Xanti Schawinsky (1904-1979) was a master of improvisation-in the field of stage design, as a photographer, and as a creator of exhibition buildings and large-scale photomontages. While his late works are quite well known, his early works have remained nearly undiscovered. New documents from the estate facilitate an unobstructed view of this protagonist of the Bauhaus Dessau. The publication focuses on Schawinsky's early work, his position as head of the graphic design department of the building authority in Magdeburg starting in 1929, his designs for theater stages in Zwickau, and the photomontages that he created in cooperation with Gropius for the German Building Exhibition of 1931 and the Pennsylvania Pavilion for the World Fair of 1939. These works show Schawinsky to be an innovative photographer and trailblazer in modern design.