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WALTER GRIEDER (1914-2004)
157
CO • OP SAVON MARSEILLE. 1946.
50
1
/
4
x35
1
/
2
inches, 127
1
/
2
x90
1
/
4
cm. Kümmerly & Frey, Bern.
Condition A-: minor tears, repaired tears, creases and minor abrasions at edges; tape on verso. Paper.
Grieder created work for the Swiss Coop for many years, but was primarily known as a children’s book
author and illustrator with a fanciful and colorful style. The majority of the posters he designed were
also executed in this playful manner, but early on in his career, he designed a handful of posters that
adhered to the Neue Sachlichkiet (New Objectivity). At first glance, this poster could be mistaken for
one designed by Herbert Leupin, whose work for Steinfels soap during the 1940s bore this same
realistic look. In his posters, Leupin depicted bars of soap surrounded by drops of water, rendered in
near photographic perfection. The posters were masterpieces of design, but lost in them was the
concept of functionality and purpose. While graphically similar, Grieder is not plagiarizing Leupin’s
images; rather he captures this missing element of utility by showing the soap doing what soap is
supposed to do best - lathering into bubbles.
RARE
.
[500/750]