German Style & Fashion: Turn-of-the Century

In Germany at the start of the 20th century there was an explosion of creativity seen in all aspects of life. The fine arts, architecture, furniture design and fashion were all moving towards an exciting new look. This artistic movement, called art nouveau in France and Jugendstil in Germany (the name taken from one of the most influential lifestyle magazines of the era, Die Jugend), was a creative movement of modernity, finding inspiration from natures designs and the living world.\\

My interest in all things antiquarian, as always, leads to material related to my areas of speciality. Today's post illustrates two publications from Germany that show the influence of Jugendstil on art, illustration and book publishing.

DAS ALBUM. Published in Germany, circa 1902. A large format, bound volume of 12 issues with decorative binding. Das Album, similar in content to L'Album, published in Paris at the same time, was filled with beautiful illustrations in each issue, many full-page and in color. 

As was common at this time for publications appealing to a large audience (the turn-of-the-century is the birth of "pop-culture" magazines) Das Album focused its cutting edge style reflected in the growing interest of popular entertainments. Typical subject matter included the cabaret scene, music-hall shows, cafe concerts, "street festivals", the "karnival" (costume parties) and amusement parks. It appears that none of these activities would be complete without displays of women drinking and smoking and otherwise dressed seductively in public.

At first glance much of what we see from the worlds of German and French nightlife (read that as Berlin and Paris) seems quite marvelous with up swept hair-dos, large hats and elegant dresses and thanks to the can-can, hundreds of kicking legs in frou-frou lingerie. The high life! However much depicted at the time put a glossy veneer on activities that were marginally acceptable such as prostitution and the men who supported them. Looking closely at many of these illustrations are subtle depictions of prostitutes, usually attended by much older, distinguished looking gents. Wealthy mustachioed fellows, rarely without a bottle of champagne-on-ice at hand.

All that being said, this was an exceptional period, making art and illustration available to the average person via periodicals like Das Album and to a more affluent clientele via the Reznicek album which follows.

Title page, illustration by J.Wely

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Cover illustration by Widhopff

Unsigned cover illustration

Unsigned cover illustration

Full-page illustration by Gerbault

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UNTER VIER AUGEN (Private Eyes). F. von Reznicek Album. Published in Munich: Albert Langen Verlag, 1908. Large format hardcover, beautifully printed in full-color. All illustrations full-page.

Reznicek's illustrations in some ways epitomize the "high" and "low" of German society at the turn-of-the-century. On the one hand are the incredibly elegant women and men in gowns and formal clothes and on the other the archetypal images of older men with seductive younger women in their bed chambers. There is no doubt that within these beautifully mannered scenes of women undressing from copious layers of undergarments and corsets, that these are working girls, prostitutes, preparing to engage their clients.

Stamped, partially embossed, hardcover binding printed in color

Title page

The next five scans are full-page illustrations from Unter vier Augen

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Magnus Hirschfeld: Bilder-Lexicon 1930 Erotic Arts

In my early years of interest in erotica, the bibliography of German books published circa 1918 ~ 1933 loomed large in my imagination, something I needed to wrap my mind around. I became familiar with the bibliography through bookseller's catalogs while never actually handling any of the books. Eventually I purchased the key reference work, the BILDER-LEXICON Kulturgeschicte, Literatur und Kunst, Sexualwissenschaft. An iconic set of four huge volumes filled with color and black & white illustrations and photos, edited and published by Magnus Hirschfeld (Verlag fur Kulturforshung, Vienna/Leipzig, 1929~1931). A monumental work, the books are known in the trade simply as "the bilder".

Eightly years after is was originally published, it remains the unsurpassed illustrated dictionary of the erotic arts, sexual science and amourous literature with a particular focus on the bizarre, transgressive and tabou aspects of human nature. The books are filled with an extraordinary variety of illustrated citations starting in prehistoric times and continuing through to modernity. Every aspect of human sexual desire, feverish fantasy and abnormal proclivities of men and women is addressed. The areas of lesbianism, male homosexuality, passive/aggressive domination, transvestism and fetishism as well as perverted sexual desires that lead to social humiliation and shame were of particular interest to Hirschfeld. 

Note that in 1933, just two years after the publication of the fourth volume in the original set, Hirschfeld's Institute for Sexual Studies was destroyed by the Nazis. Hirschfeld is viewed today as one of the most important figures in the then emerging field of modern sexual science while also playing a key role in the earliest days of rights for homosexuals. He also coined the word " transvestism" for his 1910, extremely rare two volume work, Die Transvestiten. He died in Nice, France in 1935. Excellent bio is here.


Illustrated is the 1962 facsimile of "the bilder", published in eight volumes, plus two supplemental volumes which updated the new edition. 

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