Featured Das Farbige Malerbuch 1901

I'm trying to find more information about this amazing book which was literally put in the bin at my university library. I'm really struggling to find much information about it online. The book was written by Karl Eyth and is full of loose colour plates (96 total) with beautiful designs, a lot of them in the Art Nouveau style. I can imagine they would look lovely framed. The book isn't in amazing condition but is certainly interesting. This I believe was the original edition published in 1901. There's a seller on ABE Books with the 1999 reprint for 70 euros. Does anyone know anything about this book and what kind of value it might have? I'm interested in the crest with the rabbits at the front of the book and the H.Sonnabend label. I'm guessing that these were put in by the original owner?

Das Farbige Malerbuch by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

Das Farbige Malerbuch by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

Das Farbige Malerbuch by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

Das Farbige Malerbuch by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

Das Farbige Malerbuch by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

Das Farbige Malerbuch by Rachel Brown, on Flickr

 

Sorry everyone, Photobucket was giving me hassle with the photos showing up. I've got them working with Flickr now.

 

Oooh. Nice illustrations. I think I want this book.

 

https://www.amazon.de/Das-farbige-Malerbuch-Karl-Eyth/dp/3933497078

It's going for about 30 Euro

 

Hase means "hare" or "wild rabbit", so that's the rabbit crest done; it's the original owner's name. Sonnabend may be another owner; it means Saturday in German.

 

I'd sell those prints one at a time for $10 each......I'll bet 90% would sell fast...

 

Bev, the 30 Euros one on Amazon is a 1999 reprint. This is the original 1901 edition so I imagine it would be worth a lot more?

Evelyb30 Thank you for filling me in on the meaning of the crest, that is so fascinating. I'm so interested in the history of this book.

@komokwa That has crossed my mind - I thought I'd get opinions on here first though incase the book is more valuable as a whole.

 

It may well be, but I have my doubts.
That said.....more research is needed !

 

I'd call it a folio rather than a book; it's all designs for home decoration from the look of it. I'm just glad you rescued that from the trash bin!

 

Ssh. Don't tell him that. I can't afford $10 each! LOL.

You could try Abebooks or Alibris, one of those book sellers. Komokwa is right. You could get much more selling them per page. I used to do a lot of Aubrey Beardsley inspired work with ink and watercolor. I'm drooling all over my keyboard

 

Komokwa, there's the 1901 version on Worthpoint from eBay several years ago but I'm not sure how much it sold for as I don't have an account with them. Not saying it's worth hundreds but I imagine the original version would hold more value than the 1999 reprint? I agree though that it might be more profitable to sell the prints separately.

Evelyb30 Yes I agree - it doesn't look like the pages were ever bound but kept stacked in the main binding. As the designs are very elaborate I wonder if it was aimed at rich aristocrats?

 

I'm an art graduate myself Bev, so also find these prints gorgeous and inspiring! The style of some of these remind me a lot of Mucha who is one of my favourites.

 

I found this one, the seller is asking €500.00, wishful thinking, I doubt it will sell for anything near that much.
http://www.boekdag.be/en/das-farbige-malerbuch

And this one in rough condition sold for $10.49 two years ago.
https://www.antiquesnavigator.com/c...malerbuch&operator=and&s2=&cat=&Search=Submit

 

Yes Sonnabend means saturday, and Hase means hare. Hares have longer ears than rabbits, these hares have long ears.
H. Sonnabend knew his/her philosophy.
Amor intellectualis is a famous term introduced by the 17th century Dutch-Portuguese-Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza. It is short for 'amor intellectualis Dei' the intellectual love for God.
I believe Sonnabend is a German Jewish surname.
'Tat Tvam Asi' is Sanskrit and an important term in Hindu mystic philosophy. It translates to something like 'that are you' (that you are, you are that) and means that one's core being is part or the entirety of the 'ultimate reality', which is the origin of all that is.
Sorry, I couldn't find a beter way of explaining these terms.

 

Thank you Anundverkaufen for that information! Year I agree that 500 sounds really steep. I think I'll probably end up selling them as individual prints as actually there are a couple I may frame and keep myself.

I'm not a dealer, just a private collector so not clued up on selling these sorts of things online. I do however have an eBay and Etsy account. Which do you think is best for selling prints, or are there better alternatives? I know I'd have to package them very well but that's no problem as I'm a freelance artist so am used to posting things heavily packaged.

Thank you Any Jewelry for enlightening me on the meanings of the words! So fascinating. I looked up Tat Tvam Asi too and have been reading about it this afternoon.

 

I thought it might be a Jewish name, but I'm not that up on German Jewish surnames. It does make you wonder about the history of this book.

 

I found a Holger Sonnabend, much younger, born in 1956. He is a professor of ancient history and has written several books, one of them on religions in antiquity. Maybe a grandson of this H.?

 

Another Sonnabend family owns/owned the Sonesta hotel chain in the US, among other holdings including the Plaza and the infamous Mayflower. The gentleman who founded the chain was born in 1896, but it might have been a relative.

 

I think the original owner was more likely to have been the B (or P?) Knauerhase whose signature and the date 1901 are handwritten at the top of the page.

 

I didn't even see that. I did just find the bookseller's stamp. Max Spielmeyer evidently specialized in architectural and design books about then. These were probably for an interior designer working in the Jugendstil/Secessionist/Art Nouveau style.