The history of Struwwelpeter.
Dr. Heinrich Hoffmann, a Frankfurt 'medical man of the lunatic asylum', wrote and illustrated The Struwwelpeter (ShockHeaded
Peter) more than 150 years ago because he couldn't find anything
on the shelves to fire the imagination of his children.
Read the original stories, with illustrations, in English and German.
Read the original stories, with illustrations, in Hebrew (courtesy Naomi Schor)
.
Below, he recounts how he came to write "The Struwwelpeter".
Towards Christmas in the year 1844, when my eldest son was
three years old, I went to town with the intention to buy as a
present for him a picture book, which should be adapted to the
little fellow's powers of comprehension. But what did I find? Long
tales, stupid stories, beginning and ending with admonitions like
'the good child must be truthful' or children must keep clean' ect.
But I lost all patience when I found a folio volume where a bench,
a chair, a jug, and many other things were drawn and under each
picture neatly written: 'half, a third, or a tenth of the natural
size'". A child, for whose amusement you are painting a bench, will
think that a real bench; he has not and need not have an idea of
the full size of a real bench. The child does not reason abstractly.
That evening I nevertheless brought home a book, and handing it
over to my wife, said "There is what you wished for the little one".
She took it, calling out rather amazed "Well, that is a note-book
with blank leaves" - "Just so, but we are going to make a book out
of it". And it happened thus: I was then obliged to practice in town
where I was often brought into contact with children. Now it
certainly is a difficult thing for a Doctor to make their little ones
from 3 to 5 years feel at their ease with him, because when they
are in good health, the medical man and the chimney-sweep are
very often made bug-bears of. 'My dear, if you are naughty the
chimney-sweep will carry you off' or 'Child, if you eat too much,
the Doctor will come with his nasty medicine'. The consequence is,
that the little angel, when ill, begins to cry violently and to
struggle as soon as the physician enters the room. On such
occasions a slip of paper and a pencil generally came to my
assistance. A story, invented on the spur of the moment,
illustrated with a few touches of the pencil and humorously
related, will calm the little antagonist, dry his tears, and allow the
medical man to do his duty.
In this manner most of Struwwelpeter's absurd scenes originated.
Some of them were later inventions, sketched in the same
impulsive manner, without the least intention on my part of
literary fame. The book was bound, put under the Christmas-tree,
and the effect on the boy was just what I expected.
