Meggendorfer´s charming Affentheater c. 1885

MEGGENDORFER, LOTHAR. Affentheater. 8. Auflage. München, Braun & Schneider, no date (1885?)

Oblong 4to (193x312 mm.). Lithograph colour title and 12 lithograph colour plates (title with some spotting, corners [of blue cloth] worn. Small text loss to one fold, last 2 plates with some dampstain to lower margins and a small loss of image (1-2 cms) to right part, 1 repair to text, some offsetting, some slight spotting and soiling).
Original half cloth binding as leporello folding with mounted colour plates. Edges worn, 1 edge with repair.

First edition was published in 1884. Also published in English 1894. This is a 12 section panorama that forms a continuous pictorial scene from a circus when opened.
Lothar Meggendorfer (1847-1925), German illustrator and early cartoonist known for his pop-up books. Meggendorfer illustrated over 100 books in his career, including the best mechanical and pop-up books of the nineteenth century.