HEARTFIELD.- HERZFELDE (Wieland). John Heartfield. Leben und - Lot 721

HEARTFIELD.- HERZFELDE (Wieland). John Heartfield. Leben und Werk. Dargestellt von seinem bruder. Dresden, VEB Verlag der Kunst, 1962, small 4°, full grey cloth publisher's cloth (label on tail of spine, inner hinge cracked, no dust jacket). First edition enriched with a mailing: "Den Freunden des / Kultur und Informatiionsburo / des DDR in Budapest / mit besten Wünschen / John Heartfield / Budapest 9 Juni 1965" [To the friends of culture and information of the GDR in Budapest, with my best wishes, John Heartfield, Budapest June 9, 1965]. Library copy annotated on p. 15. John Heartfield, whose real name was Helmut Herzfeld (Berlin, 1891-1968), was, along with Raoul Hausmann, one of the first to use the photomontage technique. A member of the Dada movement and of the German Communist Party from 1918, most of his work was devoted to posters denouncing the rise of Nazism. Most often working on commission, Heartfield produced covers and illustrations for books and magazines, as well as posters and leaflets.