1158 - Clauss, Erich. Big Klaus and Little Klaus. Picture-building set. Includes numerous colored felt pieces, 1 pattern booklet, 1 picture frame with a scale, and 1 display stand. In the original color-printed box. Georgenthal, Schmidt & Co., circa 1930. 5 (instead of 6) sheets (pattern booklet). Box: 28.5 x 21.5 x 5 cm (lid and bottom edge restored with adhesive tape; box is dusty, browned, and stained).

Clauss, Erich. Big Klaus and Little Klaus. Picture-building set. Includes numerous colored felt pieces, 1 pattern booklet, 1 picture frame with a scale, and 1 display stand. In the original color-printed box. Georgenthal, Schmidt & Co., circa 1930. 5 (instead of 6) sheets (pattern booklet). Box: 28.5 x 21.5 x 5 cm (lid and bottom edge restored with adhesive tape; box is dusty, browned, and stained). A very rare tile-laying game, influenced by Constructivism and the Bauhaus. Using the felt pieces punched out in various geometric shapes and a pair of metal tweezers (in red, green, brown, and white), players could arrange colorful ornaments and pictures such as Little Red Riding Hood, The Big and the Little Klaus, Clown Playing Ball, Children’s Playroom, and others. The assembly instructions were printed on the inside of the lid. The designer, Clauss—about whose life nothing else is known—also created another highly original game, the “Raummühle” (see our Auction 10). Clauss is documented as a book illustrator in the early years following World War II, but his name does not appear in the list of Bauhaus students or that of Burg Giebichenstein, nor is he listed as a commercial artist in the relevant literature (such as Wienkötter’s work). The archives of the Schmidt company (now Steiner Spielwarenfabrik) were destroyed in a fire in 1955, so no old documents remain. The company was actually best known for its dolls; the two games mentioned were among the only toys produced by the company—aside from its doll production—that have been documented to date. - With Pattern Book I, which names Clauss as the designer and mentions on the back that additional expansion sets were in the works. However, these expansions were apparently never released. It includes a display stand consisting of three (instead of four) interlocking die-cut cardboard pieces. - One sheet (p. 4/5) is missing from the pattern booklet (the sheets are loose). - The felt pieces have not been checked for completeness; the white felt pieces are mostly slightly browned, but otherwise the felt is in good condition; some pattern sheets have small tears along the edges.