Hans im Gluck by Herbert Leupin

Hans im Gluck ("Hans in Luck"), based on a Grimm fairy tale, with drawings by Herbert Leupin, is a book I picked up last year in a great used bookstore, Lippincott Books, in downtown Bangor, Maine. It was printed in Switzerland in 1944 by Globi-Verlag in Zurich.

The above full-page illustration was why I bought the book. Hans has a jauntiness to his step, and just look at that fat luncheon sausage stuffed in his pocket.

What amazed me is how old the book is -- yet the colors remain very vibrant and arresting.


The largest illustration in the book is this 2 page gatefold. The longer you look, the more detail there is. Clicking on the above image will bring a larger, actual-size-of-the-book image.


Detail of the above drawing.


The last Herbert Leupin picture in the book. A spectacular depiction that almost defies perspective, yet it all makes cartoony sense. The details have made me linger on this every time I see it.

I don't know who Herbert Leupin was, except for the fact that he was a popular illustrator who made posters. Heaven knows, my grasp of German is good enough to order "beir," but not to actually comprehend this German-language book. So, I bought it for the pictures.

Regardless, Mr. Leupin's work should be reprinted, and called attention to. Hence, this day's blog.