Theodor Stroefer, Nuremberg, 1894.
Lustige Gesellschaft. Ein Wandelbilderbuch
(German Movable Book – Transformation Pictures)
Quarto (12 1/2 x 9 7/8 inches; 317 x 250 mm). (10)ff. Contains eight full-page chromolithographed transformation plates, each operated by a bottom pull-tab that dissolves one scene into another through a slatted “venetian-blind” mechanism.
This is the exceptionally scarce German-language edition of Touch and Go: A Book of Transformation Pictures by Fred E. Weatherly, produced by Ernest Nister and issued under Theo. Stroefer’s Kunstverlag imprint in Nuremberg.
Condition:
Excellent. Original cloth-backed chromolithographed pictorial boards, lightly rubbed at corners. All eight transformation mechanisms are complete and fully functional. Three pull-tabs have been professionally replaced; a few tab slots show minor tearing. Several leaves expertly re-attached at the gutter. A well-preserved and highly functional example, with vibrant chromolithography and strong mechanical action. (Note: faint diagonal lines visible in photos are light reflections, not flaws in the paper.)
Collectors Corner:
German editions of Nister’s books were published by Theo Stroefer's Kunstverlag in Nuremberg, and later from a branch office in Munich, are rarely found. At the time only a portion of the Nister press run was translated into German for simultaneous publication for the German market through Stroefer’s children’s book program.* According to an article in Movable Stationary, VOLUME 10 NUMBER 4 by Theo Gielen, Nister's English books are better-known with the German ones "rarely seen".
Theodor Stroefer worked closely with Ernest Nister. Stroefer already had a strong children’s book publishing program, strongly influenced by English publishers whose work he was publishing in Germany. However, finding German editions of Nister's MOVABLE books today is very difficult as production was quite limited
The Revolving Picture Mechanism Patented by Ernest Nister
The mechanical innovation featured in this book—commonly referred to as a revolving, dissolving, or vanishing picture—originated with Dean & Son, the pioneering English publisher known for mechanical books. As early as 1860, Dean issued The New Book of Dissolving Views, employing early pull-tab and slatted “venetian blind” mechanisms to transform scenes (e.g., War into Peace), laying the conceptual foundation for later developments in movable imagery.
Building on this foundation, Ernest Nister refined and perfected the technique during the 1890s, introducing a more elegant and durable mechanism involving overlapping circular picture discs (volvelles), activated by a silk ribbon. Nister’s design allowed the upper image to “dissolve” via rotation, sliding through a radial slot and revealing a hidden image beneath. This reversible movement created a seamless, almost magical transition between illustrations—highly appealing to children and collectors alike.
In recognition of its novelty and functional integrity, Nister was awarded British Patent No. 10870 in 1899, with a corresponding German patent granted the same year. These patents officially secured his authorship of the revolving picture book format featuring two concentric discs rotated by ribbon—a distinctive evolution in the field of movable books.
Nister’s patented mechanism appears in several other of his celebrated titles besides this one and it's English equivilant " Touch and Go Pctures" , including:
Round Pictures for All Little Folk (ca. 1910, E. P. Dutton & E. Nister, printed in Bavaria; 19.8 × 19.1 cm)
Magic Moments (ca. 1910, Dutton & Nister, London; 28.0 × 26.3 cm)
Twinkling Pictures (ca. 1899, E. Nister)
Hide and Seek Pictures: A Book of Surprises for the Little Ones
Each book typically features six revolving scenes, framed by decorative floral or geometric motifs, and accompanied by short descriptive verse.
Theodor Stroefer (1843–1927)Theodor Stroefer—also spelled Ströfer—was a distinguished German publisher whose career spanned from the 1870s into the early 20th century. Born in Bad Pyrmont on March 27, 1843, Stroefer began his publishing career in Munich, apprenticed to Friedrich Bruckmann. In 1866, he established a commercial agency on Broadway in New York City, specializing in the import and export of illustrated materials including engravings, books, and photographs. From 1868 to 1877, he co-ran a publishing venture in New York with Georg Kirchner before returning to Germany.
Upon his return, Stroefer co-founded the firm Stroefer & Kirchner and later focused his efforts under the imprint Theo. Stroefer’s Kunstverlag, first in Munich and then, from 1893, in Nuremberg. By the 1880s, he had gained a reputation as a publisher of sophisticated children’s books, many richly illustrated with chromolithographs and collotype prints. His editions introduced German audiences to the work of celebrated English illustrators such as Kate Greenaway. His cosmopolitan taste, shaped by his American experience, led him to emphasize technically refined, mass-market picture books based largely on English styles.
Stroefer’s collaboration with Ernest Nister, a Nuremberg-based chromolithographer and movable book innovator, began as early as 1888 and intensified following Stroefer’s move to Nuremberg in 1893. Their partnership was both practical and creative: Stroefer often served as the editorial and publishing force behind children’s titles whose illustrations and chromolithographic production were handled entirely by Nister. Nister’s workshop produced the majority of the color printing for Stroefer’s children’s books, including movable mechanisms, transformation scenes, and high-quality illustrations in the English style.
While Nister retained rights to the English-speaking market and worked directly with E. P. Dutton in New York and a London office, Stroefer adapted and published many of the same works under his own Kunstverlag for the German and wider continental European markets. Titles often appeared in parallel editions, with German-language text and minor variations in format or presentation. In many cases, the illustrations in Stroefer’s editions were directly re-used from Nister’s English editions, but sometimes accompanied by revised text or reworked content.
This collaboration allowed both publishers to reach wide audiences while maintaining distinct identities. Stroefer’s editions were known for their quality and consistency, and they helped to shape the German children’s book market by importing and popularizing English visual and mechanical storytelling traditions. The close link between the two firms extended beyond books: Stroefer also published high-quality chromolithographed postcards, many of which were printed by Nister’s shop and issued under Stroefer's popular "T.S.N." series, which stands for Theodor Stroefer Nuremberg.
After his death in Nuremberg on July 9, 1927 ( He is buried in the Nuremberg Johannisfriedhof, plot no. I/1230) , his son August Stroefer (1882–1945) briefly carried on the business. However, the company’s archives and facilities were destroyed during World War II, and it was officially removed from the Handelsregister in 1958.
References:
Wikipedia contributors. "Theodor Stroefer." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodor_Stroefer (accessed July 2025).
Gielen, Theo. “Ernest Nister’s Books in the German Language.” Movable Stationary, Vol. 10, No. 4 (November 2002): 6–9.
— Documents the rarity of German-language editions of Nister's movable books issued by Theodor Stroefer, noting they are “rarely seen.”
Weatherly, Fred E. Touch and Go: A Book of Transformation Pictures. Illustrated by Ernest Nister. London: Ernest Nister; New York: E. P. Dutton, ca. 1894.
— English-language edition corresponding to Lustige Gesellschaft, the German version.
Jäger, Georg. Das Kaiserreich 1871–1918: Literatur, Medien, Politik und Gesellschaft im wilhelminischen Deutschland. Wiesbaden: Springer Fachmedien, 2013.
— Page 149 describes the collaboration between Nister and Stroefer and their roles in developing technically refined children's books using chromolithography.
Hunt, Julia. Peeps into Nisterland: A Guide to the Children’s Books of Ernest Nister. Surrey: Casmelda Publishing, 2006. ISBN 9780955216800.
— A collector’s guide documenting both English and German editions of Nister’s movable books, including their bibliographic details and rarity.
JLIS.it. “The Mechanism of the Revolving Picture Book.” Italian Journal of Library, Archives, and Information Science 7, no. 1 (January 2016): 101. doi:10.4403/jlis.it-11610.
— Explains the volvella mechanism used in Nister’s movable books, including examples like Round Pictures for All Little Folk and Magic Moments.