Walter Trier
Encyclopedia
Walter Trier was an illustrator
, best known for his work for the children's books of Erich Kästner
and the covers of the magazine Lilliput
.
Trier's work either ignored or made light of the nightmares of Nazism
and war through which he lived; he preferred delight and fantasy.
. In 1905, Trier entered the Industrial School of Fine and Applied Arts; he later moved to the Prague Academy. In 1906, he entered the Royal Academy
, Munich, where he studied under Franz Stuck
and Erwin Knirr. In 1910, Trier moved to Berlin
where he spent most of his career.
Trier married Helene Mathews in 1913; a daughter, Margaret, was born a year later.
An anti-fascist, Trier's cartoons were bitterly opposed by the Nazis. In 1936 he emigrated to London. During the Second World War, Trier helped the Ministry of Information produce anti-Nazi leaflets and political propaganda. He and his wife became British citizens in 1947, the same year that they moved to Canada to be near their daughter, who had moved to Toronto with her husband in the late thirties.
Works for the periodicals
Simplicissimus
and Jugend appeared in 1909. The next
year, Otto Eysler, the editor of Lustigen Blätter, persuaded
him to move to Berlin and work for that magazine; Trier worked for the
same company's Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung as well.
In 1927/1929, Trier was introduced to Erich Kästner
, and he
illustrated Kästner's Emil und die Detektive (Emil and the Detectives).
Trier provided the front cover design for every issue of Lilliput
from its start until 1949. Each time, the design employed a man, a woman, and a dog. The man and woman were usually young and almost always a couple, the dog was almost always black. It seems the original dog was Trier's. It was run over by a tram and killed, and since then Trier immortalised him in his Lilliput covers; the idea was light-hearted and the settings and styles varied considerably.
On his
arrival in Canada, Trier started work on
illustrations for the company Canada Packers.
Trier also created various murals: in the Kabarett der Komiker at
Kurfürstendamm
(1929, destroyed by the Nazis in 1933), on the liner
SS Bremen
(1929), and for Hoffmann–La Roche
(Welwyn Garden City
, 1938). And he did stage designs, for
Spielzeug (1924) and The Bartered Bride
(1931).
Trier held an exhibition of oils and water-colours in the University of Toronto
in 1951, but died of a heart attack on 8 July of that year.
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, best known for his work for the children's books of Erich Kästner
Erich Kästner
Emil Erich Kästner was a German author, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known for his humorous, socially astute poetry and children's literature.-Dresden 1899–1919:...
and the covers of the magazine Lilliput
Lilliput (magazine)
Lilliput was a small-format British monthly magazine of humour, short stories, photographs and the arts, founded in 1937 by the photojournalist Stefan Lorant. The first issue came out in July and it was sold shortly after to Edward Hulton, when editorship was taken over by Tom Hopkinson in 1940....
.
Trier's work either ignored or made light of the nightmares of Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and war through which he lived; he preferred delight and fantasy.
Life
Trier was born to a middle class German-speaking Jewish family in PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. In 1905, Trier entered the Industrial School of Fine and Applied Arts; he later moved to the Prague Academy. In 1906, he entered the Royal Academy
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich
The Academy of Fine Arts, Munich was founded 1808 by Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria in Munich as the "Royal Academy of Fine Arts" and is one of the oldest and most significant art academies in Germany...
, Munich, where he studied under Franz Stuck
Franz Stuck
Franz Stuck , Franz Ritter von Stuck after 1906, was a German symbolist/Art Nouveau painter, sculptor, engraver, and architect.-Life and career:...
and Erwin Knirr. In 1910, Trier moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
where he spent most of his career.
Trier married Helene Mathews in 1913; a daughter, Margaret, was born a year later.
An anti-fascist, Trier's cartoons were bitterly opposed by the Nazis. In 1936 he emigrated to London. During the Second World War, Trier helped the Ministry of Information produce anti-Nazi leaflets and political propaganda. He and his wife became British citizens in 1947, the same year that they moved to Canada to be near their daughter, who had moved to Toronto with her husband in the late thirties.
Illustrations
Simplicissimus
Simplicissimus
Simplicissimus was a satirical German weekly magazine started by Albert Langen in April 1896 and published through 1967, with a hiatus from 1944-1954. It became a biweekly in 1964...
and Jugend appeared in 1909. The next
year, Otto Eysler, the editor of Lustigen Blätter, persuaded
him to move to Berlin and work for that magazine; Trier worked for the
same company's Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung as well.
In 1927/1929, Trier was introduced to Erich Kästner
Erich Kästner
Emil Erich Kästner was a German author, poet, screenwriter and satirist, known for his humorous, socially astute poetry and children's literature.-Dresden 1899–1919:...
, and he
illustrated Kästner's Emil und die Detektive (Emil and the Detectives).
Trier provided the front cover design for every issue of Lilliput
Lilliput (magazine)
Lilliput was a small-format British monthly magazine of humour, short stories, photographs and the arts, founded in 1937 by the photojournalist Stefan Lorant. The first issue came out in July and it was sold shortly after to Edward Hulton, when editorship was taken over by Tom Hopkinson in 1940....
from its start until 1949. Each time, the design employed a man, a woman, and a dog. The man and woman were usually young and almost always a couple, the dog was almost always black. It seems the original dog was Trier's. It was run over by a tram and killed, and since then Trier immortalised him in his Lilliput covers; the idea was light-hearted and the settings and styles varied considerably.
On his
arrival in Canada, Trier started work on
illustrations for the company Canada Packers.
Exhibitions and murals
In 1934 Trier held a one-man exhibition in Prague.Trier also created various murals: in the Kabarett der Komiker at
Kurfürstendamm
Kurfürstendamm
The Kurfürstendamm, known locally as the Ku'damm, is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former Kurfürsten of Brandenburg. This very broad, long boulevard can be considered the Champs-Élysées of Berlin — full of shops, houses, hotels and restaurants...
(1929, destroyed by the Nazis in 1933), on the liner
SS Bremen
SS Bremen (1929)
The SS Bremen was a German-built ocean liner constructed for the Norddeutscher Lloyd line to work the transatlantic sea route. The Bremen was notable for her bulbous bow construction, high-speed engines, and low, streamlined profile. At the time of her construction, she and her sister ship were...
(1929), and for Hoffmann–La Roche
Hoffmann-La Roche
F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. is a Swiss global health-care company that operates worldwide under two divisions: Pharmaceuticals and Diagnostics. Its holding company, Roche Holding AG, has shares listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange....
(Welwyn Garden City
Welwyn Garden City
-Economy:Ever since its inception as garden city, Welwyn Garden City has attracted a strong commercial base with several designated employment areas. Among the companies trading in the town are:*Air Link Systems*Baxter*British Lead Mills*Carl Zeiss...
, 1938). And he did stage designs, for
Spielzeug (1924) and The Bartered Bride
The Bartered Bride
The Bartered Bride is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The opera is considered to have made a major contribution towards the development of Czech music. It was composed during the period 1863–66, and first performed at the...
(1931).
Trier held an exhibition of oils and water-colours in the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
in 1951, but died of a heart attack on 8 July of that year.
Books by Trier
- Brer Rabbit. Harmondsworth, Middx: Penguin, Puffin, c. 1944.
- Dandy in the Circus. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1950.
- Dandy the Donkey. London: Nicholson & Watson, 1943.
- 8192 Crazy Costumes in One Book...For Children from 5 and under to 75 and over. London: Atrium.
- 8192 Crazy People in One Book. London: Atrium, c. 1950.
- 8192 Quite Crazy People in One Book. London: Atrium, [1949?].
- 10 Little Negroes: A New Version. London: Sylvan, 1944.
Books by others illustrated by Trier
- Colman, Fred A. "Artisten" (1928)
- Földes, Jolán. Peter verliert nicht den Kopf. (translated from Hungarian by Stefan J. Klein)
- Harris, Joel Chandler. Brer Rabbit.
- Hirschfeld, Ludwig. Wien und Budapest.
- Hochstetter, Gustav. Maruschka braut gelibbtes!
- Kästner, Erich. Das doppelte Lottchen. (Lottie and Lisa.)
- Kästner, Erich. Der 35 Mai. (The 35th of May.)
- Kästner, Erich. Eleven Merry Pranks of Till the Jester.
- Kästner, Erich. Emil und die Detektive. (Emil and the Detectives.)
- Kästner, Erich. Emil und die drei Zwillinge. (Emil and the Three Twins.)
- Kästner, Erich. Das fliegende Klassenzimmer. (The Flying Classroom.)
- Kästner, Erich. Des Freiherrn von Münchhausen wunderbare Reisen und Abenteuer zu Wasser und zu Lande. (Baron Munchhausen.)
- Kästner, Erich. Der gestiefelte Kater.
- Kästner, Erich. Der kleine Grenzverkehr, oder, Georg und die Zwischenfälle. (A Salzburg Comedy.)
- Kästner, Erich. Die Konferenz der Tiere. (The Animals Conference.)
- Kästner, Erich. Pünktchen und Anton. (Annaluise and Anton.)
- Kästner, Erich. Puss in Boots.
- Kästner, Erich. Till Eulenspiegel the Clown.
- Kästner, Erich. Till the Jester.
- Kästner, Erich. Das verhexte Telefon.
- Kipling, Rudyard. Das kommt davon.
- Meyer, Alfred Richard. Die Reise in die Jugend.
- Meyer, Wilhelm ("My"). Fridolins Harlekinder.
- Meyer, Wilhelm ("My"). Fridolins Zauberland.
- Meyer, Wilhelm ("My"). Fridolins Siebenmeilenpferd.
- Morgan, Diana. My Sex Right or Wrong.
- Nelson, Claire. The Jolly Picnic.
- Roda Roda. Die verfolgte Unschuld.
- Schloemp, Felix. Der Allotria Kientopp.
- Schloemp, Felix. Schabernack und Lumpenpack.
- Seth-Smith, David. Jolly Families.
- Seyffert, Oskar. Spielzeug.
- Twain, Mark. Die Abenteuer des Tom Sawyer.
- Wiseman, Herbert. Singing Together.
Periodicals to which Trier contributed
- Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung
- Daily Herald (London)
- Die Dame
- Jugend
- LilliputLilliput (magazine)Lilliput was a small-format British monthly magazine of humour, short stories, photographs and the arts, founded in 1937 by the photojournalist Stefan Lorant. The first issue came out in July and it was sold shortly after to Edward Hulton, when editorship was taken over by Tom Hopkinson in 1940....
- Life
- Lustige Blätter
- New Liberty
- New York Times
- Saturday NightSaturday Night (magazine)Saturday Night was a Canadian general interest magazine. It was founded in Toronto, Ontario in 1887.The publication was first established as a weekly broadsheet newspaper about public affairs and the arts, which was later expanded into a general interest magazine. The editor, Edmund E. Sheppard,...
- SimplicissimusSimplicissimusSimplicissimus was a satirical German weekly magazine started by Albert Langen in April 1896 and published through 1967, with a hiatus from 1944-1954. It became a biweekly in 1964...
- UhuUhuUhu may refer to:*UHU, German manufacturer of adhesives.*Heinkel He 219, a German night interceptor aircraft used in World War II.*Focke-Wulf Fw 189, a German tactical reconnaissance aircraft used in World War II....
- Die ZeitungDie ZeitungDie Zeitung was a German language newspaper in London published during World War II. It had an average circulation of 15.000 to 20.000 from March 1941 to June 1945 and was mainly read by Germans in exile...
(London)
Books about Trier and anthologies of his works
- Humorist Walter Trier: Selections from the Trier-Fodor Foundation Gift. The Art Gallery of Ontario, 1981. ISBN 0-919876-56-0
- Jesters in Earnest. London: Murray, 1944. Cartoons by Trier and four other Czechoslovakian artists.
- Kästner, Erich, ed. Heiteres von Walter Trier. Hannover: Fackelträger-Verl., 1959.
- Lang. Lothar, ed. Walter Trier im Eulenspiegel-Verlag. [East] Berlin: Eulenspiegel-Verlag, 1971. Munich: Rogner & Bernhard, 1971. ISBN 3-920802-59-4
- Lang, Lothar, ed. Das grosse Trier-Buch. [East] Berlin: Eulenspiegel-Verlag, 1972; Munich and Zurich: Piper, 1974. (New editions: 1984 and 1986.)
- Lilliput: Walter Trier's World. Tokyo: Pie, 2004. ISBN 4-89444-367-8 Presents 99 of Trier's covers for Lilliput; text in both Japanese and English.
- Neuner-Warthorst, Antje. "Da bin ich wieder!": Walter Trier - die Berliner Jahre. Berlin: SMPK, 1999. ISBN 3-88609-189-9
- Trier, Walter. Kleines Trier-Paradies. Zurich: Sanssouci-Verlag, 1955.
- Trier Panoptikum. Berlin: Eysler, 1922.
- Neuner-Warthorst, Antje, Walter Trier: Politik - Kunst - Reklame, Zürich: Atrium 2006.
External links
- walter-trier.de (in German)
- Film from 1938 of Walter Trier at Work British Pathe