Thomas Mann (1875–1955) spent his long career probing the relationship between art, illness, and the conditions of European civilisation — a preoccupation that produced Buddenbrooks (1901), Der Zauberberg (The Magic Mountain, 1924), and the tetralogy Joseph und seine Brüder (Joseph and His Brothers, 1933–43), among many others. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929. When the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Mann — already abroad — chose not to return to Germany; he spent the war years in exile, first in Switzerland and then in the United States, broadcasting anti-Nazi speeches to German listeners via the BBC. He returned to Europe in 1952, settling in Kilchberg, near Zurich, where he died in 1955.
The motif "We Love Thomas Mann," set in clean modernist typography, belongs to the culture of literary commemoration that has grown around Mann's work and anniversary — 2025 marks the 150th year since his birth. It is a declaration both simple and serious: an acknowledgement that some writers do not recede but continue to press on the present, their questions unresolved, their ironies still sharp. The design draws on the graphic language of commemorative ephemera, translating affection for a major literary intelligence into a form that is direct without being sentimental.
Fine Porcelain — 10 oz. Dishwasher and microwave safe.
