfahrten" poster advertising the Mediterranean cruises of the German shipping company HAPAG (Hamburg-America Line). Designed by Otto Arpke. Berlin: offset printing, Offserdruck Otto Elsner, [1930s]. German.
The poster, printed in vivid colors, depicts a small, rustic town (possibly Jaffa) on the shores of Palestine, with fishing boats nearby and a large ship approaching. Two local women are seen in the foreground, one of them carrying a basket of fruit on her head, and behind them palm tree fronds.
The HAPAG shipping company (Hamburg-America Line), founded in Hamburg in 1847, operated one of the largest commercial fleets in the world. It lost almost the entirety of its fleet twice, during the two world wars. The company operated passenger routes to many ports worldwide, including in the Mediterranean.
Otto Arpke (1886-1943), German painter, illustrator and graphic artist born in Braunschweig. He studied lithography in Hanover, where he also studied in the School of Arts and Crafts. He was influenced by German artists such as August Schlüter, Emil Orlik and Paul Scheurich. He later served as professor at the Mainz School of Arts and Crafts (Kunst- und Gewerbeschule).
Arpke is known for his graphic works: posters for the Norddeutscher Lloyd and HAPAG shipping companies (who in the 1970s merged into Hapag-Lloyd AG); a poster for the movie The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari; and magazine covers. He also designed the interior decoration of the Hindenburg and Graf Zeppelin II airships.
With the Nazi rise to power, Arpke was accused of socialist leanings and removed from his position in Mainz, after which he found alternate employment in Berlin. He was in contact with the Berlin resistance movement which disseminated anti-Nazi leaflets, and is known to have assisted his Jewish friends to hide and escape Germany.
Approx. 85x60cm. Very good condition. Linen-backed for display and preservation.
The poster, printed in vivid colors, depicts a small, rustic town (possibly Jaffa) on the shores of Palestine, with fishing boats nearby and a large ship approaching. Two local women are seen in the foreground, one of them carrying a basket of fruit on her head, and behind them palm tree fronds.
The HAPAG shipping company (Hamburg-America Line), founded in Hamburg in 1847, operated one of the largest commercial fleets in the world. It lost almost the entirety of its fleet twice, during the two world wars. The company operated passenger routes to many ports worldwide, including in the Mediterranean.
Otto Arpke (1886-1943), German painter, illustrator and graphic artist born in Braunschweig. He studied lithography in Hanover, where he also studied in the School of Arts and Crafts. He was influenced by German artists such as August Schlüter, Emil Orlik and Paul Scheurich. He later served as professor at the Mainz School of Arts and Crafts (Kunst- und Gewerbeschule).
Arpke is known for his graphic works: posters for the Norddeutscher Lloyd and HAPAG shipping companies (who in the 1970s merged into Hapag-Lloyd AG); a poster for the movie The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari; and magazine covers. He also designed the interior decoration of the Hindenburg and Graf Zeppelin II airships.
With the Nazi rise to power, Arpke was accused of socialist leanings and removed from his position in Mainz, after which he found alternate employment in Berlin. He was in contact with the Berlin resistance movement which disseminated anti-Nazi leaflets, and is known to have assisted his Jewish friends to hide and escape Germany.
Approx. 85x60cm. Very good condition. Linen-backed for display and preservation.
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