Description
The Wedding Edition of Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler, printed in 1943, the first to abolish the use of old-style Fraktur script.
Octavo, xxvi, [6], 781pp, [1], [10pp ads]. Beige hardcover, title in gilt over black morocco spine, four raised bands. Frontispiece portrait. Top edge dyed blue. Internally clean, solid text block. Includes the publisher’s cardboard slipcase, “Hitler, Mein Kampf” stamped on side panel, top and bottom panel bound with staples. Also, includes a presentation page, in the old style “Franktur” font, due to an abundance from earlier printings. The spine is also in Franktur. (Pastore, 073)
This edition from 1943 was the first to use the non-Franktur font, to improve communication with occupied territories during the war. The script of Mein Kampf was slow to conform to the new style, which was mandated in 1941. (Pastore, 071))
In 1935, Eher Verlag approached Hitler with the idea that all newlyweds in Germany should receive a presentation copy of Mein Kampf, in lieu of other gifts such as a bible. Each “Wedding Volume” would contain a tipped-in presentation page from the mayor of each municipality, with each municipality purchasing their copies and the royalties going to the author. The first edition of the Wedding Edition [Hochzeitsausgabe] was published in 1936. Many copies survived the allied prohibition due to their wedding day significance.
