Das Puppenhaus. (The Doll's House) with original Slipcase
MEGGENDORFER, Lothar. Das Puppenhaus. (The Doll's House). Eine Festgabe fur Brave Kinder. (A Celebration For Good Children). Derlag von J. F. Schreiber in Esslingen bei Stuttgart. [N.d., ca. 1910].
Oblong quarto (Measures 10 1/4 x 8 1/2", 21.5:26.5 cm.)
Original boards bound concertina-style with red cloth at edges, and pictorial paste-on. In original publisher's board slipcase with printed label.
Pop-up scenes: There are 2 outside and 4 detailed interior rooms of a doll's house. The doll house unfolds to 4 feet.
Condition: Near Fine with complete original elements. Only the shop scene has a couple of well-done restorations. Restorations to shop scene: the part over the counter and two of the barrels are restorations. Slipcase is in excellent untorn condition with watermark on back - see photos.
Collectors Corner:
"The Dollhouse" - First published in 1889 as a novelty intended as "a celebration gift for good girls" (subtitle) was designed to be set up as a three-dimensional dollhouse with rooms and an outdoor area. After playing it could be folded back into a flat book again and carried around which was considered quite practical. In contrast to most German dollhouses of the time, which featured wealthy and upper-middle-class households, Meggendorfer chose to portray the everyday suburban life of Munich.
“A space-saving doll house that would take you anywhere, build at any place and fold back into a flat book in no time, something like that had never existed before!” (Krahé, pp. 74).
Published in German, English, and French (See also Haining's work on moveable books, in which the French edition of the entire panorama, called MAISON DE POUPEE, is reproduced.)