Vol 4. Von 1800 bis 1850 [From 1800 to 1850]. Otto Brunken, Bettina Hurrelmann, and Klaus-Ulrich Pech. 1998. xlvi, 2256 columns. ill. ISBN 3-476-00768-5: DM 398.00

This fourth volume of the handbook founded by Theodor Brüggemann completes the coverage of the period from the beginning of the printed book through the year 1850. Following volumes for 1450 to 1570 (published in 1987), 1570 to 1750 (published in 1987), and 1750 to 1800 (published in 1982), this fourth volume continues the tradition of high-quality research. Compared to the preceding volumes, the introduction is substantially longer and the commentaries in the bibliography are both longer and greater in number (by roughly one third).

The contents represent the variety of literary traditions simultaneously at play between 1800-1850, including Enlightenment, Romanticism, and Realism. Beginning with the 1840s, children's books were being rapidly mass-produced as part of the burgeoning industrial production of literature. The database at the Center for Research in Reading and Children's Media (Arbeitsstelle für Leseforschung und Kinder- und Jugendmedien) in Cologne, which was used as the basis for the present volume, contains over 11,000 title entries for this period alone.

The introduction puts the historical findings in the context of general literary, pedagogical, social, economical, and political conditions of the time. Fifty works, divided into seven groupings (e.g., works designed to instill ethical or moral principles, and works designed for the upbringing and education of girls) are then discussed and analyzed in detail.

The discussion of children's book illustration is an important element of the work. Thanks to the rapid development and use of new graphic and printing techniques, higher press runs of inexpensive books were possible and soon virtually every children's book contained illustrations. The period under discussion here was indeed that in which children's book illustration reached its high point.

The selective bibliography contains exactly 1,000 titles and is remarkable both in depth and breadth. The bibliographic entries consist of meticulously described titles, even noting the line breaks on the title pages. Trade catalogs from the time were consulted to provide the original price, and illustrations and decorative covers are described with precision. All entries also list holding libraries. Biographical information is given for each author. Various indexes round out the volume. There are more indexes than in the preceding volume: titles (new), chronological index, genres, publishers, illustrators, and a list of holding libraries (new), in addition to name and subject indexes.

Because of the complexity of this multi-layered work, thorough instructions for use are provided at the outset, along with a list of abbreviations used throughout. As the introduction states: this handbook makes possible a presentation and interpretation of children's and young people's literature from the first half of the nineteenth century that ventures a step beyond mere documentation of the sources and toward a literary history. We await with anticipation the volume of this epoch-making work that will cover the period 1850-1900. [hew/sd]

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Visionäre Lebensklugheit: Joachim Heinrich Campe in seiner Zeit (1746-1818); Ausstellung des Braunschweigischen Landesmuseums und der Herzog-August-Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel vom 29. Juni bis 13. Oktober 1996 [Visionary Wisdom: Joachim Heinrich Campe in His Time (1746-1818); Exhibit of the Braunschweig State Museum and the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel, June 29-October 13, 1996]. Exhibit and catalog by Hanno Schmitt and Peter Albrecht. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1996. 255 p. ill. + 35 p. (Catalog) 26 cm. (Ausstellungskataloge der Herzog-August-Bibliothek, 74) ISBN 3-447-03822-5: DM 78.00

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Erfahrung schrieb's und reicht's der Jugend: Joachim Heinrich Campe als Kinder- und Jugendschriftsteller [Experience Wrote It and Passed It on to Youth: Joachim Heinrich Campe as Children's Author]. Exhibit and catalog by Carola Pohlmann for the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin-Preussischer Kulturbesitz; Institut für Jugendbuchforschung der Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main; Institut für Deutsche Literatur der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Berlin: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin-Preußischer Kulturbesitz, 1996. 166 p. ill. 24 cm. (Ausstellungskataloge. Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin-PK, N.S., 18). Source has incorrect series number: 17. ISBN 3-88226-893-X: DM 56.00

To commemorate the 250th birthday of philosopher, pedagogue, publisher, and children's book author Joachim Heinrich Campe, exhibitions were mounted in Braunschweig, Wolfenbüttel, and Berlin. The Braunschweig State Museum and the Herzog August Library in Wolfenbüttel presented complementary aspects of Campe's life and activities, and published a joint catalog. The fifteen essays in their catalog treat Campe's life and surroundings, his projects and trips, reflecting the state of Campe research. The catalog is well illustrated, and has an index of personal names.

The catalog of the Berlin exhibition lists the extensive holdings of the children's book division of the State Library of Berlin. Both catalogs include an essay by Hans-Heino Ewers on Campe as an author of works for children and young adults. The Berlin catalog, which includes fourteen of Campe's own prefaces to his works, is richly illustrated, with color and black-and-white illustrations. [hew/mrh]

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Max und Moritz in aller Munde: Wandlungen eines Kinderbuches; eine Ausstellung in der Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek Köln, 27. Juni-30. September 1997 [Max and Moritz on Everyone's Lips: Transformations of a Children's Book; An Exhibit of the University and City Library of Cologne]. Manfred Görlach. Köln: Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek, 1997. 112 p. ill. 21 cm. (Kleine Schriften der Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek Köln; 3) p. 84-108: Bibliography of "Max-und-Moritz" translations. ISBN 3-931596-10-9: DM 20.00 (Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek Köln, Universitätsstr. 33, D-50931 Köln, fax [49 221] 470-5166)

Max und Moritz is, next to Der Struwwelpeter, the most famous work of German children's literature. This exhibition catalog includes twenty-four categories of items on display: parodies, imitations, recordings, dramatizations, cartoons, advertisements, stamps, etc. The author of the catalog, who owns most of these items and who has translated Max and Moritz into various English dialects, treats the problems of translation in detail.

The most important part of the catalog is a bibliography of Max und Moritz translations-281 titles, arranged by 150 languages and dialects, 102 of which are in sixty different German dialects. About half of the remaining 179 translations appeared in the last fifteen years, many through the efforts of the catalog's author. The author was also the driving force behind most of the German dialect works, even though children themselves are increasingly unfamiliar with the dialects.

This catalog does not treat the reception of the original work of 1865, but includes a reference to another work that does, namely 125 Jahre Max und Moritz: Entstehung und Wirkung des berühmten Buches (Stuttgart 1990). [hew/mrh]

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Robinsonaden: Bestseller der Jugendliteratur [Robinsonades: Children's Literature Bestsellers]. Reinhard Stach. Hohengehren: Schneider-Verlag Hohengehren, 1996. 139 p. 23 cm. (Schriftenreihe der Deutschen Akademie für Kinder- und Jugendliteratur Volkach e.V., 18)

ISBN 3-87116-489-5: DM 24.00

"Robinson Crusoe" is probably the most popular adventure story of all time, fascinating young and old alike. It has also become the catchword for a whole genre of stories about shipwrecks and their survivors on islands far from civilization. This theme existed as far back as classical antiquity, but Defoe's Robinson was notable for the number of imitators that it found.

Reinhard Stach, who has published a bibliography of Robinson works in German literature (Robinson und Robinsonaden in der deutschsprachigen Literatur, Würzburg, 1991), brings together twelve of his previously published essays in this collection, beginning with one about Joachim Heinrich Campe's Robinson. The second essay discusses three stories that omit mention of Robinson in the title, but include him in the text. Subsequent essays treat Willy Planck, who illustrated not only Defoe's Robinson but also others, Robinson in verse, Robinson on the stage, female Robinsons, Robinson in the Arctic, and pedagogical aspects of the Robinson story.

The various essays in this collection were left as they were, without re-evaluation or editing, which leads to occasional contradictions. The volume would have been improved by better proofreading of the bibliographical references and by the addition of an index. [hew/mrh]