Braun & Schneider (Publisher)
Lothar Meggendorfer’s AFFENTHEATER (Panorama Book)
Munich: Braun & Schneider, [circa 1880s]. Oblong quarto (193 x 312 mm). Six double-page panels joined accordion-style and mounted on cloth hinges to form a continuous fold-out panorama. Original half cloth with pictorial front board. Text in German. Illustrated throughout in chromolithography by Lothar Meggendorfer.
Condition: Good. A complete example with all six panels intact and functioning. One edge has been professionally repaired (see photos), and the original cloth binding remains firmly attached. Moderate edge wear and age toning consistent with a book of this period.
A delightful and scarce panoramic circus scene by the great paper engineer Lothar Meggendorfer, featuring monkeys performing various comic routines in a theatrical setting. The panorama unfolds into a continuous scene nearly two meters in length. The first and last panels form the covers; the remaining panels show elaborately detailed vignettes of monkey acrobats, musicians, tightrope walkers, and more.
Collector’s Corner:
First issued in Munich by Braun & Schneider in the 1880s, Affentheater is a rare and highly desirable example of Meggendorfer’s early panoramic work. Unlike his typical tab-activated movables, this title uses continuous scene-building to depict whimsical performances by anthropomorphic monkeys. The accordion-fold format was both an artistic innovation and a functional storytelling method, allowing children to experience the unfolding drama in theatrical sequence.
This title was also published in English as noted in Lothar Meggendorfer 1847–1925: Werkverzeichnis (comboxx, 2012), p. 214. Other references include:
References:
Von Katzenheim, Hans. Das internationale Bilderbuch. Munich: Prestel Verlag, [date unknown], p. 207ff. – Discusses the international significance of 19th-century picture books, with specific commentary on Meggendorfer’s Affentheater as a pioneering panoramic children’s book.
Krahé, Walter. Spielwelt: Bücher, Spiele und Spielzeug aus der Sammlung Walter Krahé. Stuttgart: Württembergisches Landesmuseum, 1982. Entry 81, illustrated on p. 180; also see Entry 87. – A major catalog of 19th- and early 20th-century children’s toy books and games; entries 81 and 87 provide bibliographic and visual documentation of Affentheater, including variants.
Ries, Hans. Illustration und Illustratoren des Kinderbuches im deutschsprachigen Raum: 1871–1914. Osnabrück: H. Th. Wenner, 1992. Entry 84. – The definitive reference work on illustrators of German-language children's books; entry 84 includes publication details and historical notes on Affentheater and Meggendorfer's other mechanical works.
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