Rudolf Koch's "Life of Jesus"

Rudolf Koch at work.

About Rudolf Koch

       Rudolf Koch  was born on November 20, 1876  and died on April 9th, 1934. Koch was a German type designer. He was also a master of lettering, calligraphy, typography and illustration. Commonly known for his typefaces created for the Klingspor Type Foundry, his most widely used typefaces include Neuland and Kabel.

       Koch spent his teenage years working in Hanau as an apprentice in a metal goods workshop, whilst also attending art school, where he learned to draw, and soon after went to the Academy of Fine Arts, Nuremberg. Between 1897 and 1906 he worked for various businesses in the book trade in Leipzig, illustrating and designing book covers in the Art Nouveau style that was popular at the time. In 1906 Koch began working for the Rudhard Type foundry in Offenbach, later known as the Klingspor Type foundry. Other notable designers who worked for the foundry include Otto Eckmann and Peter Behrens. Koch was deeply spiritual and a devout Lutheran, spending much of his time working on religious publications and manuscripts, of which he completed nearly a hundred in his lifetime. Koch viewed the alphabet as humanity's ultimate achievement. He died prematurely of a heart attack in 1934, aged 59.

       Koch greatly admired William Morris. Speaking at a meeting in London, he expressed his disbelief that Morris was not of German descent: "I feel such a closeness to him that I always have the feeling that he cannot be an Englishman, he must be a German."

       The teachings of Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement are evident in Koch’s use of hand-lettering and wood-cutting techniques. At the same time, his book illustrations are evocative of Art Nouveau. Koch prized craftsmanship in his type design and printing methods, a principle deeply rooted in the Arts and Crafts Movement. Yet Koch was working in a period of rapid development in print technology, which saw the invention of the Linotype machine in 1886, the Monotype System in 1887, and the offset press in 1907, all of which were antithetical to his artisanal ethos.

Koch lectured at the Arts and Crafts School in Offenbach. In 1918, after World War I, he opened a workshop training students in typography, calligraphy, wood-cutting, and other crafts. Best known for his calligraphic talent he built upon the calligraphic tradition by creating an original, simple expression from his materials.

       Many of Koch’s blackletter typefaces, such as Kochschrift and Willhelm Klingspor Gotisch, were greatly influenced by hand-written manuscripts and Gothic letterforms, a style that originated in Germany. Known also for his nationalistic ideology, he wrote in Der Deutsche, "Even as a boy I wanted to become a proper real German. I hated anything that was foreign, and even as I was growing up I felt this was a sign of true loyalty."

       Koch frequently defended Germanic blackletter script in the journals and publications he contributed to. He also held exhibitions with his group Offenbach Schreiber, which promoted hand lettering and calligraphy, and in these he expressed the revival of traditional lettering. Koch's dedication to Gothic script may have limited his recognition in English-speaking countries. Koch wrote a book containing 493 old-world symbols, monograms and runes entitled The Book of Signs.

Designs by Rudolf Koch and cut on wood by Trude von Guldenstubbe: "The Life of Jesus"

Left, "Rudolph Koch of Offenbach, perhaps the foremost exponent of Christian
art in the modern world, published a collection of early Christian symbols
 in 1932. The present series is drawn from this reservoir. Koch's touch
has revealed their ageless form."  Devin-Adair

Below, An old set of Koch's symbols from the web, including scripture 
references and additional links to more information.

1. Isaiah 64:1
2. Matthew 2:9
3. Luke 2:46,47
4. Mark 1:9-11
5. Matthew 4:3 
6. Mark 1:13
7. John 2:1-3
8. Luke 6:13
9. Matthew 5:3-11
10. Mark 6:41-44
11. Matthew 25:1
12. Luke 15:4
13. Mark 14:22
14. John 13:12
15. Mark 14:32
16. Matthew 26:16
17. Mark 14:46-48
18. Mark 15:15
19. Matthew 27:29
20. Matthew 27:35
21. Mark 15:36,37
22. John 19:30
23. John 19:40
24. Ephesians 4:10
25. Luke 24:5,6
26. Luke 24:51
27. Matthew 24: 29-30
28. 1 Corinthians 15:57

Christian Symbols drawn by Rudolf Koch in collaboration with Fritz Kredel: Including Scripture References and Links to Similar Symbols

• Koch's symbols from The Old Testament
• Koch's symbols from The New Testament
• The Lion Symbols of Rudolf Koch
• Angels by Rudolf Koch
• Koch Redraws Christian Monograms
• Koch Draws Symbols from The Life of Christ
• Koch's versions of The Cross
• Koch's Animal Symbols Found in The Bible
• Redrawn Graphic Images by Koch 
• The Eagle is The Gospel of St. John's Symbol 
• The Ox is The Gospel of St. Luke's Symbol
• The Man With Wings is The Gospel of St. Matthew's Symbol
• The Lion is The Gospel of St. Mark's Symbol