Biography
Printer, woodcuts, wood engravings, botanical art, sculpture. Born 27 August 1894 in Munich. 1908: brief study as goldsmith. 1914: studied at the Staatliche Kunstgewerbeschule, Munich: a teacher was F.H. Ehmcke. 1916-18: military service in Russia, France, Belgium. 1919: woodcut series: Die Apokalypse . 1920: woodcut series: Genesis . From 1921: worked as a sculptor. Illustrated work for Gebr. Klingspor, Insel Verlag, Ernst-Engel-Presse among others. 1937: awarded Grand Prix and Gold Medal, Paris Exhibition. 1938: founded his press (to 1953). 1939 and 1943: military service, ended by his illness. From 1945: freelance designer and printer in Munich. Died 1 July 1969.
Writings by
- ‘Josef Weisz über sich Selbst’, Wandelhalle der Bucherfreunde, Gesellschaft der Bibliophilen, Oct. 1966, pp. 89-96.
Writings about
- Comprehensive references to JW’s writings, literature about, exhibitions, in , 1995 and , 2002 (see below).
- ‘Josef Weisz’ (60 th birthday), Der Polygraph, 20 August 1954, p. 870
- , ‘Josef Weisz, Holzschneider und Pressendrucker’, Imprimatur, 1954/55, pp. 151-4 plus 4-page supplement (and 4-page signature from ’s Blühendes Moos, originally printed by JW)
- , 1961
- , 1963, pp. 247-8
- , 1991
- , Weltanschauung im Holzschnitt. Josef Weisz, 1894-1969 ( exh . cat.), Wolfenbüttel: Herzog August Bibliothek, and Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1995
- and others, Der Holzschneider Josef Weisz 1894-1969 ( exh . cat.), Mainz: Gutenberg Museum, 2002.
Exhibitions
- Kunsthaus Brakl, Munich, 1916
- Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, Memphis, Tenn., 1950
- Gutenberg Museum, Mainz, 1966
- Hunt Botanical Library, Pittsburgh, PA, 1968
- Staatsbibliothek, Munich, 1969
- Herzog August Bibliothek, Wolfenbüttel, 1995/6 (then to Staatsbibliothek, Berlin).
Collections
- Germanische Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg.
- Klingspor Museum, Frankfurt a.M.