Under the heading Vom Weihnachtsbüchertisch (From the Christmas Book Table), the widely read magazine Gartenlaube published in the Christmas edition of 1899 a guide to choosing suitable books as Christmas presents for the little ones. The famous publisher J. F. Schreiber was represented with a considerable number of titles, including books by Lothar Meggendorfer. It says there:
In particular, however, this publisher’s picture books, which feature moving figures, will be the delight of the widest circles of children, the humorous album „Die Frau Bas“ with more than 4000 transformations (Humoristisches Album mit über 4000 Verwandlungen) by Lothar Meggendorfer, which, with its triple-cut sheets, allows the compilation of four thousand different heads, pretty and ugly, the comic picture book „Der Verwandlungskünstler“ with illustrations by the same artist and verses by Georg Böttcher, the transformation picture book „Bubenstreiche“ also by Lothar Meggendorfer and the magnificent stand-up picture book „Im zoologischen Garten“, whose human and animal figures can in fact be developed into a three-dimensional picture of life. (Translation of the original text in the Christmas edition of the magazine Gartenlaube, that means Garden Arbor 1899).
With the recently published work ‚Die Frau ‚Bas‘, Lothar Meggendorfer and the publisher J. F. Schreiber used a book format that had already proved extremely successful in the works Die lustige Tante * 1891 and Der fidele Onkel * 1891. 16 color lithographed sheets divided into three strips (headgear, eye/chin, chest) invite the user to combine them and create comic images of their choice. An edition was published in English under the title Our Aunts (H. Grevel & Co * 1900), in French under the title Colombinette (Louis Westhausser * ?) and in Hungarian under the title A. Csuda-néni (Wodianer F. és Fiai) – see Friedrich / Katzenheim Meggendorf Bibliography page 116/117.
Two works are currently online as digital copies and also available as pdf:
Die Frau ‚Bas‘ –- (based on an original from the Universiät Braunschweig – combinations are also illustrated here). The Newberry Library Chicago has a clip ready.
Die lustige Tante (based on an original from the Berlin State Library)