Toy theatre
Toy theatre
Oh, a prompter’s box, a seashell-shaped propmter’s box, behind which the curtain rolled up wide and majestically in red and gold (...) It was like being at the municipal theatre and almost even better.
Thomas Mann, Die Buddenbrooks, 1901
Toy theatre, miniature theatres made of paper, were a popular form of entertainment in the 19th century. The bourgeoisie had discovered theatre and opera culture and wanted to transfer that enthusiasm to the living room. Scenery, figures and props were cut from coloured Èpinal prints and adhered to cardboard to create a set. The theatres were lively: people read roles from textbooks, figures danced on the end of wires or wooden sticks, music and other sounds provided an aural backdrop, light and fireworks provided visual effects. Aside from fairy tale classics, the repertoire included contemporary material such as Goethe's Faust, Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days or Carl Maria von Weber's The Marksman.
The pictured theatre with 13 different stages was used in the home of a Chemnitz glove maker.