Fritz Khan's 'The Human Factory' Poster - English Edition (1942)

The Human Factory

Designed by Fritz Khan. Published by Rudoph Schick (Toronto). Printed in Canada. Supplied by Adam Rouilly & Co Ltd (London). Measures 38” x 20.5” (97cm x 51cm). Condition: Excellent condition. Some water marks to the right border. On linen with wooden hangers as originally issued.

This stunning anatomical poster depicts a cutaway view of the upper half of the body, with the different bodily functions represented as processes in a factory. The innovative design combine with the life-sized scale and the high quality of the printing and colouring to make a stunning overall impression. Closer examination reveals Kahn’s clever, playful, and even captivating treatment of individual bodily processes and their connections. Many of the features are lettered or numbered, being keyed in the top left corner.

This 1942 edition has been updated by Khan himself. Fritz Khan - a Jewish gynaecologist, surgeon and medical author - first created “Der Mensch als Industriepalast” (Man as Industrial Palace) in 1926, showing the Human body as a factory. This featured as a supplement for the second volume of his five-volume Das Leben des Menschen (“The Life of Man”), published in Stuttgart between 1922 and 1931. This popular account of human anatomy and physiology was a bestseller, appearing in English translation in 1943.

Whilst German-language examples of this poster come up for sale fairly frequently, the English translation is extremely rare.

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