Heinz Edelmann (1934–2009) - Andromedary SR1. - 1970

1971 – Heinz Edelmann (1934–2009) Andromedary SR1.
First English edition.
Rare large-format psychedelic album. Pop Art graphic design.
30 illustrated pages – 32 cm × 24 cm.
First English edition, with the original jacket protected and the psychedelic illustrations. Artistic link to Yellow Submarine.
Hans Stempel & Martin Ripkens – Illustrations, graphic design and typography by Heinz Edelmann
First English edition – Michael Joseph, London, 1971
Exceptional illustrated album of psychedelic science fiction, representative of European graphic avant-garde in the 1970s.
Title: Andromedary SR1
Authors: Hans Stempel and Martin Ripkens
Illustrator: Heinz Edelmann
Graphic design and typography: Heinz Edelmann
Publisher: Michael Joseph, London
English edition: 1971
Original German edition: Friedrich Middelhauve Verlag, Cologne, 1970
English translation: Marion Koenig
Printing: Italy, 1970
Language: English
Format: large quarto
Dimensions: 32 × 24 cm
Pagination: 30 pages
Binding: publisher’s illustrated boards
A remarkable work by Heinz Edelmann
Stunning and spectacular illustrated album by Heinz Edelmann (1934–2009), one of the great creators of European psychedelic graphic design in the second half of the 20th century.
An artist, illustrator, graphic designer and art director of German origin, Heinz Edelmann remains internationally famous for his decisive contribution to the visual universe of the animated film Yellow Submarine (1968), associated with the Beatles.
His immediately recognizable style is characterized by extraordinary formal freedom, fantastical characters, surreal compositions, vivid colors and an aesthetic blending Pop Art, psychedelia, experimental illustration and science fiction.
Published in English in London in 1971, Andromedary SR1 stands as a remarkable testimony to this period of graphic creativity.
A fantastic and psychedelic universe
The work tells the adventures of Castrop and Rollit, two characters who travel through space toward Mars aboard the Andromedary rocket.
The narrative plunges the reader into an extraterrestrial, lush universe, populated by fantastic creatures, imaginary architectures and unreal landscapes.
The illustrations feature, in particular,
- Space travelers wearing green suits, transparent helmets and backpack tanks.
- Extraordinary futuristic machines and organic-shaped mechanical installations.
- Hybrid extraterrestrial characters, with animal silhouettes and grotesque expressions.
- Monumental architectures with geometric structures.
- Fantastic creatures frolicking in lunar and Martian landscapes.
- Scenes mixing absurd humor, scientific imagination and surrealism.
An exceptional graphic realization
The major interest of this album lies in its particularly bold artistic conception.
Edelmann masterfully exploits the large format of the pages to develop spectacular compositions, sometimes spanning an entire two-page spread.
The illustrations alternate between two complementary graphic treatments,
- Polychrome compositions, true explosions of color, combining intense greens, electric blues, luminous yellows, pinks, reds and oranges, with contrasts characteristic of the psychedelic aesthetic of the late 1960s.
- Monochrome compositions, ink drawings and gray washes, playing with white reserves, precise outlines, textures and depth effects.
This alternation between vividly colored illustrations and black-and-white compositions gives the work a particularly original visual identity.
Typography, also designed by Edelmann, fully contributes to the overall aesthetic.
The yellow cover, speckled with multicolored blotches, features a bold black title accompanied by an illustration of the two space travelers walking on a rainbow. It constitutes a remarkable graphic creation representative of the era.
Bibliophilic and artistic interest
Andromedary SR1 sits at the crossroads of several collecting domains,
- XXth-century graphic design and design, a characteristic work of the experimental aesthetic of the 1960s–1970s.
- Psychedelic art and Pop Art, colorful compositions, fantastical characters and a visual universe related to the counterculture of that period.
- Avant-garde children’s illustration, a remarkable example of a book for youth whose artistic ambition surpasses the traditional framework of children’s publishing.
- Illustrated science fiction, original and fanciful interpretation of space travel and the conquest of Mars.
- Visual universe of Yellow Submarine, a work particularly interesting for enthusiasts of Heinz Edelmann’s graphic work and the psychedelic aesthetic associated with the Beatles.
- Copy of the first English edition published by Michael Joseph in London in 1971, based on the German edition of 1970.
The reverse of the reproduced page bears the notices, Copyright 1970 Friedrich Middelhauve Verlag, Köln.
English translation by Marion Koenig. Copyright 1971 Michael Joseph Ltd, London.
Design and Typography Heinz Edelmann.
Printed in Italy 1970.
These indications allow precise identification of the edition and attest to the international diffusion of this graphic creation.
Copy featuring an illustrated illustrated cover with especially vivid colors.
Some signs of use and slight rubbing are visible on the boards, especially at the edges and corners.
The inside pages photographed present beautiful graphic compositions, with well-preserved colors and very clear black-and-white drawings.
Overall visually satisfactory condition for a book illustrated of this era.
A remarkable collectible album signed graphically by Heinz Edelmann, a major figure of European psychedelic design.
This first English edition of 1971 appeals with its large format, its spectacular cover, the originality of its futuristic universe and the richness of its illustrations.
A piece particularly interesting for collectors of 20th-century illustrated books, experimental graphic design, Pop Art, psychedelia, science fiction and artistic creations linked to the 1960s–1970s visual universe.

Photos are an integral part of the description.
Shipping via Chronopost or other method depending on country, with insurance.