Successful Struwwelpeter reading by Hasso Böhme with surprise guest Adelheid Hlawacek at the Krinzinger Lesehaus in Untermarkersdorf near Vienna on Sunday, 26 November 2023
From the article in the NÖN.at (Niederösterreichische Nachrichten) of 9 December 2023 by Romana Schuler:
Publisher Hasso Böhme and librarian Adelheid Hlawacek are “Struwwelpeter” experts. The two of them came to the Krinzinger Lesehaus in Untermarkersdorf to present the latest research findings on the world-famous children’s book to an interested audience. Hasso Böhme also owns the world’s most important and comprehensive private collection of Struwwelpeter books. “My collection of the various Struwwelpeter editions is 44 linear metres long“.
The stories about unruly children were written and illustrated by doctor Heinrich Hoffmann in 1844 as a Christmas present for his son. “Today, after almost 180 years, the stories have been translated into 60 languages, including Chinese, Japanese, Hebrew, Latin and even Esperanto,” says the expert.
The original manuscript entitled “Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder” was published in 1845 by Zacharias Löwenthal and Joseph Rütten in Frankfurt am Main.
In the current new publication “Der etwas andere Struwwelpeter”, Böhme, together with Alex Steiner, has integrated the Struwwelpeter stories into current events with satirical observations – such as Covid measures or the war in Ukraine.
Read the whole article (NÖN 49, 06.12.2023 – in German)
Researchers need a flair for criminology (Adelheid Hlawacek)
Adelheid Hlawacek presented a further research perspective on the cult figure of Struwwelpeter with the “Egyptian Struwwelpeter”, which was presented in Vienna in 1895 as a gift from three students of a friendly family to their host mother, inspired by an outstanding Egyptian exhibition in Vienna.
The librarian has been studying the subject for many years and is trying to shed light on this publication by the Viennese publisher Carl Gerold’s Sohn. Hlawacek explains the almost criminalistic procedure used to track down missing data.
In the second part of this inspiring reading event, the new book “Homages to Poets and Thinkers” by artist and philosopher Martina Reinhart was presented together with the former governor of the Austrian National Bank, Ewald Nowotny. In the joint presentation, Nowotny read an original text passage from some famous poets and thinkers, such as Didier Anzieu, Hafis or Artaud, and Reinhard presented her corresponding homage.
Many thanks to Ursula Krinzinger, Galerie Krinzinger and the Krinzinger Lesehaus team for organising and staging these remarkable readings.
December 21st 2023