Beschreibung:

Album containing 72 hand-colored plates of toys.
N.p.: n.d [but with inscription: " Rau & Co / Nurnberg der 1 Juni 1850"]. Oblong folio (11 x 17 3/8 inches; 278 x 445 mm). 72 hand-colored lithographic plates, with manuscript captions, serial numbers and prices for use by a salesman, inscribed on the front free endpaper. Original black leather-backed pebble-grained black boards with the front cover containing the company name RAU gilt-stamped in its center. Condition : slight soiling, a few small tears repaired in one margin; hinges and head and foot of spin scuffed, corners worn. Provenance : Rau (inscription on endpapers and name on binding). a very rare complete and early toy catalogue as used by salesmen of rau & co’s toys: this is a rare survivor amongst toy-trade catalogues of the period, since the normal practice was to tear out pages when the information was no longer current, either because the toys had been discontinued or when prices changed . The catalogue is presented in the form of 72 numbered lithographed plates depicting more than one thousand wooden toys and games, all colored by hand, with manuscript captions, serial numbers and prices for use by a salesman, inscribed on the front free endpaper. The wide range of toys, the majority made from wood, include many mechanical figures and moving toys; several model Noah's arks, model villages, towns, farms, markets, and a zoo; various toy soldiers, some with artillery, and figures for a tournament as well as several hunting scene models; a toy theatre, trains, doll's houses, Swiss chalets, shops, a farmhouse and a windmill; doll's tea-sets, kitchen utensils and toy furniture for a doll-house; and musical instruments, building blocks, toy guns and swords. The manufacturing and sale of wooden toys in Nuremberg originated as a sort of seasonal bonus with the 17th century Christmas markets, and it was not until the 18th century that makers existed who were able to make a regular living from the year-round creation of these childhood delights. The first catalogue was published by a merchant named G. H. Bestelmeier in Nuremberg's Old Town who produced an illustrated toy catalogue ("Magazin") in 1798, but he was only a distributor for many different manufacturers, and the illustrations in the catalogue are too small to be satisfactory. The present catalogue is particularly interesting as it was published during a period of transition in the manufacture of toys in Nurenberg. In about 1825 a trade reform bill created in the city a new "Spielwarenmacher" (or Toymakers) guild, but it limited the quantity of master craftsmen. At this point and up until 1850 Nuremberg toys were still predominantly hand-crafted from materials such as wood, paper and papier mâché. It was only after this period that production was increased when the use of machines made the factory production of cheaper tin plate toys possible. Most surviving toy catalogues from individual Nuremberg firms date from this later period of mass-production, and the rarity and historical importance of examples such as the present catalogue from the earlier era cannot be overstated.