Papiertheater
Once a year, adults and children come to the Märkisches Museum to be enchanted and enthralled by small paper figures. Unfortunately, in 2020/21, the long-standing tradition of paper theatre performances and workshops had to be interrupted due to COVID-19. Yet, work continued behind the scenes and still carries on.
These days, paper theatres no longer play the role they once did. From the first third of the 19th century onwards, the miniature stages for cutting out and assembling in “good middle-class” homes were commonplace and even into the 1920’s it is hard to imagine virtually any children’s playroom without one. Advancements in printing technology in the 19th century had enabled the production of paper toys at an affordable price and in large numbers.
Paper theatres were usually offered as Bilderbogen picture sheets to make yourself – printed on one side, with sheets measuring 36 by 43 centimetres. However, they were also available ready-assembled. You could also get booklets with them for re-enacting famous plays, operettas and fairy tales. With their attention to detail, they encouraged creativity and imagination in such a way that even now people build and collect paper theatres and use them to put on their own plays.
A Thalia theatre manufactured by Engel
In 1993, work got under way in the Märkisches Museum not only to preserve and research the extensive collection of paper theatres but also to open them up to the public. As well as a special exhibition and annual paper theatre performances, there were workshops during advent in particular. The Märkisches Museum also joined forces with other institutions, collectors and paper theatre actors and performers in order to exchange knowledge and foster contacts. This work was carried on after the founding of Stiftung Stadtmuseum in 1995, and the paper theatre collection was expanded and continually added to following the merger with the Historic Collection of West Berlin.
The proscenium is also made of wood and laminated with lavishly detailed printed paper. At the bottom right-hand side is the signature of Berlin firm Adolph Engel, a manufacturer and distributor of toys, in particular picture sheets, paper theatres, picture books and other printed materials for youngsters. The company existed between 1848 and 1906.
Of lightning and witches
The firm J. F. Schreiber was one of Germany’s most famous paper theatre makers. Also internationally renowned, it was run as a family-owned business until 1988. J. F. Schreiber published many booklets on well-known fairy tales, operettas and plays and in each one additional texts/lyrics and stage scenery were recommended. So on the inside of the front cover it is immediately apparent which scenery is to be used for the particular play.
The booklets also provide tips for the performance – for example, how sound and lighting effects can be produced. Thunder, for instance, is created when a large and sturdy piece of cardboard is shaken and a flash of lightning is produced when powdered rosin is blown through a paper tube into a flame. There is a picture sheet on the rear inside booklet cover on which the figures belonging to the play are represented. In our theatre, most of the figures have been cut out, stuck onto card or wood and sometimes painted. For improved stability, a wooden base was attached to some figures, with a lead weight in some cases, or even an anchor stone from the toy construction sets widespread at the time.
The most widely performed show in our Thalia paper theatre was probably the fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel”. Umpteen marginal notes, corrections and deletions in the original text would indicate such. Black soot marks on the witch’s figure also suggest a highly dramatic and authentic rendering of the play.
The paper theatre and the accessories were most likely purchased in Berlin. Clues to this are a “5 Minuten Pause” sign including the name of the paper merchant “G. Honrath” situated at Charlottenstraße 62, as well as the booklet for the romantic opera “Tannhäuser” with a sticker belonging to paper merchant “Bernhard Keilich” situated at Große Hamburger Straße 21-23. To move the figures on the stage, the theatre also includes three home-made reversible figure movers from the 1930’s.
Intangible cultural heritage paper theatre
Given the latest piece in our collection, anyone with a lasting fondness for play and miniature models will perhaps understand why, even after 200 years, paper theatre still fascinates the public and theatre lovers. Not just because a performance is akin to that of a “large” theatre: these days, in addition to lovingly designed paper figures, there are also modern plays, movable sets and sophisticated lighting technology. This requires creativity and manual dexterity. This is why in 2021 the German UNESCO commission recognised the tradition and artistic form of the paper theatre with its inclusion in the list of intangible cultural heritage.