Hans Jürgen Press (1926 – 2002) was a German illustrator and writer of children's books. Many of his books contain stories and puzzles in which the reader searches the illustrations for clues to the mystery.
Biography
Press was born in
Klein Konopken,
East Prussia
East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
. He served for about four months during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, when he was captured in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and transported to
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
, where he was shipped to
Oran
Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...
. After 3 or 4 days he was transported to the United States. Press was trained as an unarmed sail plane glider pilot. While a
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
at
Ft. D.A. Russell in Texas, he painted detailed murals of far West Texas mountain scenes at
Building 98 in
Marfa, Texas. The murals are on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. He departed Marfa, Texas, in 1945 while there he created two west Texas watercolors of local residents one performing a Spanish dance and another playing the Spanish guitar.
He returned from captivity to
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
in 1948 and attended the
Hochschule für Bildende Künste. In 1953 he began to illustrate for "''sternchen''", the children's supplement of German magazine
stern. He invented ', a little man with moustache and bowler hat who never talked but whose comic strips were commented in verse. ''The Adventures of the Black Hand Gang'' was a combination of story and illustration which appeared in weekly chapters, the solution to this week's riddle was given the next week.
Press was one of the inventors of the "''
Wimmelbild''", a genre of illustration deliberately overcrowded with detail, to please children on their search for a certain item. He also wrote and illustrated books about science and numerous puzzle and play books for children.
His son,
Julian Press, is also an author and illustrator.
Bibliography
* ''The Adventures of the Black Hand Gang''
* ''The Black Hand Gang and the Treasure in Breezy Lake''
*''The Black Hand Gang and the Mysterious House''
*''Der Natur auf der Spur''
References
External links
Author information at Randomhouse.de
Adventures of the Black Hand Gang Facebook Fan-page* A freeware "The Adventures Of The Black Hand Gang" interactive e-book game including every story is available at
The Adventures Of The Black Hand Gang This game allows you to read the entire adventures of the gang while participating via your mouse to help solve the puzzles on each page.
1926 births
2002 deaths
People from Giżycko County
Artists from East Prussia
Writers from East Prussia
German caricaturists
German children's writers
German illustrators
German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States
German muralists
German male novelists
20th-century German painters
20th-century German male artists
German male painters
20th-century German novelists
20th-century German male writers
University of Fine Arts of Hamburg alumni
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