Das Lebendige Bilderbuch mit beweglichen Figuren. Zur Belustigung für Kinder (Germanys First Movable Book)
Augsburg: Lampart & Comp., [1865].
Description:
Folio (approx. 31.7 x 22.4 cm). Original color pictorial boards, expertly rebacked with period-matching archival cloth at spine and corners. [1] title page, [9] hand-colored movable plates, each printed as a stage scene with audience figures and movable characters operated by side pull-tabs. Plates feature fine wood engravings by H. Rühling after illustrations by Eduard Ille.
This is the rare second edition, explicitly stated on the title page as “verbesserte und vermehrte Auflage” (improved and enlarged edition). Unlike the 1862 first edition, which contained only 8 plates, this expanded version includes a ninth movable titled "Epilog"—a scene of a young couple in traditional folk dress, notably omitting the Hanswurst character who appears in the prior plates.
Condition:
All nine movables are complete, original, and functioning—a remarkable survival. All pull-tabs are intact. Internal sewing structure original; first leaf and flyleaf have been reattached. Some edge scuffing and age toning consistent with age; see photographs. An exceptional example of a fragile and highly sought-after early movable book.
Collector’s Corner:
This title holds a foundational place in the history of movable books. Published three years before Lothar Meggendorfer's first mechanical books, Das Lebendige Bilderbuch is widely regarded as the earliest known German movable to employ independently operated pull-tab animations. Each scene replicates a miniature puppet theater, complete with stage, curtains, musicians, and animated figures. Hans Ries called it “the highest artistic achievement in the genre before Meggendorfer” (1986, p. 58), acknowledging its role in elevating the genre to a new standard of craftsmanship.
Further underscoring its significance, the first edition of this book—Lampart’s Lebendiges Bilderbuch mit beweglichen Figuren (1862)—is “widely acknowledged as the first German movable picture book. Designed by Eduard Ille and published by Lampart & Comp., it allowed readers to animate scenes like a puppet theater, marking a foundational moment in the history of interactive bookmaking” (Dieter Ruehle, Kommentierte Bibliographie von Struwwelpetriaden und Max-und-Moritziaden, Bibliographien des Antiquariats H. Th. Wenner, Band 7).
Eduard Ille (1823–1900), a Munich artist, was known for his detailed historical and humorous illustrations, while H. Rühling’s wood engravings enhanced the dynamic visual impact. The book’s clever mechanics and ornate composition prefigured later German and Austrian innovations in movable design. Its influence is visible in the evolving tradition of theatrical tableaux and character-driven narrative scenes in 19th-century mechanical books.
Notes:
Later editions by Lampart rebranded the work as Lampart's erstes lebendiges Bilderbuch mit beweglichen Figuren, despite this being the second and improved edition. This inconsistency in naming conventions has caused confusion among collectors.
Contemporary advertisements, such as one appearing in Bohemia: ein Unterhaltungsblatt (vol. 4, no. 1375, 1862), confirm that the earliest edition of Lampart’s Lebendiges Bilderbuch mit beweglichen Figuren consisted of eight plates and was praised for its vibrant coloring and high-quality production. While the publisher described it at the time as a “completely newly processed and improved” book, this was likely promotional language typical of the era. The present copy, by contrast, is explicitly labeled on the title page as the verbesserte und vermehrte Auflage (improved and enlarged edition) and includes a ninth plate titled Epilog, which replaces the comic Hanswurst figure with a more sentimental scene of a young couple in traditional folk costume. This formal revision marks the work not as a reissue but as a distinct second edition with added content and altered narrative structure.
Also Related:
By 1864, Das Lebendige Bilderbuch mit beweglichen Figuren had been formally joined by a second title in what appears to be a series—Lampart’s Zweites Lebendiges Bilderbuch mit beweglichen Figuren: Staber’s Reiseabenteuer. This companion volume, also illustrated and authored by Eduard Ille, featured eight movable plates and was advertised alongside the original in contemporary German bookseller circulars. Both volumes were priced equally at 2 florins and shared the same mechanical and theatrical style, suggesting an intentional continuation of the format.
In Vierteljahrs-Catalog aller neuen Erscheinungen im Felde der Literatur, Wissenschaft und Kunst (1889), p. 682:
A fourth edition of Lampart’s Zweites lebendiges Bilderbuch mit beweglichen Figuren: Staberls Reiseabenteuer is listed, published not by Lampart in Augsburg, but by the Stuttgart firm Waag. This reference—appearing at least 24 years after the original editions—confirms that Lampart’s movable picture books continued to be reprinted and sold well into the late 19th century. The fact that the title reached a fourth edition, and had shifted to a new publisher in a major book market like Stuttgart, provides clear evidence of the format’s sustained commercial success. It also reinforces the position of Das Lebendige Bilderbuch and its sequel as seminal works in the history of interactive children’s publishing, predating Meggendorfer’s innovations yet remaining relevant for decades.
Other References:
Doderer-Müller, Illustrierte Kinderbücher des 19. Jahrhunderts in deutscher Sprache, no. 294 (1875 edition). Cites a later edition of Das Lebendige Bilderbuch, confirming its continued publication.
Regensburger Anzeiger, 1864, nos. 9–12. Advertisement for Lampart’s Lebendiges Bilderbuch mit beweglichen Figuren, listing “neun Blätter mit Originalzeichnungen und im Originaltext von Ed. Ille.” Confirms availability of the expanded second edition prior to 1865. Also lists Lebendiges Bilderbuch mit beweglichen Figuren: Staber’s Reiseabenteuer
Wegehaupt, Heinz. Deutsche Kinder- und Jugendliteratur 1750–1950, vol. IV, no. 1032 (1862 first edition). Describes the first edition of Das Lebendige Bilderbuch with only 8 plates.
Often attributed to Hans Ries (Munich, 1986), the work has been described as “the highest artistic achievement in the genre before Meggendorfer”—a phrase widely quoted in collector literature, though we have not examined the original source. Hans Ries is known for his authoritative work Illustration und Illustratoren des Kinder- und Jugendbuchs im deutschsprachigen Raum, 1871–1914 (Osnabrück: Wenner, 1992)
Rühle, Heinz. Kommentierte Bibliographie von Struwwelpetriaden und Max-und-Moritziaden, in Bibliographien des Antiquariats H. Th. Wenner, vol. 7 (Osnabrück, 2019). States that Lampart’s Lebendiges Bilderbuch (1862) is widely acknowledged as the first German movable picture book and places it at the foundation of interactive bookmaking in Germany.
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