(Germany / Toy & Movable Books / Children's Literature) MEGGENDORFER, Lothar. BUBENSTREICHE: EIN VERWANDLUNGSBILDERBUCH [Childish Pranks: A Transformation Picture Book] (code no. 196).
Esslingen & Munchen: Verlag von J. F. Schreiber, [1899]. FIRST EDITION. Folio 13-7/8" x 10-1/8". [16] pp. Red cloth-backed color pictorial glazed paper-covered boards. Illustrated with six full-color pull-tab slat-transformation plates, accompanied by stories told in verse on the opposing pages, and additionally illustrated with numerous black and white line drawings within text.
The physical condition of the item is graded VERY GOOD (utilizing the standard antiquarian book grading scale for works on paper). The binding exhibits wear to the extremities and moderate soiling to the rear cover while remaining a bright, clean, and structurally sound copy. Internally clean, with all six delicate movable pull-tab mechanisms complete, fully functional, and without defect or flaw.
Turn-of-the-Century Mechanical Bookmaking and Meggendorfer's Slat Transformations
Lothar Meggendorfer (1847–1925) stands as one of the undisputed masters of nineteenth-century paper engineering, renowned for transforming the traditional children's picture book into a dynamic interactive medium. Published in Esslingen by J. F. Schreiber in 1899, Bubenstreiche (Childish Pranks) utilizes Meggendorfer's sophisticated slat-transformation mechanism. Operated via paper pull-tabs, each plate seamlessly transitions from a pre-prank set-up scene, to its humorous post-prank outcome. Accompanied by playful rhyming verse and detailed in-text illustrations, the work highlights Meggendorfer's artistic wit and mechanical ingenuity, flawlessly brought to life through Schreiber's premier publishing and production during the golden era of European toy book publishing.
Series Bibliography, Structural Fragility, and Institutional Census
Due to the mechanical complexity of the pull-tab mechanisms and the heavy handling inherent to juvenile ownership, complete and undamaged specimens of Meggendorfer's transformation books are remarkably difficult to secure. Copies with fully operational slat mechanisms preserved without tear or detachment represent a small fraction of surviving examples. A current global sweep of the OCLC/WorldCat database locates only eight copies preserved in institutional special collections worldwide:
THIS EXCEPTIONALLY WELL-PRESERVED FIRST EDITION EXAMPLE OF MEGGENDORFER'S INGENIOUS TRANSFORMATIONAL TOY BOOK REPRESENTS A CRITICAL ACQUISITION FOR INSTITUTIONAL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OR EXTRAORDINARY PRIVATE COLLECTIONS DEVOTED TO THE HISTORY OF PAPER ENGINEERING, TOY AND MOVABLE BOOKS, OR GERMAN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE.
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