Weihnacht (Movable Book)
Neuruppin: Oehmigke & Riemschneider, [circa 1880].
Small quarto (28 x 21 cm). Later plain boards, original contents neatly recased. [1] leaf, 6 hand-colored plates with movable flaps. German-language text. Each scene includes a verse, with visual narrative revealed beneath lifting flaps.
This Christmas-themed lift-the-flap book is a highly unusual example of a movable production from the prolific German printer Oehmigke & Riemschneider. While the firm is widely known for its enormous 19th-century output of pictorial broadsheets and lithographs, this title appears to be their only known entry into the mechanical or movable book genre. The scarcity of other examples confirms its uniqueness and bibliographic significance. An extraordinary survival.
Condition:
Complete with all six movable plates intact and functional. Contents clean and bright with expected age-toning. Later rebinding has preserved the fragile internal structure. See photographs for details.
Collector’s Corner:
To date, this is the only known movable book published by Oehmigke & Riemschneider, making it a remarkable discovery within the genre. Despite their enormous output of popular and religious imagery, this is the only title confirmed to employ flap-based interactivity—a hallmark of movable book design. Its uniqueness has been noted by multiple collectors, and we welcome any additional information from others with knowledge of comparable titles.
About the Publisher: Oehmigke & Riemschneider
Founded in 1831 in Neuruppin, Germany, Oehmigke & Riemschneider became one of the most prolific producers of lithographic picture sheets (Bilderbogen) in the 19th century. Their business began when Philipp Johann Oehmigke (1807–1858), a Berlin bookseller, partnered with Arnold Hermann Riemschneider (1806–1856). By 1835, they had established their own lithographic press and launched an extensive illustrated publishing line that soon rivaled fellow Neuruppin firms like Gustav Kühn.
By the 1850s–1860s, their catalog expanded to include hundreds of colorful broadsheets, children's books, paper theater sheets, and property books. They were known for hand-stencil coloring done by women, children, and even workers in prisons and almshouses—a common practice in Neuruppin’s print industry. Their works were often imitative of higher-end prints, flipped or simplified for the mass market.
While initially focused on adult religious and political subjects, their content eventually shifted to appeal to children. By the 1880s, their paper dolls and visual storytelling tools anticipated the interactive formats that would later flourish in movable books.
Over the course of a century, they produced more than 10,000 picture sheets and outlasted many competitors. As late as the 1920s, their factory—later nationalized—was producing targets and forms for the military. They ceased independent operation in 1953.
Notes:
Weihnacht appears in Weihnachts-Bilder, a Christmas picture book attributed to Friedrich Güll and Gustav Nieritz, as listed in Google Books circa 1880, confirming both the dual literary source material and the approximate dating of this edition. According to Religiöse Bilderbogen aus Neuruppin by Peter Lang (2008), Oehmigke & Riemschneider rivaled Gustav Kühn in both production volume and, in many cases, artistic quality. Their works are well represented in German institutional collections, including the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum
Shown below is an image if their former factory building still standing in Neuruppin, Germany
References:
Lang, Peter. Religiöse Bilderbogen aus Neuruppin: Eine Untersuchung zur Frömmigkeit im Jahrhundert. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang Verlag, 2008.
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Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. “Online Collection.” Accessed June 23, 2025. https://skd-online-collection.skd.museum/.
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Wikipedia contributors. “Papiertheater.” Wikipedia, Die freie Enzyklopädie. Last modified April 2025. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papiertheater.
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Google Books. Weihnacht. Neuruppin: Oehmigke & Riemenschneider [ca. 1880]. Cited from: “Weihnachts-Bilder von Friedrich Güll. Enthält außerdem ‘Der Strohhelm und der Schatz’ von Gustav Nieritz.” https://books.google.com/.
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Wikivoyage contributors. “Neuruppin.” Wikivoyage. Last modified 2025. https://de.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Neuruppin.