"Tricky Dick": Struwwelpeter and American Politics

When in 1845 the newly founded “Literarische Anstalt” in Frankfurt, Germany, printed a little book entitled Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder mit 15 schön colorierten Tafeln für Kinder von 3 bis 6 Jahren, neither the author, who hid behind the pseudonym Reimerich Kinderlieb, nor the publishers, Messers, Rütten and Loening, suspected that they had made history. For the publishers, it was a children’s book like many others, intended for local consumption. Its author, the Frankfurt physician Heinrich Hoffmann, was a complete dilettante as a writer and illustrator, whose sole ambition had been to create an entertaining and wholesome book to give his little son Carl for Christmas. Nobody expected that these Lustige Geschichten, known as Der Struwwelpeter since their 3rd edition in 1847, would go through countless more editions and become a text that rivals in popularity with the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Even for those who may never have read a line of the book, the image of “Struwwelpeter,” the messy fellow with his unkempt hair and uncut fingernails, has become an icon of popular culture, competing with Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Today, his image can be found on orange wrappers, coffee mugs, paper napkins, and sundry other paraphernalia.

The publication of Der Struwwelpeter was a spark that lit fires all over the world. Almost immediately the book was translated into English and other languages. A number of these translations actually were printed by the “Literarische Anstalt” in Frankfurt and became an important export item for the city. The Struwwelpeter franchise turned out to be excellent business. In the early 1880s, the Frankfurt English Struwwelpeter “based on the 125th edition of the celebrated German work,” reached its 29th edition. As an extra selling point abroad, the color lithographs of the export editions were prepared with particular care. ²

What is of special interest to us today is not so much the commercial success of Der Struwwelpeter, but the miracle that this little book, with its simple verse and its rather dilettante illustrations, almost immediately turned into a worldwide hit, leading not only to a multitude of translations, but also to innumerable adaptations, parodies, and imitations. This is particularly surprising, since German children’s books traditionally have had a difficult time being accepted—as has German literature in general—beyond the German language borders. German literature simply does not translate well. Yet, Der Struwwelpeter obviously struck a responsive cord abroad, especially in the Anglo-Saxon world. Outside of Grimm’s Märchen, it has become the only German children’s book of world renown. It also has taken on a life of its own, as a spoof work for adults. There even exists a Großer Struwwelpeter (written by Richard Schmidt-Cabanis and published in 1877), which was dedicated to “children from 17 to 77.”

The many parodies and adaptations that have evolved outside the German speaking countries are a matter of particular fascination. After all, to be effective, these works presuppose a close acquaintance with the prototype to which they allude. Since some of these versions have appeared in substantial editions, one can conclude that the publishers could count on a reading public well acquainted with the original. These adaptations—many of which are quite sophisticated—predominantly address an adult audience. Almost all have a strong political slant. In Great Britain, where the earliest translation of Heinrich Hoffmann’s work became available in 1848, a whole series of parodies and adaptations reached the market around the turn of the century. As far as can be ascertained, the earliest has been Edward Harold Begbie’s The Political Struwwelpeter, published in London in 1899. It uses the Struwwelpeter theme to satirize the British political scene of the day; its messy fellow is the “neglected” British Lion, with unkempt mane and uncut claws:

See the British Lion pose Wildly groping for his foes! Men who tinker up the laws Never manicure his claws: And you will observe with pain No one ever crimps his mane; Seeing that he’s so neglected Do you wonder he’s dejected? ³

Another work by the...