C. Lindner, Sonneberg, n.d. [c. 1860].
Oblong 4to, (1) title leaf, 172 pages decorated on the recto and verso with 2546 colored lithographs of toys. Minor browning, tear to the inner gutter of 1 leaf. Black percaline of the period, title “Musterkarte” blind-stamped in the center of the upper cover, flat spine, modern cloth case with title piece. Period binding.
265 x 194 mm.
A very rare testimony of the toy trade in mid-19th century Germany.
This magnificent complete catalog presents the inventory of tinplate, pewter, wood, paper mache, etc. toys offered by the Lindner house of Sooneberg in the 1860s.
The toys are represented in finely colored lithographs, partially highlighted with gold and silver.
Representative fine product catalog of toys from one of the most important locations for toy production at the time: Sonneberg in Thuringia.
By the beginning of the 19th Century, the Sonneberg toy makers had become a major center for the production and export of toys.
The toys are presented without indications of designer and printer and without price indications.
Illustrated with 2546 colorful images of toys including animals, instruments, children’s furniture, houses, carriages, etc., all with fine contemporary hand coloring, partly highlighted with gold or silver.
The item numbers are lithographed, and some of the objects are available in several sizes.
Mainly typical Sonneberg items are found, such as children’s instruments, military toys, mechanical toys, wooden toys from the Erzgebirge, small toys, articulated dolls, dollhouses and doll furniture, carriages and wooden stables, as well as pull carts and bellows toys. The toys are classified by groups of goods and sizes and are marked with order numbers.
The illustration on the title page shows the representative villa of the famous Lindner publishing family in Sonneberg. The Lindner catalogs – Johann Simon Lindner, Louis & Eduard Lindner, Louis Lindner & Sons, and Johann Christoph Lindner – document the goods of toy publishers and producers in detail and in all their scope. They replaced the sample cases of commercial representatives and facilitated the expansion of trade in Europe and America.
Valuable testimony of the production of toys from the golden age of the world city of toys, Sonneberg, in Thuringia.
The mid-19th century marked a turning point in the history of the toy industry, as it was from the 1860s that toys began to be factory-made from materials such as metal, and traditional independent master craftsmen disappeared from the toy industry. Until 1850, toys were still produced manually, individually, from wood or paper. The present collection, produced around the middle of the century, is thus one of the last testimonies of traditional and manual toy making in Europe.
Particularly well-preserved copy of this working book.
A collection of great rarity, entirely highlighted in watercolors at the time. It is of the greatest interest not only for the history of childhood in mid-19th century Europe but also for culture, craftsmanship, and manners.
Not recorded on the market.
See Schneider, Les catalogues de jouets de Sonneberg du XIXe siècle de la collection du Musée allemand du jouet, p. 54 and following.
This museum, located in the “metropolis” of toy production in Thuringia, has given it an ever-greater place, and its collection, continuously enhanced by acquisitions, has become the largest of its kind in the world.