If you judge its look by the sound of its name, Schmalfette Sensation would be the Humpback anglerfish of typefaces. This name makes images of freakishly deformed bizarre caricatures of letters pop up in your head, even if you are used to the crudeness of spoken German.
I grew up in Germany so I know my Reclam books intimately. In German literature class we spent months diligently analysing every sentence of Mann’s or Remarque’s novels. The books were severely worn by the time we were finished with them. Those almost empty covers really just asked to be doodled on, their spines were torn, and the dog-eared pages were covered in ink and chocolate stains. But Reclam’s design withstood all abuse; the format, material and the (now) iconic yellow covers will always reveal their true identity. That is why I love paperbacks.
