Lot 254

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Description:

REICH MINISTRY OF AVIATION EXTERIOR ELEVATION PRINTS
Excellent pair of original architectural prints, each showing a façade of the Berlin Headquarters of the Reich Ministry of Aviation, or RLM. Includes: architectural elevation print, 78 1/2" x 39", titled at top "Das Reichsluftfahrtministerium Berlin" ("The Reich Ministry of Aviation Berlin"), "Masstab ("scale") 1:100". The elevation is labeled at bottom: "Ansicht Leipziger Strasse" ("View Leipziger Street"), and depicts the north-facing façade of the massive building along that street. At left appears the façade of the main building, with its entrance protected by a columned portico, with a human figure for scale, while at right appears an additional wing which protrudes from that façade and connects the RLM building to adjoining Prussian House of Lords. The image is dated "Aug 35", with the facsimile signature of the draughtsman who executed the original elevation drawing, likely architect Ernst Sagebiel. The pencil inscription "Umdrucke R.L.M." appears on the verso. The print shows large areas of paper loss at the upper edge and upper and lower right corners, fortunately not affecting the image, with some damp stains to the verso, else very good. WITH: architectural elevation print, 53 1/2" x 31 1/2", depicting what appears to be an earlier, less ostentatious prospective design for the facade depicted above, retaining the columned portico at right but otherwise showing notable differences in the proportions, number of floors, location of windows, and overall style from the design eventually used. Two human figures and an automobile are shown adjacent to the portico for scale. The print is not labeled, but bears an illegible German inscription on the verso, to which another hand has added the identifying initials "R.L.M. B[erlin]." Shows two horizontal 8" tears from the left edge, with a 2" tear at right, else good to very good. Two pieces. The RLM building, located on the Wilhelmstrasse in central Berlin, was constructed between February 1935 and August 1936, following a design by Ernst Sagebiel, who completed numerous other projects for the Luftwaffe, including the modernization of Tempelhof Airport. It was one of the few public buildings in Berlin to escape serious damage during World War II, and its ceremonial hall hosted the founding of the German Democratic Republic, which utilized it as a governmental center. The building is now known as the "Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus". It appears that the design presented here would have been installed in the space now occupied by a porcelain tile mural designed by Max Lingner, depicting the Socialist ideal of contented East Germans facing a bright future.

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April 17, 2018 10:00 AM EDT
Chesapeake City, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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