Joseph Hudecek
BMW IIIa
At the end of the First World War, Bayerische Motoren Werke drew attention to themselves with their first product, the BMW IIIa aircraft engine. It was considered by many pilots to be the best German aircraft power unit, a fact that is recognised in many quotes. Thanks to the altitude carburettor developed by BMW engineer Max Friz, it was possible to adapt the fuel mix saturation to the respective flight altitude. Thus, the performance of the BMW IIIa remained constant even at high altitudes – a decisive advantage over competitors. Of course, the successful and well-known engine was effectively promoted also through the commissioning of a poster artist who had also worked for Rapp Motorenwerke, BMW’s predecessor company. Joseph Hudecek opted for an image composition that focused entirely on the product, thereby dispensing with any additional features. The modern, straightforward design is a classic example of the German “factual poster”, which was to characterise the 1920s. One searches in vain for any signs of art nouveau shown by Hudecek in his works for Rapp.
