Dutch Lithographed Wood Children’s Theater - ca. 1920

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Ancient | Asian | Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Jan 16, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-01-16 10:00:00 2020-01-16 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Ancient | Asian | Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/ancient-asian-ethnographic-4799
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• Lot Description
  Europe, Denmark, ca. 1900 to 1945. A wonderful children's theater with a lithographed wooden proscenium showing the copyright of Alfred Jacobsen (Denmark, 1853-1924). The lot also includes several scripts as well as colorful paper cut-out characters and scenes for various children's stories. The scripts include the Brothers Grimm's "Hansel and Gretel" (Aksel Larsen's translation, 1935), Hans Christian Anderson's "The Tinderbox" (Vilhelm Eriksen's translation, 1944); Hans Christian Anderson's "Klod-Hans" (Martin Jenson's translation, 1942); and "Jndbrudstyven" (Svend Hoffmeyer, ca. 1945). Also in the lot are six packets of scenery panels and many paper characters/actors. In addition to those that support the antique Danish scripts, there are a few other memorable characters in the mix such as Walt Disney's Donald Duck, one of Snow White's Seven Dwarfs, and a character from the famous tea party in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.Toy theaters like this example were oftentimes sold at opera houses and playhouses satisfying many a child's delight. These were then assembled at home, and plays were performed for families, sometimes with musical accompaniment! Size: 18" L x 15.375" W x 20.25" H (45.7 cm x 39.1 cm x 51.4 cm)
  
  Danish lithographer, printer, and publisher Alfred Jacobsen - whose name is printed on the proscenium of this toy theater, is regarded as the most important publisher of paper theater sheets in Denmark. According to Brink Abrahamsen's article in the World Encyclopedia of Puppetry Arts (2011), "Jacobsen combined a high degree of craftsmanship and printing technique with the work of leading artists of the day, especially Franz Sedivy (1864-1945) and Hjalmar Berth (1868-1950) for the sets, and Carsten Ravn (1859-1914) and Rasmus Christiansen (1863-1940) for the characters."
  
  Provenance: private Boulder, Colorado, USA collection, acquired in 2019; originally acquired in Europe
  
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  #151567

  Condition

  Expected age wear with some scuffs/losses to the lithographed proscenium, characters, and scenery. However, by in large the images are still strong. The scripts are in good order save minor age wear. While there may be some missing pieces, the number of scene panels and characters is impressive. Metal mounts for the characters attach and slide across cords on the stage floor. Metal suspension bars across the top serve for the insertion of scenery panels. There are some missing parts to the theater - for example, it may have come with lights - and we do not know what it came with originally. This said, it is a very strong example.
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