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The Picture Book for Children was published around
from 1790 to 1830 in Weimar, Germany and was illustrated by
Jacob Xaver Schmuzer.
Dimensions: Around 7.5 X 9.5 inches
Condition: Some light browning. The sheets have been cut
to just outside the edge of the platemark.
This Picutre Book for Children was recently
described in a "Book of the Month" article by the
library of the German Museum (Deutsches Museum) in Munich. Link
to Deutsches Museum article in German German which shows
a similar illustration.
Beschreibung von Bertuchs Kinderbuch auf Deutsch
About J. F. Bertuch
A Friend of Goethe's and Extraordinary Early Entrepreneur
in 18th Century Weimar
Johann Friedrich Justin Bertuch was born on
September 30, 1747 in Weimar which at the time was a tiny
residential town of around 6000 inhabitants. When Johann Wolfgang
von Goethe came to Weimar in 1774, he and Bertuch became acquainted
and got on well enought that they used the familiar "du"
form of address with one another.
Bertuch was an entrepreneurial sort, but also very interested
in education. In 1776, Bertuch founded a drawing school, and
in 1780 he founded a factory for artificial flowers in order
to give "unfortunate unemployed girls of the middle class
a wholesome occupation." One of those girls -- Christiane
Vulpius, later became Goethe's wife. Later the Bertuch expanded
into publishing, including a fashinon magazine, the Journal
of luxury and fashion (Journal des Luxus und der Moden) that
was meant to introduce the locals to foreign fashion trends.
He also initiated an "Industrie Comptoir" which
was intended as a trading house to give local manufacturers,
artists and handwokers a place to show their wares. Eventually
Bertuch became the largest employer in Weimar.
Bertuch's publishing house became one of the
largest in Germany. In the course of his life he published
some 2000 works, including books and magazines. His largest
project was the "Bilderbuch fuer Kinder" which he
began in 1790. He wrote "A Picture book is as essential
a funishing for a child's room as is the cradle, the doll
or the rocking horse."
In the forward of his book Bertuch wrote that
the drawings must be "well and truly drawn ... because nothing is more important than that right from the beginning
the eye of the child becomes accustomed to an accurate depiction
of things."
Individual Prices as Listed
Price for all 8 prints: CHF 320
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