Little Pink Books

The Little Pink Books are a series of relevant texts, edited by Erik Spiekermann and designed by Ferdinand Ulrich at Edenspiekermann back in 2011. We now sell this trilogy as literary antiques at p98a.

All contributions to this edition have to do with language, whether spoken, written or as visual communication. Finding words for ideas, thoughts and concepts is always the first step when we start work on a project. This is why we publish writings that we like and that we expect to mean something to our friends and colleagues. These books are printed in two languages: English and German. Since type design is part of what we do as communication designers, each volume is set in a different typeface, some of which Erik developed for clients or projects. In the middle – where both languages meet – the respective typefaces are introduced in small specimens.

The trilogy includes the following authors and contributors:

Heinrich von Kleist: On the gradual completion of thoughts during speech/Über die allmähliche Verfertigung der Gedanken beim Reden
Introduction by Erik Spiekermann
Notes and translation by John S. Taylor
Layout and typesetting by Ferdinand Ulrich
Typeset in Bosch Serif by Erik Spiekermann and Christian Schwartz

Mark Twain: The awful German language/Die schreckliche deutsche Sprache
Foreword and notes by Erik Spiekermann
Layout and typesetting by Ferdinand Ulrich
Typeset in FF Unit, FF Unit Slab (by Erik Spiekermann, Christian Schwartz and Kris Sowersby) and Wittenberg Fraktur

Klaus Klemp: Pure design. In the first half of the 20th century in and around Germany/Pure Design. Deutschland und benachbarte Länder in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts
Foreword and notes by Erik Spiekermann
Layout and illustrations by Ferdinand Ulrich
Typeset in Bosch Sans (by Erik Spiekermann)