Dr. Heinrich Hoffmann (1809-94) originally composed Der Struwwelpeter in 1845 as a Christmas present for his three-year-old son after finding all other children’s books overly moralizing and dull.
The iconic, disheveled “Slovenly Peter”—who neglects basic hygiene and ends up beset by overgrown hair and nails—has a good many friends. They, too, ignore the advice of their parents: “Little Suck-a-Thumbs,” who loses his thumbs to the tailor and his oversized sheers; “Harriett and the Matches,” who is turned to ash and mourned by her cats; and “Hans with his Gaze in the Air,” who falls into the river and must be rescued from his dangerous distraction.
These very rare, vividly colored, glass slides—each comprised of four scenes—speak to the enormous popularity and marketing of Hoffmann’s tales. These slides are in very good condition and in their original red patterned boxes. There are a total of 12 slides covering 9 stories. Ernst Plank, the manufacturer, was founded in 1866 and produced tin toy trains and boats, as well as toy magic lantern projectors and slides. At one time it was the second largest manufacturer of magic lanterns in Nuremberg, Germany, a major center for metal toy production and export in the latter part of the 19th century and up to World War I.
The George Peabody Library already has early German and English editions of Struwwelpeter, and even a Die StruwwelLiese with a female title protagonist, in its collection. These Magic Lantern slides complement the significantly growing early children’s literature collection at Peabody Library and lend themselves to outreach, demonstration and exhibition in the future.
