In this picture from 1889, we see a man in his early forties – he looks a little shy. Yet he has every reason to be self-confident, even proud. The man’s name is Lothar Meggendorfer and he is probably the best-known and most successful illustrator in the German-speaking countries at this time. He also has a well-sounding name abroad and his works are available in many European countries and the USA.
Lothar Meggendorfer is born on November 6, 1847 in Munich, an up-and-coming city in Bavaria. After studying at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich in 1862, he made his first illustrated contributions to the magazine Fliegende Blätter in 1866 and later to the Münchener Bilderbogen. In 1878 (published in 1879) he created the book Lebende Bilder with illustrations that were movable. It was a tremendous success. Many more publications of this kind followed. He made illustrations for so-called Bilderbogen (picture sheets), Fan folds and books with split illustrations to combine. Over 260 books are known to exist, of which more than 90 were published in other languages (see the catalogue on this site). Later, Lothar Meggendorfer developed and illustrated games and around 40 modeling sheets. He was also active as a painter.
After the First World War – during his lifetime, his last work was published in 1916 – his fame faded and his name was almost forgotten. His work was finally rediscovered in the 1980s. Antiquarian bookseller Justin G. Schiller in America and Hildegard Krahé in Germany recognized the importance of this artist in the wake of the growing interest in pop books. It is also thanks to them that many of the designs, artwork and proofs were acquired and saved for posterity. Lothar Meggendorfer influences modern bookdesigner and artists up to the present day. He has shown how illustrations become movable before films or interactive digital applications took place. His Bildergeschichten belong to the forerunners of illustrated stories known in our days as comics. The great appreciation of this artist is reflected in the Meggendorfer Prize, which the Movable Book Society awards since 1993 to artists in recognition of the best paper engineering.
Lothar Meggendorfer died on July 7, 1925 – so this year marks the 100th anniversary of his death. An occasion for us to pay tribute to the work of this extraordinary artist with this website. Much is still under construction, we are working on it. Everyone is cordially invited to join us with suggestions and tips.