This is an issue of Das Kunstblatt (the Art Sheet) from September of 1924. It includes two original woodcuts by the noted German Expressionist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner. Both are labeled Holzschnitt zu Georg Heym "Umbra Vitae" (Woodcut to Georg Heym the Shadow of Life). Umbra Vitae is a posthumous collection of poems by Heym published after he drowned in 1912 at age 24. Kirchner illustrated the 1924 reprint with 46 woodcuts and was responsible for the design and execution of all the elements. This was a notable achievement of great interest to the art world as well as the world of literature, so the art journal Das Kunstblatt printed one of the original Kirchner woodcuts with Kirchner's woodcut of one of the poems from the collection, Alle Landschaften habe (All landscapes have...). These are on opposite pages of the journal. The illustration depicts an ominous figure that appears to be emerging from mountains looking over a crowd of people in front of what might be buildings. It is a great example of Kirchner's art. The poem is a woodcut that is 3.75 x 6 inches. In addition to the text there are three illustrations. At the top a nude reclining couple, to the left two individuals one of whom appears to be giving a cylinder or scroll to the other with rugged mountains in the background, and lower right a log cabin backed by pine trees. The journal is intact and both woodcuts are in excellent condition. The issue itself is 8.5 x 11 inches. Excellent examples of Kirchner's artwork and German Expressionist art and literature.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) is a giant figure in German Expressionism. He was one of the founding members of Die Brücke, a group that was instrumental in the definition of German Expressionism. Kirchner was a leading painter and printmaker of the first part of the 20th century. His career and life are very well documented. He, along with many other artistic luminaries was included in the Degenerate Art Exhibition in 1937 in Germany. Kirchner had 25 works displayed in this exhibit. Over 600 of his works were removed from museums in Germany and Austria. Kirchner battled both physical and mental health issues throughout his short life which ended with a self-inflicted gunshot in 1938 precipitated by Germany's annexation of Austria and his concern that Germany might invade Switzerland. His artistic legacy was cemented post-World War II through a major retrospective that traveled across the United States in 1969 and a solo show at the National Gallery of Art, Washington D. C. in 1992.